Taking the Guess Work Out of Buying Foundation

In my makeup routine I don’t use foundation unless I’m getting dressed up. For everyday wear I use a tinted moisturizer. I find that I like the sheer coverage that just helps even out my skin tone.

I also dislike buying foundation because when I run out I have a hard time finding the one I just used. Probably because I don’t use it very often and it takes me a while to go through a bottle, it seems like when I want to buy exactly what I just used up it’s been discontinued. Or they’ve changed the bottle and I don’t know what it looks like. Or I don’t know if my color was Sandy Beige or Softly Neutral. And you know how it is when your makeup has been sitting in your makeup drawer for a while – the name of the brand has rubbed off, the little itty bitty sticker that has the name or number of the shade is long gone... (Which, by the way, is an advantage of shopping Avon with me. I can tell you exactly what you bought, even if it was six months ago. =))

Anyway, I always end up at the drug store staring at a the 50 brands of foundation, each with 75 shades, and have to take a wild eyed guess as to which one is the one for me. And, inevitably, I choose wrong. And rather than trudge back to the store to try to return it and get the right one I end up with yet another bottle of wrong makeup sitting in my drawer. (Oh! Another advantage of shopping Avon with me – we have a 100% money back guarantee even if your product has been used. I mean, how else do you know if you like it if you don’t use it, right?)

So, the point of this little tirade is that I just bought and tried Avon’s IDEAL

SHADE Custom Shade Foundation Lotion SPF 15. I love it! Love. It. First, there are only three shades to choose from: Light, Medium and Medium Deep. I chose the medium because with summer coming, I will get some color on my face. It’s a little weird at first. It comes out of the tube white and will then change to the color that is right for you. How awesome is that?!? No standing in the makeup aisle guessing!

So I put it on two different ways. First, the way I do with my regular foundation, using a damp makeup sponge to move it around and even out the application. The next time I did it the way I do my tinted moisturizer, putting some on my hands, rubbing them together and then rubbing them on my face (sophisticated, huh?). I’m not sure one way is better than the other except that you probably use less product doing it carefully with a sponge.

In the end, it totally came to a color that looked natural for me!

This foundation is sheer, much like the tinted moisturizer and I like that. But if you’re trying to get more coverage, then another one of Avon’s foundations is probably better for you. The Custom Shade Foundation is more matte than the tinted moisturizer so I didn’t need to use any powder to dampen any shininess.

Also, as I said in my last post, I’ve been trying Avon’s new Anew Solar Advance Sunscreen Face Lotion SPF 45 on my décolletage to see if it can help improve the texture of that skin which has been abused like crazy over the years.

Well, I’ve used it 3 or 4 times now and I have to say that the skin in that area is softer. It’s in such bad shape, though, that I’m not expecting miracles. But the sunscreen does have a nice fragrance and isn’t sticky or oily or anything else that you don’t want your sunscreen to be.

Oh, and just a reminder that Mother’s Day is just around the corner. May 8th, to be exact.

Until next time…

CUE BEATLES MUSIC: “Here comes the sun. Here comes the sun. And I say it’s alright…”

Sun, sun, sun here it comes. Are you ready?

Among other things it’s time to stock up on sunscreen and naturally Avon is here to help. =)

Avon offers a variety of sunscreen options including a brand new line of sun protection (available soon) called
Anew Solar Advance which has received the Active Seal of Recommendation from the Skin Cancer Foundation. Anew Solar Advance claims to “…not only protect skin’s DNA with broad-spectrum sunscreen, but is also designed to repair skin cell sun damage.” Sounds awesome!

Like all Anew products the SPF 45 for the face and the SPF 30 for the body claim to visibly improve the texture of the skin, etc. I have not had a chance to try it yet but I’m going to. Here’s my plan: The skin on my chest, my décolletage, has the look and texture of beef jerky (maybe turkey jerky given my skin tone) due to years of abuse and neglect on my part. So I’m going to try the Solar Advance for the face and see if it can make any sort of a difference. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Now for those of you who are looking for some sun protection as well as a shield
against those nasty biting buggies, Avon’s standby Skin So Soft line of sunscreen and bug protection is available as well. My husband’s job often requires him to be out in the sun for long periods for time so I gave him SKIN SO SOFT Bug Guard Plus IR3535® EXPEDITION™ SPF 30 Pump Spray to use at one of his events. He said that he put it on in the morning and didn’t get burned all day. Plus he liked the non-sticky feel of it.

However, if you’re like me you don’t know much about what makes a good bug repellent and what makes a bad one. So I did a little research for us (love the Internet!). I found much of my information here, here and here.

For many years, starting in the 1940s when it was developed by the US military, DEET was the standard in bug repellent and could be safely used in various concentrations. It was introduced to the public in the 1950s. However, DEET is also very hard on plastics, leather, and synthetic fabrics like polyester and rayon so it can eat through things like watch crystals and sun glasses. Also, it has a very strong odor.

Since 1998 people in Australia and Europe have used a product called Picaridin and in 2005 it was approved for use in the U.S. Picaridin is derived from pepper and is the bug repellent that is in Avon’s Skin So Soft Bug Guard. Studies indicate that it is as effective as DEET without the damage or the smell.

In Avon’s sun screens that include Bug Guard they use a repellent called IR3535 (Catchy, isn’t it?). It’s another product that’s been widely used in Europe for 20 years and has been available in the States since 1999. Reports seem to be that it is effective in repelling bugs though it is not as long-lasting as Picaridin or DEET.

Finally, contrary to popular belief, Avon never did market its Skin So Soft Oil as an insect repellent. However, the product did garner a lot of media attention some years ago when consumers reported it as being effective as a mosquito repellent.

Below is a little chart that I borrowed from some information I had from Avon. Hopefully you’ll find it helpful. (Click on the photo and it should get bigger.)





Until next time…

Party Time!

Last Saturday a really cool group of ladies got together for a Pedi-Party. I know you’re wondering, “What is a Pedi-Party? What’s it all about?”


Well, it was an opportunity for me to show some delightfully fun people how to get their feet ready for sandal season at home, using some of Avon’s wonderful Foot Works products. I also got to show them some of Avon’s other products and answer questions for them and let them know about some of the terrific deals that Avon has to offer. But mostly it was about friends being together and sharing laughs.

We started off with a warm foot soak using Restorative Milky Foot Soak with Epsom Salt. Then they used a file to work away some of the calluses that have built up over the winter and then did a little exfoliation with Foot Works Thermal Exfoliating Scrub.
After rinsing and drying, it was time to massage in some Foot Works Deep Moisture Cream. After that everyone painted her toes with a variety of colors and then added some fun flower decals.

The recurring statement at the end of the party was, “My feet feel so soft!”
And they looked totally cute, too.

If you have a group of friends you’d like to get together with and have a Pedi-Party, just let me know!

Until next time…