空瓶 — Empty Bottle / Used Up Product
What Does 空瓶 Mean?
An empty product bottle — specifically the practice of sharing photos of finished skincare and beauty products on social media as authentic product reviews. An 空瓶 represents genuine use and tacit approval: if you finished the whole bottle, you must have liked it. 空瓶 posts became a trusted form of recommendation in a sea of paid promotions.
Cultural Context
空瓶 culture emerged as a response to the paid promotion epidemic on Chinese beauty platforms. Consumers grew suspicious of influencer recommendations (how many products do they actually use?). 空瓶 posts — showing the evidence of real consumption — became more trustworthy signals. The empty bottle became a receipt for genuine endorsement.
How Is It Used?
终于把这瓶精华用完了，分享一个空瓶，真的好用！
Finally finished this serum — sharing an empty bottle review: genuinely good!
她晒了一堆空瓶，看来这个牌子真的不错。
She posted a bunch of empty bottles — seems like this brand is genuinely good.
Chinese Explanation (中文解释)
美妆护肤品用到见底，粉丝在社交媒体分享空瓶，表示对产品的认可，也是种草文化的一部分。