This month instead of having one featured fragrance we have 6!
Last week, the sample was for Viva by Fergie which is still on sale for $20. It has a fresh lavender-like scent.
This week we're sampling two Avon classics: Wild Country for him and Haiku for her.
You can get 1 Wild Country for $17.50 or 2 for $22 but either way you'll get the FREE Dopp Kit pictured below.
The women's fragrance Haikuis available for immediately delivery and is only $12. If you've never experienced it before, it smells fresh and natural like a garden blooming with jasmine, lilies and citrus. Check back next week for another scent for guys!
How many times has it happened? You just paint your nails or worse, pay for a manicure, and a day later your color is already chipped. I feel your pain.
Although ECV took a summer hiatus from posting it doesn't mean we weren't working hard to solve the beauty problems that bug us and you to no end. We did the following nail polish experiment after researching a lot of different base and top coats to try to find the best.
And now for the how-to...
Before we even get to the polish we soaked our nails for a few minutes. How often does this happen at your average strip mall nail shop nowadays? Please let us know in the comments if your manicurist does this. But here's the reason: soaking your nails gets them soft enough to cut evenly and the nails swell slightly. Having them swollen when painting is important if you wash your hands as much (or as long) as I do.
Next we applied a thin base coat of Seche ClearTM crystal clear base coat. It had the best reviews from the various national beauty editors and mags we researched.
Two thin coats of color were applied to the nail and the edges of nails. If you don't have nail tips that extend past your finger, don't try to get the polish on that extremely thin edge or you'll just end up with a lot of color on your fingers. We used Avon Nailwear Pro+ nail enamel in Tangtastic mainly because it's a color we retail so we wanted to see how long we could get our product to last. Unfortunately, as you'll see in the photos below, it didn't live up to the "12 days of lasting color" as advertised.
Finally we finished up with Avon's Speed Dry top coat. We applied a thin top coat to the top and edges of the nail and under the nail edge.
Photos are not retouched in any way (only cropped so you won't see so much sheet or desk) and no additional top coats were added. Sorry for the brightness variations! Please send comments of what you think.
Apply foundation to entire eyelid to prep skin to hold color. Bush a medium-toned shadow in a neutral shade over the entire lid. Then brush a deeper color along the crease to create depth. Gently smudge colors together to blur any unnatural looking lines.
Use a darker color shadow or eye pencil to rim the lash line. You should make the line thicker at the outside of eye and then get gradually thinner toward the inside corner. For a subtle look, line just the top lash line; for a more dramatic look, line both the bottom and top.
Use a darker color shadow or eye pencil to rim the lash line. You should make the line thicker at the outside of eye and then get gradually thinner toward the inside corner. For a subtle look, line just the top lash line; for a more dramatic look, line both the bottom and top.
Other Useful Hints
When applying mascara, hold a tissue under lashes so that makeup doesn’t end up on the skin. And to minimize dark circles under eyes, apply a concealer that is at least half a shade lighter than your skin tone after applying mascara to bottom lashes.
Ever wonder how to apply your blush so you won't look like a clown or worse, like some one hit you in the face. Here are some tips to help!
On a Round face: Place blush from the center of your cheek out along the ridge of your cheekbone, blending upward towards your temples. Dot some on your chin too.
On a Square face: Use minimal blush placed on the lower apple of your cheek. Don’t sweep it upwards or to side.
On a Narrow face: Blush goes at the outer point of your cheekbone. Don’t sweep it upwards; keep it horizontal.
Check back next week for tips on applying eye makeup!
The brand new addition to the Far Away fragrance line, Far Away Bella, is our fragrance of the month for May. This scent is nowhere near as floral as the original Far Away. The oriental notes are much more noticeable than the floral ones.
Free samples of this scent are going out all this month. If you like what you experience, get your full-size bottle in our online store.
Ask and you shall receive! Avon has developed their own BB cream finally.
If you didn't know already, a BB cream is a skin-enhancing makeup with skin care benefits to conceal, hydrate, perfect and protect by using just one product. After just one week, your skin looks healthier, more even and radiant.
Avon's Ideal Flawless BB cream will be available starting May 13th for only $7.99. But you can get a free sample now! Find your perfect shade now, which is easier to do with Avon's five shades when compared to Estee Lauder's and Garnier's two BB cream shades and Clinique's three shades.
Place your order now because after the introductory special ends, the price will be $10. This is still a huge saving when compared to a brand like Hydroxatone Anti-Aging BB Cream that does have a SPF 40.
And as always remember your satisfaction is guaranteed or you get your money back.
Avon's brand new fragrance Flor Violeta is April's fragrance of the month. We are giving free samples of the scent composed of sparkling green apple infused with a beautiful bouquet of violet blossoms and soft musk all month long.
While the fragrance doesn't hit the market until April 1st, if you love your sample you can pre-order Flor Violeta now. Be a spring trendsetter!
