If the first thing that comes to mind when you hear wedding rings is diamonds, you wouldn’t be alone. However, a recent celebrity engagement may have changed things. Just last week, Spiderman and La La Land actress Emma Stone and longtime boyfriend Dave McCay got engaged. Her engagement ring? A vintage vision in gold with a pearl as a centerpiece, this ring truly is a feast to the eye. Unexpected, yes, but so beautiful indeed!

The Ring

Although they have never been open about their relationship nor ever posted pictures together on social media, Emma Stone and her longtime boyfriend, SNL Director Dave McCary, did share their decision to get married in a somewhat blurry Instagram post. At first glance, it seems that she’s wearing a diamond ring, but when you look closely, you will see it is rather a pearl enclosed in a gold setting.

It Started a New Trend

Ever since news of the lucrative Emma Stone engagement started circling, more and more people have been wondering whether they too should get the same or similar-styled ring for themselves. And why not? The engagement jewel is reminiscent of old Hollywood and the type of elegance your grandma’s rings may have had. It is both a statement ring and also one that isn’t over-the-top, a balance that is truly difficult to find these days. Here is a closer look at Emma’s ring:

If you’ve set your eye on that ring, but don’t enjoy the idea of spending 4K+ on it, don’t be quick to frown. The market is wide, and this ring has similar but more affordable options. You can find a ring design like this for about $200. Of course, it won’t be the same, and it probably won’t have as many ornaments, but it will still be beautiful.

Many of us have grown up with the idea that there are some things that we need in life, be it from a materialistic point of view or any other. However, most of those needs are simply the result of clever marketing. We listed down a few of those things that are seemingly good for us but are actually all tricks that have been played on us all along!

When it comes to audio, you will hear audiophiles rave about how important high-quality sound is. While it is true that good quality sound makes listening to music or a movie much more enjoyable, headphone manufacturers have gone away with this trick for a while.

They have made us believe that earphones with metal parts that are weightier are somehow more durable and high quality whereas, in reality, they serve no practical benefits when it comes to sound or longevity.

The funny thing about hiccups is that, if you can make yourself believe that you stopped the hiccups, chances are that you really can. Hiccups are caused by contractions of the diaphragm. When someone gets the hiccups, the first few are legitimate reflexes.

The rest are just brain signals. There are so many alleged ways to stop one from hiccupping, but all of these only fool your subconscious mind. This is simply to make your brain believe that you stopped hiccupping.

A lot of body scrubs have small granules included in them that give you a deep cleanse and take out all the dirt and grime. The truth is, those are not needed at all. You can use a simple loofah to get the same benefits as these expensive and ‘premium’ body scrubs offer.

So, next time you are out buying body scrubs, you can save some money and just get a good quality loofah instead. Your body will be just as clean either way.

The best ‘tool’ to get in shape is good old exercise. You will find a lot of fitness gadgets in the market such as butt lifters or ab toners. They are really not that helpful and are simply preying on people’s desire to get into shape.

In reality, there are no shortcuts. Most people would buy these gadgets and just end up keeping them in the basement to gather dust. It is a giant waste of money too.

Oh, this one is a slippery slope. Leave-in conditioners promote leaving the conditioners in for softer and silkier hair. The truth is, when you leave them in, you are making your hair quite uncomfortable to work with – and even unmanageable.

These conditioners can accumulate ingredients over time and make the hair even messier. At the end of the day, it will leave you feeling worse about your hair. What’s sad is that people would still buy these conditioners thinking that they will help them.

You’ve probably seen this one already. The ads make sure that you fall for it. They make it look like other solutions can’t achieve the same results, but if you want to polish up those precious jewels of yours, a used toothbrush can get you incredible results too.

Take a little container and mix baking soda with toothpaste. If you give your jewels a little scrub with this mixture, you will be able to see the fine shine. Go ahead and try it!

Soaps have come a long way compared to ones you could find in the past. Back in the day, soaps used to leave a film on your face after use. Yes, it is just as nasty as you would imagine it is. People would use toners to deal with this issue.

However, times have changed, and we have better soaps now. They do not leave any sort of film nowadays. Toners, for this reason, are completely useless now. Yet, people still buy them.

You might have seen YouTube videos where cable management is emphasized a lot. Well, if you want a clean look in your setup, cable organizers could help you achieve that. Anyone would want to get rid of this mess and enjoy a normal-looking setup.

