Monday, April 1, 2013

False claims...

My husband is a collector, he has always collected something.  When he was a boy, it was probably marbles, and other stuff that kids collect. Later it was model trains, cowboy stuff, fishing lures, etc. He still loves that old stuff, mostly because of the history involved, which he reads about and studies.

Among the things we have owned through the years, the quack medical machine was probably one of my favorites. It was a beautiful walnut case with a crazy metal contraption on the inside. It was made in the 1800's. The paper label on the inside lid read:

"Cures anything; on occasion, even death."

Seriously! They made some bold claims back then. I have my doubts about that machine curing anything at all, let alone death!

Quack medicine brings to mind other claims that we still hear about in today's world. There are a lot of products that make wild claims. For instance, the makeup industry. Have you ever fallen prey to one of those anti wrinkle cream claims? I sure have. When I was a teenager, I fell for the first one. It was a cream that promised to erase ALL wrinkles, within seconds! 

It did...

The only problem was, when you applied it, it gathered all the skin on your face and tightened the whole thing so that all expression was removed... until I smiled, moved my eyebrows or blinked. Then the whole tight mask CRACKED and my face dissolved into 1000 wrinkles and tiny cracks.  We still laugh about that cream.

Less obvious are the products I've tried since that time... there have been WAY too many! My husband laughed out loud when I brought home "Hope in a jar"...

The wrinkles are still there, and so are the creams I keep trying. Hope dies hard when it comes to removing wrinkles.

The moral of this story is that I keep trying and the makeup industry keeps advertising their claims and smiling... all the way to the bank!


15 comments:

manthano said...

What a lesson. Love it.
THANKS.

Debbie said...

I was just thinking about something along this line as I stood in the department store looking for mascara. I had the kind I usually use in my hand but was lured in by the many (many many many many) other options by this line alone. Thicker. Longer. Thicker and longer. Intensely thicker. Bold and thick. Bolder and yet thicker. Extreme.

I had a hunch they were all the same basic thing with different names. Blows my mind.

Debbie Petras said...

I have to admit that I've been lured in to buy a few of those products too. My wrinkles are still there too. However, I did receive a sample in the mail yesterday for yet another wrinkle remover cream. I'll let you know how it works. :)

Love,
Debbie

elaine @ peace for the journey said...

Oh the money I've spent and the time I've wasted on false claims!

Staying tethered to truth today.

peace~elaine

Farm Girl said...

So does the hair color industry. Every time I go to get my hair cut the lady seems horrified at the gray in my hair and tries to get me to cover it up.
I keep thinking of what God says about those silver hairs.
I decided I am going to just listen to God...well for today. I had to laugh because I started putting on wrinkle cream when I was 8 or so to get a jump on it. :) I thought my grandmother was going to fall down laughing so hard. Thanks for reminding me.

Vee said...

Oh yes...I do love my sparkle. ;D

Vee said...

This iPad! Spackle not sparkle...hahaha...

Janettessage.blogspot.com said...

Well if first you don't succeed try, try again...well if that saying works and you find something that works..pass it on!
Oh this makes me laugh. Hubby and son were at First Monday this past weekend...I thought of your hubby! If you went did you find any treasures?

Kathleen said...

Been there; done that! I'll trade you my cache for yours.

Where do the truth claims end? Surely not in my pantry (where assorted supplements & food items were meant to make me 20 pounds lighter & 30 years younger); and surely not utlity cabinet (where stains were put on notice with but one spray, or windows could be washed streakless with a wand).

OK ... so I've gotta run. I've found a REAL deal on knives :)



Lea @ CiCis Corner said...

Oh, I think we've all been lured by some product that promises "the fountain of youth." We'd all be better off to just grow old gracefully and smile through our wrinkles. Happy April!

Castles Crowns and Cottages said...

teeeeheeeeeee......

I have NEVER touched those creams because I have heard such claims! Oh Sonja, aren't the "ways of the world" so ludicrous, yet there is an ounce of curiosity in us all that makes us want to see if indeed those claims are true! But we both know what claims to believe and those are of the interior beauty! Oh and I can attest to that. I will be 55 on April 23, and I can feel younger. WHY? BECAUSE as wisdom reveals herself to you, the old skin peels away, and the skin of the spirit appears....wild, huh?

Thank you my dear, for coming to leave a comment. You said it beautifully: the FELLOWSHIP is hard to live without.

Many blessings to you on this fine April day! Anita

Felisol said...

: ) I just bought a new Vitamin A cream at the Pharmacy.Even though I know it will not work better than the other ones, I try over and over again.
Not trying feels like giving up. I'm not there yet.
Even so; getting old is better than not getting old at all.
Teach us to count our days, that we may gain wisdom in our hearts.

Grace and Beauty said...

This is a great post Sonja! I spend way too much on creams that promise they'll get rid of all my wrinkles.:-)
Thanks for stopping by my blog!
BLessings,
Cyndi

myletterstoemily said...

ha ha! i have had to make a deal with myself.
no more 'creams' until i use the other ones up!
i edge around this rule by using some of the
face creams i don't like on my heels.

hailey (my youngest) and i passed through
dallas on the way to LA and thought of my
precious texas friends (sonja and janette.)
you may know them.

Just a little something from Judy said...

Everyone who reads this post can relate to it all. I too fell for that masque back when I was a teen and can still remember how tight my entire face felt when it was on. I too came home with "Hope in a Jar" and I too still have my same special wrinkles. This post made me smile, when I remember all the claims I continue to fall for.