The development of TikTok’s live streaming feature has shaped a new pattern of consumer behavior that is visual, interactive, and emotional, encouraging audiences to make impulsive purchases that often result in a mismatch between expectations and the actual product received. This study aims to understand the cognitive dissonance experienced by consumers after making impulsive purchases through TikTok Live, using a qualitative approach with descriptive phenomenological methods involving seven purposively selected informants. Data were collected through in-depth interviews and analyzed thematically to explore the subjective meanings of their experiences. The findings show that persuasive host communication, urgency created by limited-time promotions, and emotional involvement through pseudo-interactions drive impulsive buying decisions that later trigger cognitive dissonance. Consumers alleviate this psychological discomfort through motivated reasoning, such as emphasizing the product’s positive aspects or attributing dissatisfaction to external factors. Parasocial interactions and TikTok’s algorithm further reinforce the cycle of impulsive buying. This study highlights that the construction of product meaning is a result of complex digital social construction, while also contributing to digital communication studies and offering practical insights for industry players to design more ethical and reflective live streaming strategies