Review: Aussie '3 Minute Miracle' Reconstructor For Damaged Hair

Okayyyyy.. so a couple of weeks ago I was brimming with energy and couldn't shut up about how I was going to blog every single day of March as a little challenge to myself. How did that work out for me? Well I've just skipped four days ..so not too great! I've had a lot on my plate recently and thought that blogging would be a productive distraction and some time well spent taken out of a busy day, but in reality I was just trying to juggle one too many things and eventually crashed and burned - Ooops.

Intro aside, today's review is of my absolute number one favourite hair mask and it's cheap as chips and a widely available one from Aussie. There is a slight variant of the price of this depending on where you buy it from, but I think it's standard RRP could be £4.99. Around different supermarkets and stores such as Boots and Superdrug, however, you will frequently be able to find offers such as '2 for £7' or '3 for £10' across the Aussie line so you're guaranteed to grab yourself a bargain.

It's not just price of this deep treatment that makes this a winning product for me, it also has very impressive genuine results on hair condition too and can give much more expensive and higher end products a run for their money! The results may not be a permanent reparative solution for damaged and split ends of the hair, but it definitely offers a brilliant short term fix. '3 minute miracle' is quite an apt name for this as it only needs to be left on the hair for a couple of minutes after washing as usual and then it is rinsed away to reveal hair that has had a brand new lease of life breathed into it - just what we all need from time to time!

It gives exactly the results that you would expect; soft, smooth, manageable, 'silky', and just general healthy conditioned hair, but this one had an added bonus of having the most amazing smell thrown in the mix too! Most people will be familiar with the scent of Aussie products, but it's a super sweet and yummy bubblegum fragrance that fills the whole bathroom and lingers on the hair after use too.

Of course, the packaging of this bottles makes it not the most convenient for travel (it doesn't have a real lid at all, just a squeezey hole in the bottom), but I don't think that a deep treatment for my hair is top of my list for things to pack for a trip away, so that doesn't matter too much anyway! And also, be careful if you have butter fingers because it doesn't fare too well if you drop it. 

There's a couple of other variants of Aussie's 3 minute masks, such a 'Take The Heat', 'Frizz Remedy', 'Colour', 'Luscious Long', and their newest release: 'Miracle Shine' too. I've tried the 'frizz remedy' mask before too and found it to have very similar results to this reconstructing mask, although the reconstructing mask seemed slightly more intense. It's personal preference which mask you feel is most suited to your hair but I doubt there's a whole lot of difference between the formulas and this one never, ever lets me down!

Whether you're on a budget or not, if you're looking for something to perk your hair up then this is one to give a try!

Redken Smooth Lock Range

Ladies and gentlemen, let me please introduce to you the greatest hair care range that I have ever used ..ever! (Terrible pictures, I know, but I took them in a mad rush to take advantage of a rare moment of sunlight!) The range that I talking about is a relatively new line from Redken, called 'Smooth Lock'. A nourishing hair care range that contains almond oil for a silky smooth shine, interlock protein network for strength, and thermo-active polymers for heat defence and a frizz free finish. The clue is in the name for the finished result that using these will give to your hair: smooth.

Frizz is one of the main problems that I have with my badly behaved hair and this definitely helps to keep it tamed and well and truly under control. The shampoo doesn't feel all that impressive, it just gives the hair a good clean without stripping too much moisturiser away, whereas the conditioner and the deep treatment are the real stars of the show! Smelling beautifully of almonds the rich and creamy formulas nourish the hair all the way to the very tip, leaving it smooth as silk and perfectly manageable.

As it's a pricey handful of products I only tend to use these on an occasion where I know I'll be blasting my hair with some form of heat after I've washed it, especially as it does contain heat activated formulas that will nourish and protect the hair, so the extra added step of heat defence can be skipped. Even without blow drying, after using this my can will happily dry to a smooth, sleek and frizz free style of its own accord which quite literally amazes me. My hair could pass as if a professional had spent a decent amount of time with a brush and a diffuser smoothing down my flyaways and giving my hair some discipline that can last for days!

