We hope you love our recommendations! Some may have been sent as samples, but all were independently selected by our editors. Just FYI, BuzzFeed and its publishing partners may collect a share of sales and/or other compensation from the links on this page.

    42 Problem-Solving Products That Really, Truly Work And Have The Before-And-After Photos To Prove It

    These "after" shots could surprise even the most experienced shopper.

    1. A two-piece makeup storage set to take back control of your messy sink area.

    2. The Pink Stuff, an all-purpose paste that you can use to clean basically anything. Scrubbing will be a thing of the past. And the future? Sparkly clean items as far as the eye can see. 

    a reviewer's pan with a stained bottom then shiny clean
    a reviewer's rubber boots, one stained with dirt and one clean

    Promising review: "Oh my gosh — this stuff is a life changer! Used it to get my fiberglass shower totally clean. Nothing else would get it done and this stuff brought my shower back to near new in one use. We’ve since cleaned a weird chalky film off our garage door, removed wall markings, and cleaned my storm door. We’ll never be without a jar (or three) of this stuff. Worth every penny." —Nancy F.

    Get it from Amazon for $8.99.

    3. Budget-friendly waterproof eyebrow wax to give your brows a little love. Just swipe on the clear, organic formula to shape, then add your favorite eyebrow gel or pencil on top for color if needed.

    Promising review: "I absolutely love this and am amazed at how fuller my brows look! Application is also super easy and quick! I took three pictures. Top picture is before I applied it. Middle picture is after application. Third picture is after I've drawn a line under my brow to clean up the look and filled in some sparse areas." —P.A.

    Get two from Amazon for $7.99.

    4. A container of oatmeal paw butter that'll soothe and relieve your dog's cracked, dry paws. Its eco-friendly formula is pH-balanced so it's safe for cats, even if licked or swallowed. *seriously considers licking it myself to see if it really tastes like oatmeal*

    A dog with one paw dry and cracked and the other smooth

    5. A Bevel safety razor providing a super-close, bump-free shave on anything from your face to your body to your head. Bonus: It's specially designed to be extra helpful for thick, curly hair.

    6. An elastic organizer to detangle the huge ball of cords and chargers tumbling around in your bag.

    7. A scar cream that'll help you heal painful reminders of past injuries. No longer will you be haunted by that time you spilled boiling hot pasta water on your foot!

    six images of a review's injury scabbing over and almost completely disappearing

    8. A bottle of anti-dandruff shampoo to help with those pesky flakes.

    9. Or Briogeo Scalp Revival Charcoal and Coconut Oil Micro-Exfoliating Shampoo that'll treat your your dry, flaky scalp to a nice exfoliating scrub treatment.

    10. Cruelty-free lengthening mascara that's lightweight, won't transfer, doesn't smudge, and lasts all day — oh and makes your eyelashes look like tall, beautiful skyscrapers.

    11. A hairbrush cleaning tool to deal with the dreaded hair ball that gradually builds up over time. Get rid of that ball before it becomes sentient and gets you!

    12. A cutlery organizer tray offering a place for each of your utensils, even the weird fork you don't like for some reason. Just tossing your items into the drawer willy-nilly is a thing of the past!

    13. Hypoallergenic, cruelty-free, and paraben-free makeup brush-cleaning "shampoo" for your worn bristles that could use their own makeover.

    On the left, a reviewer holding a brush covered in product. On the right, the same brush with the bristles restored to white

    14. A pack of Bottle Bright tablets possibly made out of fairy dust, because they'll totally wipe away years of grime in mere minutes.

    left: brown bottle right: clean bottle

    15. A hair finishing stick to smoosh down all those annoying flyaways that escaped your bun.

    16. Or an edge control gel that'll help lay edges and baby hairs for a sleek look without the unwanted flaking and residue.