So, the organizers look like a pretty decent buy, right? It depends. Some organizers advertise their premium build and quality compared to others, but you really don’t need anything fancy like that. In reality, a toilet paper roll can do the job just fine instead.

Shower gels sure smell nice. However, they are doing little to nothing to keep your body clean except for creating a lot of lather and foam.

A good quality soap combined with a washcloth will get the job done equally or, in most cases, better than a shower gel. If you do not have soap, buy one. For the time being, you can use water and a good scrub along with your washcloth.

If you’re not planning to open a restaurant, buying a deep fryer doesn’t make much sense. You’ll just be left with one more thing to clean. A deep fryer isn’t a small tool, and it’s often harder to clean. The oil stains stay on forever, and you need to spend extra money on proper cleaning materials too.

So, if anyone told you to get a fryer, ask them to pay for the additional expenses. Jokes aside, the larger pans are quite useful for deep frying food.

If you’re planning to buy a branded paint remover to get rid of stains from your hands after you’re done with your painting project, it’ll probably do more harm than good.

The chemicals that are used in these products are pretty toxic. It’s better to whip up a DIY solution and get the paint removed naturally. Here’s a tip: try using a bit of olive oil on your skin where the paint’s stuck, and thank us later.

Picture this: you are late for work, and you jump into an elevator. You frantically keep pressing the “Close Door” button and breathe a sigh of relief when it closes because you gained a couple of seconds. Sounds familiar?

Well, it’s not actually what it looks like. “Close Door” buttons on elevators do not actually work. They are there simply for the placebo effect – preventing us from feeling like we are waiting for doors to close automatically.

Browse around any men’s grooming site or blog, and you will see them telling you how important aftershave is. The ongoing notion is that aftershave helps your skin in closing open pores. Actually, your skin will do that automatically even if you just splash some cold water.

Aftershaves are not completely useless, though. If you want to smell nice after a shower and a nice close shave, an aftershave is surely worth it. However, it is only worth it for the smell and nothing else.

Most people rarely make use of a gym membership to its full potential. You are just paying for services you are not using and probably will never use. That is not to say that you do not need to be healthy.

The thing is, you do not need an expensive monthly subscription to get in shape. You can jog up and down the stairs, do push-ups, go for a run, and even do sit-ups at home, and gain great results.

Our human brain is wired to interpret certain smells to be fresh. For example, an air freshener has a wide variety of scents to make us feel like it is doing its job. However, in reality, an unscented air freshener will be just as effective.

Febreze’s air freshener in the early days did not have any scent. Sales were falling since people thought it wasn’t working. Later on, they added scents to make it seem “fresh.”

Humans love feeling useful. Apparently, that is the reason why instant cake mixes require you to add water, flour, milk, and eggs. Ever wondered why these ingredients do not come mixed in? Well, you have people who feel guilty for putting in too little effort when using these mixes to thank.

In the early days, you could have just added water to cake mixes, and that would have been enough. Later, they changed it to make it seem like you need to be more involved.

Trying to reduce the use of plastic is always a good move. Plastic food containers may seem convenient since they usually don’t break easily. This is the main reason why some households don’t hesitate while buying a bunch of plastic containers that they’ll probably never use.

However, glass containers are way better. If you take proper care, they will last you a decade. You can’t say the same about plastic containers. Besides, the negative impact plastic use has on the environment is undeniable.

You can get the necessary vitamins from your meals without having to opt for multivitamin pills. Some doctors would even say that you can’t live without them once you start trying them out. So, it’s better to get your vitamin intake from natural sources.

The small little pills might seem quite lucrative alongside your breakfast, but you have to know where to draw the line. According to nutritional experts, Americans can get natural vitamins from regular meals much easily if they didn’t spend money on multivitamins.

Lip balms and Chapsticks contain alcohol. This is why it is quite counterintuitive to apply lip balm to your lips because alcohol dries out your lips. So, the more you apply the lip balm, the more you will need to apply it to combat the effects.

It is a never-ending cycle. Guess what? Your lips can take care of themselves. You can just leave your lips alone since they are self-moisturizing and do not need extra help.

Granolas are a relatively healthy snack item with high fiber and whole grains – at least that’s what the companies tell us. Some health experts often question the necessity of granola. Some granola bars are refined and filled with sugar, and that can’t be healthy.

Eating up one bar while you’re hungry is one thing, but don’t make a habit out of it. Granola certainly provides some nutritional value, but it isn’t a necessary food item.