I bought the shampoo and conditioner as part of a gift set duo around Christmas time and it cost me £17.00 for the pair, but individually these will cost you £10.65 and £11.70 for a 300ml and 250ml bottle. The 'butter silk', or deep treatment, I purchased at a later date after realising how much I loved the shampoo and conditioner and how much good they were doing for my hair. The 250ml tub will set you back a very hefty  £17.65 but I think that it's worth every penny (all available from Feel Unique). Also available from the range is 'Stay Sleek' leave-in cream, and 'Heat Glide' heat defence spray.

Have you ever tried this range from Redken before? Or do you prefer one of their other ranges?

Do you agree that you get what you pay for with professional hair care?

Leave me a comment and let me know!

Review: H'Suan Wen Hua | Lush Hair Mask

LUSH H'Suan Wen Hua £8.95/225g

 

H'Suan Wen Hua is a pre-shampoo deep conditioning mask for 'out of condition' hair from Lush, described on the American site as a 'hair moisturizer'. Once upon a time, my hair was in a really bad way from heat and bleach damage with general frizz and split ends, but now after taking a lot of care and giving my hair some TLC it's in pretty good shape, but that doesn't mean that I can't treat myself to a weekly deep treatment to keep it up.

 

Pronounciation troubles aside, this 225g pot full of fresh and natural ingredients will set you back just less than £9.00 and is intended to 'improve the condition, lustre and combability of hair'.

 

What's In It and What Do They Do?

• Bay and watercress infusions, balsamic vingegar and rosemary oil for shine.
• Fresh free range eggs and soya lecithin for protein to restructure the hair.
• Lanolin, from sheep’s wool, moisturises as it's similar to human sebum.
• Olive oil to improve the tensile strength of the hair shaft.
• Cinammon leaf oil for its antiseptic qualities.
• Bay leaf infusion is stimulating, toning and clarifying for the scalp.
• Fresh organic bananas and avocados for their rich oily moisturising properties

Pretty unique range of ingredients mixed into this one - vinegar egg and banana?! This is to be used on dry hair prior to washing, with a generous amount of this creamy concoction is slapped all over the hair and left for 20-30 minutes (longer if you have time) before shampooing and rinsing away to reveal soft, shiny and flowing locks of wonder.

 

I do like this mask, I think it does work at conditioning the hair, but it's just not the best out there and didn't blow me away in awe. For a start, the smell is something that I really do not like about this, it's pretty strong and not at all pleasant, but it is something that I can get around and doesn't bother me enough not to use this, but it does receive a lot of criticism from people. And I find the application a bit weird because putting conditioner all over dry hair just seems a bit unnatural, but other than those two points about it I found the results to be quite impressive. After rinsing away, my hair does feel much softer and smoother and in general a lot healthier and in better condition, even if the results are only temporary until the next wash. It's not something that I would bother to buy again, but it's been fun to try out and wasn't a wasted purchse.

 

Pros

- A fancy name no one can pronounce

- Full of natural and beneficial ingredients

- Has dual purposes: conditions and moisturises the ends but the bay leaf infusion also stimulates the roots

- Actually works at conditioning the hair, leaving it soft and nourished

- Leaves the hair smooth and untangled. Hair dries sleek and free from frizz but not weighed down at the roots

 

Cons

- The smell ..eggs vinegar and cinnamon

- It won't last forever due to the natural ingredients (mine goes out of date a week from now but I did buy it at Christmas)

- It is jam packed full of goodness and natural ingredients, but still contains parabens (methylparaben and propylparaben) ..sense?!

- A generous amount is needed (directed to use 1/2 a tub each time on long hair), making it not very cost effective - £4.50 per use!

- There are more intensive conditioning treatments out there for a more reasonable price



Review: VO5 Hot Oil Moisture Soak Elixir Treatment

Just a quick note that this has been re-packaged now, so if you're looking into buying this for yourself then this isn't what it will look like on the shelves. Here is a link to the Boots site to what it now is: link. This hair treatment is a firm favourite of Lily Melrose's (etcllymlrs) and it was her constant mentioning of it talked me into purchasing it for myself ...Sadly, I'm not as impressed with it as she is!

