We can’t believe September is about to come to an end, but alas, here we are. September always feels like a month of new beginnings, even in the world of fashion and beauty. There were so many new launches to explore this month! With a busy month of shopping and trying new things, there were some inevitable stand-outs that we have to share with you in good conscience. From fresh fall fashion finds to beauty products that have made it into our everyday routines, we’ve compiled a list of our absolute favourites from the month of September.
Shop our September favourites!
Fashion:
Beauty:
All products featured in this article were independently selected by our team. By shopping through our links, we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.
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Let us get you hooked on the underwear brand, Parade, that went viral across social media this past year. The company has risen immensely in popularity since its launch in 2019, and for good reason.
Parade has created—dare we say it— the comfiest underwear, bras, and lounge, that we’ve ever felt.
Not only are the styles so classic sitewide, but incredibly comfortable and supportive too.
You know those days when you can’t wait to get home and take your bra right off? Well, you can kiss those times goodbye. With Parade, you’re not even going to notice you have a bra or underwear on because the material is seriously that luxe.
We got to try out both the cotton and lush rib material, and can’t decide which one is our fave. From essential tees to the must-have briefs, we were very impressed with how durable as well as versatile each piece is. The breathable fabric makes it easy to wear around the house and on the go.
Plus, the super-soft basics come in sizes XS to 3X, with continuous efforts to expand the size range.
Sustainable practices and materials? Check. Parade’s products are currently made of 80%-95% recycled materials with its goal to get to 100% by 2023 through switching to bio-based and renewable sources for elastane and spandex.
Check out the rundown of all of its eco-friendly manufacturing and fabrics right on the Parade site.
Of course, we can’t forget about our SD Readers. We scored a discount code just for you. Use code STYLEDEMOCRACY at checkout to score 20% off your entire order (one per customer). The only thing better than treating yourself to the comfiest bras and underwear is getting them at a sweet discount, so get shopping!
Plus, for a limited time get up to 40% off sitewide and if you spend $200+, you’ll get a full 40% off your entire total. Don’t forget to stack our coupon onto that too!
Check out our fave products to shop at Parade!
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You can trust Amazon reviews, right? It’s almost a default assumption at this point: you open Amazon, search for your chosen product, sort by star rating, and then start shopping. It’s a tried and true method that has probably netted you some great items.
But in the last few years, you may have experienced a few duds. And it looks like there’s a reason for that.
NPR spoke to Travis (his last name was withheld), a frequent Amazon customer who had a bad experience purchasing a trigger lock for his gun that was highly reviewed, but turned out to be low-quality. He suspected that people had been paid to boost the lock’s rating on Amazon.
So, what did he do? He became a paid reviewer himself.
As NPR discovered, an underground world exists solely to buy and sell fake Amazon reviews.
Amazon is aware that some reviews are “inauthentic,” but claims that it’s approximately 1%. However, auditors aren’t so sure. They claim that half the reviews for some products are bought.
Instagram/ @abc7la
How Ratings Work
Those stars aren’t as cut and dry as we might think. Vice President of Community Shopping at Amazon, Sharon Chiarella, told NPR, “The star rating, a lot of people think that’s an average … it’s actually much more intelligent. It’s a weighted calculation that gives more weight to reviews we trust more and less to reviews we trust less.”
In order to become a trusted reviewer (and one who doesn’t get caught), people like Travis work closely with sellers to fool Amazon’s fraud algorithm. This includes using specific links, dodging discount codes, and building in a delay between receiving the product actually posting a review. Review too quickly, and Amazon will think it’s fake.
Real World Application
I decided to investigate this myself. I’ve had my eye on investing in some metal straws, since plastic straws have been banned in Canadian cities like Vancouver, and many restaurants in Toronto have also vowed to do away with them.
Since I’m all about sipping in luxury, I hit up Amazon for some gold metal ones. My eye was immediately drawn to the second result (past the sponsored ones, which I automatically glaze over, anyway.) Amazon labelled these LANIAKEA straws their #1 Bestseller. No-brainer. I clicked it.
178 glowing reviews couldn’t be wrong, especially for that price. I scrolled down to the review section…and found something odd. While I don’t have the expertise to sort out the paid reviews from the free ones, I do have eyes.
As you can see, half of those images are decidedly not straws. The ranch gets a pass – the reviewer was helpfully using it as a size comparison next to the straws’ handy carrying case. However, the door and the animal objects are definitely not straws.
Of the reviews, 2 full pages were dedicated to what turned out to be plastic door stoppers. 10 of the 12 were 4 stars or higher, which sure is helpful if you want to boost your review rating up on Amazon for your product without having to start from scratch. As it turns out, I had stumbled into another aspect of the ratings game that the paid reviewers like Travis are participating in.
If the reviews aren’t bought, they’re stolen from other products, as Business Insider reported.
Listers take old products and poach the listings for their own, new products, making it look like they’re tried and trusted items with solid reputations.
Remember the phrase, “Buyer beware”? It may have felt like Amazon had helped do away with that particular worry, but maybe, just maybe, it might be time to start sticking to that mantra again.
Featured image: Instagram/ @journeyofphood
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