It is funny how our mind works. Almost every one of us would agree that a toothpaste that has some sweeteners or foaming agents clean your teeth better compared to ones that do not. However, this is all a new trend.

Traditionally, toothpastes contained coal, fluoride, or herbal extracts. All these by themselves were enough to clean our teeth. Fast forward to today, and we believe that a minty scent or a foamy toothpaste does a better job of cleaning out teeth. That is not quite true.

Diet meals may seem like they’re exactly what the doctors would recommend, but they really aren’t doing you any good. They lack proper nutrition and deprive your body of important substances. Plus, the time and effort that go into preparing these diet meals are simply not worth it.

Eating a balanced meal in small portions should be just fine to keep your weight in check. Besides, you can get the nutrients you need from regular balanced meals anyway.

This baby product is quite hyped, but that shouldn’t cause you to get carried away with it. Wipe warmers aren’t useless. They do serve a purpose, and you can put them to fair use while changing diapers.

You could use a lot of things while changing diapers, though. What we’re trying to say is that you can do without them. Wipe warmers can come in handy at times, but they aren’t a necessity.

You can get some use out of high baby chairs, and you might easily be tempted to buy these for your toddlers. Some little kids even love to sit on these chairs. The fact is, they don’t come cheap, and with the growing popularity of booster seats, you can bid these chairs farewell.

You can easily place the booster seats in any small compartment when you’re not using them. It’s better to go for booster seats as you’ll be saving space too.

Hard water is something we’re taught about in high school. Detergents and soaps are scientifically proven to be not as effective against hard water stains. Some branded paint removers do get the job done, but they charge a lot for the job.

If you’re someone who likes to try out DIY solutions, then you can easily avoid the expensive option. All you will need is salt and vinegar – prepare to bid the stains farewell.

We’ve seen so many parents opting for a baby monitor and then ending up not using them. They would rather check up on the baby on their own. They’re only good for annoying you in the middle of the night.

These cute little devices might tell you that your baby is crying at night, but if you’re responsible enough, you’ll probably hear them without one of these. So, save that money for something that’ll be good for the baby.

Why do you need shoeboxes? Well, many people might think about getting shoeboxes to use as storage containers, and they do serve this purpose quite well. This is probably something you think about when keeping your shoe boxes, but you never really need them, and they end up crowding your closet.

So, if you’re someone who keeps the boxes around after unboxing your shoes, stop! Fold them out and look for a recycling bin. That’s the only place they deserve to go.

A lot of the parents believe that walkers are a must to teach your toddler to walk, but couldn’t people learn to walk before these were invented? Of course, they could.

The only good thing about walkers is that you don’t need to hold them while they’re learning to walk. Now, if you’ve decided to be a lazy parent, then be our guest. These things aren’t that cheap, though. So, it’s ultimately your call.

In cars, the engine sounds or the satisfying sound of a door closing all trick us to believe the car is of higher quality or is durable. Engineers are perfectly capable of creating a door that can be shut gently without any loud noises.

However, our human brains would not feel secure. We need audible cues for some things to register in our minds. That is exactly why sound engineers meticulously craft each sound of a car from the doors and engines.

Do you really need another layer of sheets just to change your baby’s diapers? Don’t get us wrong; they definitely come in handy, but they aren’t a necessity. A single changing pad can cost up to thirty bucks.

We probably wouldn’t deem that as “cheap.” There’s no denying that these changing pads speed up the diaper changing process a lot. However, a towel or blanket will do just fine. Save your money!

The opposite of the placebo effect is the nocebo effect. This effect can be seen with foods with GMOs and monosodium glutamate. Scientifically, there really are no studies that prove that these harm you when consumed. However, many will passionately claim that they have suffered health issues from GMOs and monosodium glutamate.

To counter this, manufacturers are being clever. They are adding appropriate labels to the products in order to retain customers even if these substances were not meant to be present in the first place.

We do not know why someone would think that you can deal with cellulite with a simple cream. Everything cannot be treated with a cream that comes in a tub or a bottle. That is just downright silly.

So, do yourself and your bank account a favor, and stop buying cellulite cream. We do not even know why they exist. They really cannot help with anything whatsoever. Instead, embrace your body just the way it was meant to be!

The so-called miracle pills that you see on the internet are nothing but a marketing ploy. They seem to fool quite a significant number of people. You have probably come across loads of miracle pill ads while scrolling your feed. Do they work?

