As coronavirus fears spread and hand sanitizer flies off shelves around the world, there’s a population of teenage girls feeling pretty smug right now.
The teens are superfans of Bath & Body Works, and for years, it seems, they have been collecting the retailer’s tiny hand sanitizer bottles, which come in countless fragrances and colors.
Now, they’re showing off their impressive hauls on TikTok, sharing videos of their truly astonishing collections of dozens and dozens of bottles of anti-bacterial hand gel.
Preparing for this moment! Superfans of Bath & Body Works have been collecting the retailer’s tiny hand sanitizer bottles for years
Sold out everywhere! One named Olivia showed off her massive collection on TikTok, saying: ‘Luckily, this b**** was one of those weird Bath & Body Works girls in middle school’
The sanitizer show-off kicked off with Olivia, and 18-year-old American who posted a TikTok video that’s been viewed 1.3 million times so far.
‘So I heard that, since everyone is freaking out about the coronavirus, hand sanitizer is, like, sold out everywhere, and, like, $80 on Amazon,’ she tells the camera, speaking in her bedroom.
‘But luckily, this b**** was one of those weird Bath & Body Works girls in middle school,’ she adds, pointing to herself.
She then pulls open a drawer, which is neatly stocked with rows upon rows of the brand’s hand sanitizer, neatly lined up. There appear to be about 100 tiny bottles in all, in various different colors and scents.
‘Guess it finally has a purpose,’ she says.
Huge! One New York City-based dancer, Victoria Sepiashvili, shared what might be the biggest collection of all
Crazy! Panning the camera slowly, she showed off about 450 PocketBac sanitizes, as well two additional boxes of cute carriers to put them in
More where that came from! She also had bins with older hand sanitiziers in lots of different scents
Bought them! In another video, Victoria responded to commenters, saying that neither she nor her mother work for the brand
Her video quickly went viral, inspiring thousands of other teenagers to show off their own massive collections.
Turning Olivia’s original video into a meme, other TikTok teens have used her audio, playing it over their own videos as they show off their collections.
While Olivia’s bottles feature Bath & Body Works’ older sanitizer design — she did, after all, say she collected them in middle school, a few years ago — others have the brand’s more recent antibacterial bottles in the PocketBac design.
They’ve shared videos of drawers, baskets, and entire boxes full of sanitizer.
Some only have a couple dozen bottles — which would be an enormous amount under the usual standards.
Phew! The collections have come in handy now that hand sanitizer is selling out
Score! Teens like @hcarol5 (left) and @delaney_patrick (right) have showed off their hauls on TikTok
So much! The teens have dozens upon dozens of bottles of the antibacterial gel
Viral: Olivia’s original video has been turned into a meme, with other teens using her audio for their videos
Incredible: They have both newer and older bottle designs, which fill up shelves and boxes
But others have as many as Olivia or more, showing off hundreds of hand sanitizer containers they’ve purchased.
One New York City-based dancer, Victoria Sepiashvili, shared what might be the biggest collection of all.
Panning the camera slowly, she showed off about 450 PocketBac sanitizes, as well two additional boxes of cute carriers to put them in.
In another video, Victoria responded to commenters, saying that neither she nor her mother work for the brand.
Many collectors seem to have picked up new ones every time the brand has released a new scent — and, at a current price of $1.75 each, that’s a bargain that can add up over time. Bath & Body Works also sells five-packs for $8.75.
More, more! Many collectors seem to have picked up new ones every time the brand has released a new scent
Adding up: At a current price of $1.75 each, that’s a bargain that can add up over time. Bath & Body Works also sells five-packs for $8.75
Sitting in boxes: For all that the teens are collecting these, they don’t seem to have actually been using them
Expired? Several of the teens appear to have spent years amassing their collections — and by now, some of their bottles may be ready to toss
A collection of Olivia’s size would costs roughly $175.
Several of the teens appear to have spent years amassing their collections — but for all their collecting, they don’t seem to have actually been using them.
And by now, some of their bottles may be ready to toss.
Hand sanitizer should be printed with an expiration date, which is usually after one to three years. Expired hand sanitizer is still safe to use, but may have lose some of its efficacy.
‘Something’s better than nothing,’ Suzanne Willard, PhD, a clinical professor and associate dean for global health at the Rutgers School of Nursing, told Women’s Health. ‘Some friction and a liquid will help get rid of some of the germs.’