on being an Avon kid and learning makeup

My mom started selling Avon in 1996. I looked forward to the boxes showing up on the front porch every two weeks because I got to open them then help her start sorting per the handwritten order slips. She would call out the product and I would dig around looking for it and she would double-check then tell me to bag it up, handing me the slip to put in the bag or to staple to the front. I would accompany her to Avon conventions in Amarillo and revel in the compliments from other Avon representatives who would ogle at my red-hair and tell my mom I should be a model for Avon. Oh, the possibility for my 6-year-old ambitions! From here I could go on about how the MLM scheme was a burden on our family but I may save that for another day. Instead, this is about how Avon shaped my sense of fashion and make-up over the years.

I was not allowed to wear makeup until 8th grade, but she let me get “play makeup” when items went to the outlet brochures. I specifically remember getting two lipsticks as a kid that were royal purple and black. I wore them every day until my dad’s mother commented on how small children should not be wearing those colors, then I could only wear them at home. You would assume having an Avon lady for a mother and the beauty blogger/vlogger trend of now would make me one of those millennial makeup artists, but I am far from it. I was only allowed to have Avon products and those products were ones that my mother chose for me. When I turned 13 she allowed me shades of browns only, because in the Avon world you did not wear products that did not complement your skin tone and hair color. Blush was not aged appropriate and “foundation etc. would make your skin break out more.” My mom did not encourage experimenting with makeup because inventory was limited and she was only going to order for us once a month. My favorite time was when the new lipstick samples came in and I could put them in the organizer and take out the ones that were discontinued, those became mine.

90’s lipstick sample box (Borrowed from Pintrest)

As I aged into high school my style changed but my makeup remained the same. I was a “scene kid” but my mom would not let me follow the normal scene kid style of bold black eyeliner and thick black eyelashes. Friends would give me make up for my birthday that would align with my style, but my mom would take it as soon as we got home and replace it with Avon products if it fit my skin tone but if not, it just disappeared. Finally, in my junior year of high school, she allowed me to get black eyeliner and mascara. It was the best feeling because I could be myself. When I look back at pictures, I was not qualified to be doing the smokey eye and bold black eyeliner that I claimed to look good. It was a mess. I still had not learned how to properly cover blemishes and blend so my acne was quite obvious. My eyeliner would melt down my face and make me look like a raccoon, I was constantly wiping under my eyes smearing it even worse.

At 20 I met my best friend and she had the most perfect cat eyeliner technique. I complained that I wish that I could do that or even look good doing it. She handed me a makeup wipe and started class. (At this point I didn’t even use makeup wipes, Avon had a lotion makeup remover that was more work than just leaving it on your face and dealing with the consequences later.) I went home afterward and told my mom, who still ordered and paid for my makeup, that I wanted something from Avon that could give me this look every day. She was not pleased but I insisted there was no way that a pencil could accomplish this edgy look I so desired to make mine. She obliged and thus began my simple makeup routine that has lasted the last 8 years. I figured out that if I do the cat-eye look I do not have to check to see if I have raccoon eyes every 2 minutes. I could also get my dark circles and acne covered, cat eye swipe, and mascara completed in less than 5 minutes and out the door to work without being late. I asked for a bronzer powder from the new Mark collection because you know it was the 2000’s and everyone was 10 shades darker than they should have been, but I learned that being a redhead bronzer was a better blush than any rouge.

Since then I moved to a city compared to the small town I grew up in where my parents currently live. Getting my Avon orders were more difficult and even though I could put in online orders I never remember to put in an order on time where I do not have a gap in between. I had to improvise and then eventually just tapered off my orders. This meant I had to know what it was I was looking for which is difficult when you never were into it. Avon has recently been sold to LG Household and Health Care LTD, a South Korean company. It has gone through an extensive rebranding and discontinued a majority of the products loyal customers use, which includes EVERYTHING I was still using.

With all that back story, here is the point. I went to Ulta when this sell happened and took in my Avon products asking for a dupe. A wonderful lady in all black, covered in tattoos and a very sharp cat-eye approached me asking if I needed any help and sweet Jesus did I need help. She immediately took me around asking all of the questions that I did not have answers for. I didn’t know what the difference was between foundation and concealer, powders or liquids if I used a primer or not. I just said, I cover under my eyes with this stick and then I use this powder to blend it out over my face. She gave me a very thick concealer that I learned people use to contour with and a powder that was not in the least bit light. I have been applying this wrong since July. Last week I walked into a Sephora at JCPenney and I looked rough on this day. A girl with flawless makeup approached me, again asking if I had any questions. I told her my story of what I use my makeup for and what consistency I like then showed her what I was previously conned into buying. She laughed (hopefully with me and not at me) then showed me some items that I bought, which cost about a year's worth of Avon products and I was on my way.

The point here is, on being an Avon kid, I do not know a thing about makeup and it has made being almost 30 and shopping for my makeup a nightmare. There are 10-year-old children on youtube that look like models and I still cannot tell you if I wear foundation or not.

Stick around, I will keep you updated on learning what makeup even is and maybe we can learn something together. Or, if you have any ideas on products that have helped you, let me know in the comments below!

Much love,

B