    17. A jar of O'Keeffe's hand cream you'll want to marinate your dry paws in all winter.

    18. CND SolarOil Nail & Cuticle Care to repair peeling and painful nails, so you can find relief after doing the unspeakable and peeling off a gel manicure.

    left: peeling nails right: healthy nails

    19. A wood polish that can miraculously erase water stains and scratches. Everyone will be asking where you got your brand-new coffee table.

    20. A blessedly effective carpet cleaner capable of turning your brown carpet into whatever color it was when you bought it.

    vacuum cleans a light stripe into a dark carpet

    21. A collagen coating hair protein treatment to get your dry hair back into tip-top, silky shape just in time for the office holiday party.

    before: my hair looking brittle and hay-like after: my hair looking silkier and more healthy

    22. Medicated, waterproof bandages that will make your wart erupt from the depths of your skin like a gross butterfly.

    four images of a reviewer's wart breaking through the skin and erupting outward

    23. A leather cleaner to bring your furniture, car seats, bags, shoes, and more back to useable condition.

    a leather ottoman that looks half faded and half rejuvenated

    24. A drain cover so you can fill your tub all the way to the tippy top.

    25. Two pairs of baby feet masks for getting the peeling snake feet of your dreams. JK! After the peeling stops, you get nice, soft tootsies.

    before: feet in plastic socks during: feet peeling all over in big chunks after: smooth feet

    26. A wildly popular hair serum packed with vitamin E, aloe vera, and argan oil to ensure your mane stays silky soft and frizz-free, no matter how humid it gets (Florida bbs, this one is for you).

    Reviewer's photo of their hair frizzy, and then smooth and shinier after using the serum

    27. A jewelry cleaning pen so your jewels can shine bright like a — well, a diamond.

    left: cloudy diamond ring right: much clearer looking diamond

    28. A nail grinder that's a little easier and gentler than the traditional clipper. Gone are the days of having to use both hands to clip and praying you didn't cut too short.

    left: a dog paw with long nails right: same paw with short nails

    29. A John Frieda hot air brush better at giving you a glam blowout than your usual salon.

    reviewer shows one side of their hair looking frizzy and wavy and the other half looking silky smooth and straight

    30. A toilet cleaning wand you'll think must be a REAL magic wand, because what earthly product could possibly work so well?

    left: really really brown and dirty toilet right: toilet free of brown stains

    31. An eco-friendly hard water strain remover that'll banish the dreaded orange glow. You deserve to get clean in something that looks clean.

    32. An ink and stain remover ready to pick a fight with even the toughest of marks. Permanent marker? We'll see about that.

    left: blanket with evan written in sharpie right: same blanket now sharpie free

    33. A set of produce containers for keeping your fruit and veggies fresher for longer. No more rushing home to gorge yourself on berries — take your sweet time!

    left: big fresh strawberry that says "stored in produce saver" right: wrinkled strawberry that says from original container

    34. Liquid plant food that's pretty much a multi-vitamin for your houseplant. If your green little buddy isn't growing as much as you'd like, consider a couple of drops of this elixir!

    35. A pet ear cleanser for a painless and easy way to treat your fluffer's dirty ears so they 1) don't suffer from infections down the line, and 2) can REALLY hear all the compliments you want to give them.

    On the left, the inside of a dog's ear looking dirty, and on the right, the same ear looking clean and dirt-free

    36. A bumper-sticker remover to attach to your drill for quick and easy removal of bumper stickers. You can finally turn back time to before your car became a Green Day fan.

    top: car with bumpers stickers bottom: car with no bumper stickers

    37. All-natural multipurpose spray in a variety of fragrances to give your home that treasured "freshly cleaned top to bottom" smell.

    on the left buzzfeed editor's wall with brown goo on it captioned "before," on the right the same wall all clean captioned "after"

    38. A dog paw-cleaning device to keep Spot's feet squeaky clean, because you can't exactly put hand sanitizer on a dog. (Seriously, do not do that.)

    before: dirty paw during: paw in front of bristled tube after: clean paw

    39. Cloning paste that can be applied to any nodes on the stem of your plant to promote new growth. So see that leggy plant over there that's all stem, no bushy leaves? This fancy goo can help! It's made for orchids (hence the name; the keiki is a plant produced asexually by an orchid plant) but works on a variety of plants, like begonias.