The way they are advertised makes them look like magical pills. However, you won’t find any difference from consuming them. A balanced diet along with a dynamic cardio routine is really all you need. There are no shortcuts, even if they come in the form of pills.

You might dish out a lot of cash when it comes to ensuring your baby’s safety, and it’s completely understandable. However, you shouldn’t spend money on every little unnecessary thing. Bed sets and crib bumpers look pretty cute, but they don’t come cheap.

Your little guy can do just fine without the bumpers. According to pediatricians, crib bumpers cause more harm than good. So, it’s better to save your precious money in this case.

Washing machines may do all the washing for you, but who washes the washing machine itself? Washing machine cleaners! These cleaners can be relatively expensive if you want good ones. This is, however, just another way to exploit your money.

If you can regularly maintain your washing machine’s cleanliness, you don’t need to resort to these sorts of products. Tons of DIY solutions will get you the same results. Protip: pour in white vinegar into the drum and turn the washing machine on – you’ll thank us later.

Infused water plays the same role as detox products, or at least they will sell this to you by saying so. This product is said to be enhanced with multiple nutrients and vitamins. On top of that, they charge an incredible price.

This type of water contains a lot of synthetic vitamins, which aren’t as healthy as the natural ones. Plus, many fancy branded waters contain large amounts of sugar. Fill a reusable water bottle at home and throw in some fresh fruit for spark instead!

The human body is a masterpiece that has proven to work on its own incredibly well. Even detox mechanisms are built into our bodies. The organs like the liver, lungs, and kidneys do their best to wipe out harmful toxins, and the companies act as though we would not be able to function without cleanses and detoxes.

A detox might increase the rate of toxin removal from your body, but it isn’t essential. So, you can do without dishing out a lot of cash on these products.

We do not deny the necessity of veggies and fruits. However, the time required to gobble up an entire glass of fruit juice compared to that of whole fruits is something to think about. We can drink up juices way faster than we’d eat fruits.

This allows us to consume a larger amount. Eventually, we end up having a lot of calories in a short time in this way. Juices might even be completely natural, but the sugar in them may not be the best for you.

Clothing might make you look cool, but it has little to do with your exercise regime. You will find many name brands advertising their fitness clothing products as breathable – some even claim to magically make your workouts more effective.

All these gears are really unnecessary. What you really need is a pair of good sneakers, a comfy cotton T-shirt, and you should be all set. Keep it simple and do not get drawn into a marketing trick.

These little puppies might prove to be very useful at times, but their purpose can be served using other tools at home too. Do you know what else goes down the drain when you unclog your drain with this? Your money!

Just pour out one and a half cups of baking soda. The chemical reaction will have quite a speedy effect. You can also take help from some other pointy tools from the toolbox. Spending money on an unclogger isn’t worth it.

Anyone who has withdrawn money from an ATM knows that, when you do so, it makes a distinct counting sound. Did you know, though, an ATM can actually count much faster than it apparently does?

Banks and companies introduce fake delays and artificial sounds to make them seem like they are ‘working’ – which helps us trust them more. We do not know about you, but we kind of feel like we have been lied to for all these years.

Repeat this line with us: “I do not need extended warranties.” That’s as clear as we can make it. Jokes aside, the cost of the extended warranties easily surpass the cost of repair. Some brands will make it look like that the warranties are essential, but they really aren’t.

The standard warranties you get with your purchase are enough, but people suffer in customer support a lot. So, it’s better to use that money for repairs instead of paying for uncertain insurance.

Dryer sheets have some chemicals that can do more harm than good to your dryer. The lint screen can easily get clogged when you’re using these sheets. So, this will eventually make your dryers a little less effective, and that is definitely not something you want.

All you need to do the job yourself is a wee bit of fabric softener. A small towel or microfiber cloth can give you similar results.

Human perception is a funny thing, and how we value things is quite interesting. In some professions, experts need to work slower to make it seem like they are putting in the effort while, in reality, they can get the job done faster than that.

This is done to make the client seem that the service is worth the cost. Many would applaud a beginner in any field who took a while to complete a task. That is because we sometimes associate time taken to do something with the quality.

It is no secret that modern computers are insanely fast. However, to make them more approachable and make it more friendly for humans to use, they would sometimes show unnecessary animations to paint a picture that they are working.

If you ever used Google docs, you will notice whenever you make changes to the documents, a small ‘Saving’ sign will appear on the top. However, the doc is saved much faster than the sign indicates.