While I'm not in love with the results in the video, the concept of leopard print nails is a good one. Since the video was made, a wonderful tool called the Dual Nail Dotting Tool has come into the market. With this tool and at least two Nailwear Pro+ nail enamels, currently only $6.99 for a pair, you can have better results than the video.
Another option is to volunteer to be a manicure model for ECV. We are currently seeking a model for a look inspired by one of the photos in our "Artistic Inspiration" album. Click or call to schedule your free manicure now and receive a free nail art enamel as an additional token of our thanks.
Spring is upon us and the fragrance of the month reflects that with its shimmering floral scent. Rare Pearls is a floral scent with a pure heart of magnolia and sparkling plum.
This five-piece set is on sale all month for $14.99. Click here and type "398676" to get yours today.
So living in Florida, or the South for that matter, is hard on my makeup. I know some people who swear by MAC but truth be told, not everyone including this chick has MAC money. So I've been using primer to see if that helps. It does to a certain degree but I still wanted more staying power.
This brings us to my new favorite thing...drum roll please....
Victoria's Secret Make It Last Prime & Set Makeup Spray
Just happened to pick some up on my last trip to the mall and it works! Check out the pics below. Now just have to work on perfecting my application and get that hair did.
Well we've identified that hard water might be the culprit behind your hair and also your skin issues. For right now however, we going to focus on the hair in this series.
So what exactly makes water hard? Depending upon the source of your water, it may naturally contain dissolved minerals ranging from calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, and silica. Each of these dissolved minerals can build up on your hair shaft just like over time they build up on the interior of your plumbing or around your faucets and shower heads. Go ahead run to your bathroom and see if you have a little buildup around your faucet or on your shower ahead.
Did you check?
Well the minerals that don't collect there can make it to your hair and scalp. Since hair is fine (only about 180 micrometers in diameter even in the coarsest of hair) it doesn't take an extreme coating of minerals to notice effects. What are some of those effects?
Calcium and silica build up cause similar effects such as dry and weighted down hair, dandruff, hair breakage, blockage of new hair growth, and hair loss. It can even cause perms to be relaxed. Magnesium can also cause hair to feel dry and weighed down. Copper and iron can discolor your hair. All of these minerals can interfere with any chemical services you get.
So how do you find out for sure if you have hard water? Visit your local hardware store and pick up a hard water test kit. It's not very expensive and very easy to use. In part 3 I'll share the results of my most recent water test and whether or not my in-shower water filter is actually working. But check out the video below to see the follow-up to using the first version of my hard water hair rinse.
If you watched part 1, you'll see that the flaking cleared up. I've reset my test trials by not using the rinse and going back to regular preconditioning, then shampoo and leave-in conditioner routine.
The products that I've been using for preconditioning and shampooing are from Avon. However I won't say the specific names here, as I wouldn't personally recommend the shampoo because it contains sodium laureth sulfate and sodium lauryl sulfate. Continuing to use these products and making the only change in my routine the use of the hair rinse I'm formulating will give a more realistic view of it's effects. You'll be able to come back soon and watch a new blog series on that...
It's been a while since this post has made an appearance on the blog, but it's back today due to another mention on Doctor Oz.
On yesterday's (Feb. 9th) episode, the Avon Anew Clinical Advanced Retexturizing Peel was recommended by a dermatologist for treating wrinkles. She suggested using the product once a week and progressing up to twice a week if you did not experience any skin irritation. Watch the video.
Now while she mentioned in the segment that it costs $25, currently it's on sale for only $15. Get yours now!
Also with every order I'll include an info card to help you determine what other Anew products might address your needs and a sample of this month's featured fragrance. Remember as always, I'm here to help you find that perfect product so if you have questions don't hesitate to comment on this post or email me.
You may have it and not even be aware of it. Your hair seems dull and dry no matter what you put on it and you've tried a number of different products. Your chemical processes (perms, relaxers, coloring, highlighting) seem to take longer or don't come out just right. Then there's the most dreaded hair problems of unsightly flaking and thinning hair. You search for the right product, the right stylist, the right diagnosis but can never seem to find the solution. There may be one hidden threat that you're overlooking in your own home that you come into contact with regularly: Hard Water.
According to some sources 85% of homes have hard water. The minerals that make water hard can wreak havoc on your hair: discoloration, dryness and the flaking and breakage you'll notice in the video below.
In part 2, we'll dive deeper into what makes water hard and things that might help. We'll also have another video with after shots from using version one of the in-production hard water hair rinse.
This month's fragrance is Far Away from Avon. It is in the Oriental fragrance family. Avon describes it as a mix of "dreamy florals, spiced amber and spirit-moving woods".
This fragrance really lives up to its name as it goes on with a light but rich scent that makes you think of being on an exotic vacation somewhere far away (no pun intended) with that special someone.
If you'd like to experience it, I'll be giving away free samples all month long.
Last week, the sample was for Viva by Fergie which is still on sale for $20. It has a fresh lavender-like scent.