    Here's how it works: Find a node and peel away the bract to reveal the bud. Apply a small amount of the paste and in two to eight weeks, a clone will grow out of the node! 

    Promising review: "This product is just AMAZING!!! I waited a few months before writing this review because i wanted to test the product first. I am just AMAZED!

    I have to say...depending on the season and the place on the spike where you apply it, you either get a keiki or new flower spike (which is awesome!) Based on my experiments: the lower on the spike, the more chances to get a keiki. The higher on the spike, the more chances to get a new flower spike. If you apply it during winter (tropical area winter) you will more likely get flower spikes. If you apply it during summer (tropical areas) you will more likely get a keiki — at least that's what I observed!" —Anne-Isabelle Bonifassi

    Get it from Amazon for $14.99.

    40. A stone-effect spray paint that'll help transform out-of-date furniture and cabinets into ultra-trendy decor without the pricey renovation.

    reviewer pic of green bathroom vanity top
    reviewer pic of transformed bathroom vanity with the help of the spray paint

    Promising review (from 2018): "May 2020 Update: The countertop is just now starting to need (slight) touch ups around the sink itself. We had to postpone the remodel until this summer, and this counter has held up like a champ. I couldn't be happier with this product!

    This paint can be a little tricky to work with until you get the hang of how it applies, my suggestion would be to test it out on a scrap or something prior to applying. Once I had it, this product was a breeze to work with.

    We recently purchased a new home, and we're not gutting our main bathroom until next summer, and I just couldn't live with that 1980s green another day. So, after reading a lot of tutorials, I decided to go for it and paint the counter. I LOVE how it came out! Once it was dry for 24 hours, I applied several coats of poly and let it sit for 72 hours before I let the counter go back into normal use. It's held up like a dream. I wouldn't use any heavy chemicals on it (but I wouldn't advise those period), but otherwise zero issues with it.

    (I had done this previously with a different color by a different brand and the outcome was similar, it held up like brand new for several months of daily abuse before I decided to repaint because I didn't really like the color).

    I think this will easily hold up until we remodel, and it looks great too. DEFINITELY better than that '80s green!

    Side Note: I see a lot of negative reviews on this product because it doesn't hold up for people outdoors. USE A SEALANT. Don't blame a product if you don't use it correctly. It's not rocket science folks." —Mistella

    Get it from Amazon for $20.97 (available in eight colors).

    41. A pack of canker sore patches to heal those suckers in as little as one day. That means less stress — and less stress means less canker sores. The cycle is broken.

    They can stay on even while you're eating or drinking!

    Promising review: "Honestly this is one of the weirdest things I've ever done — but it worked. I put the patch on my canker sore (looks like a tiny pill) overnight and when I woke up the patch was all huge and felt like a sponge. IT WORKED! My canker sore was significantly smaller when I woke up and no longer rubbed up against my teeth. I did one more night with the canker patch and it was completely gone. This product works great for not just mouth sore, but tongue sores. Would highly recommend!" —LW

    Get a pack of six from Amazon for $12.50.

    42. Silver cleaning wipes because the last thing you need is a set of dirty silverware ~tarnishing~ your reputation.

    Promising review: "It is very uncommon for me to write a review but this product is amazing. My family's silverware had not been polished in the 15 years since I married my husband. The only time I ever polished anything before it was messy and smelly and took forever. Therefore I didn't have any interest in polishing something that we weren't using. I decided to try these wipes because the price was reasonable. They are easy to use and do a wonderful job! The silverware looks silver! I used four wipes to polish a service of eight, and it took me about 20 minutes. I highly recommend this product!" —Kehrli

    Get a 20-pack from Amazon for $8.08.

    Looking for the perfect gift for any occasion? Check out all of BuzzFeed’s gift guides!

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