What this little tube of oil claims to do is "repair and hydrate dry or damaged hair. It reconstructs damaged hair in 1 minute with no preheating required". Okay, so let's start of firstly with "repair and hydrate dry or damaged hair"? So, my hair isn't all that damaged anymore after putting a lot of effort into sorting it out, but it is still a bit dry on the ends and I assume this is a problem for most people with long hair too, and I was hoping for at least a little bit of a hydration boost after using this but truth be told my hair felt drier after using this?! Yes, I'm not lying. It had the opposite effect. Next, "reconstructs damaged hair" ..hmm wouldn't say I noticed any reconstruction at all. You can tell from the pictures shown  that I've only used this twice so far and I'm not planning on using it again.. it's had it's chance and I don't want sticky, tangled straw hair again!  You may think I'm jumping to conclusions and haven't given this product a fair trial and that it needs to be used a few times before results are noticeable, but this does claim to do these things "in 1 minute" so correct me if I'm wrong in hoping for an almost instant improvement to my hair and being let down when the only thing I end up was dry and matted strands. Finally "no preheating required" - well this one's okay as it's hardly a claim, it's just letting you know that it's different from the original 'shots' of this that needed to be warmed in a cup of hot water before use, but with this one you just pop it on wet hair before shampooing and that's it, good to go. What I did like about this, however, was the 'guideline' markers on the tube (shown below) so that you know how much product you should be using on each application as it's helpful to have a rough idea.

So, am I being too harsh on this product? Should I give it another chance? Sorry to be a negative bum and being quite blunt in this review.. but it's the truth about my experiences with this and it just really did nothing for me at all. I think that people should be fully informed of both views on a product before splashing their cash! If you've tried this before then I would love to know your views on this too! 

Argan Oil Hair Trio | Lee Stafford Gift Set

Hi guys! This set is one that I received for Christmas from my mum which was very lovely of her as she knows how much I love my hair care, and Lee Stafford is a winning brand in my eyes. This set contains three full sized products from the Argan Oil from Morocco line by Lee Stafford, including the Nourishing Miracle Oil, the Miracle Heat Defence Spray, and the Deep Nourishing Treatment. I had seen this set before and it actually featured on one of my wishlists back in November so I know that it did cost £25.00 but in the post-Christmas sales it was reduced to £12.50!! £12.50 is more than just a bargain for this set because if each of the items were purchased individually they would be worth £40! Amazing! Unfortunately, this set no longer appears to be on Boots website so I imagine that it has sold out because of the amazing value.

Nourishing Miracle Oil

50ml £11.99 - link

I know it must seem like I say that I adore every single oil that I review and that all of them seem to be my favourite, but I really do mean it about this one! It's not my number one favourite, because that spot is still being held by the Babyliss Pro Argan Oil (my review - link), but this little one has snuggled its way into second place ahead of the L'Oreal Extraordinary Oil (my review - link). This is one of the few oils that I find I can use on dry hair without it overloading my hair and making it greasy. It's more along the lines of a serum really and I use it as a 'finishing product' to run through the ends to make them smooth, soft and shiny. It's lightweight but still deeply nourishing and doesn't leave any stickiness on the hair strands. I love it!

Miracle Heat Defence Spray

200ml £12.99 - link

I'll admit that I'm not really one for using much heat on my hair, but if I do then I always make sure that it's well protected to prevent any further damage to my already distressed locks. This product hasn't had a huge amount of use, and I don't find that heat defence products are ones that you can really tell whether they are working or not.. because how can I tell whether my hair has been protected from the heat by it? I don't know if it's just me that feels that, but anyway this smells really nice and it doesn't leave the hair sticky or weighed down with any product, and I love the sense of security when using this that my hair isn't going to be totally traumatised from having a pair of hot irons run all over it!

Deep Nourishing Treatment

200ml £14.99 - link

My favourite product from the set is this absolutely amazing, super softening hair mask! I've been a top fan and loyal repurchaser of Lee Stafford's hair growth treatment mask for it's conditioning properties (my review - link), but this mask just blows it out of the water in terms of intensity. After using this it felt like I had new hair all over again! I have a feeling that this could take a place as being one of my 'holy grail' hair saviour, despite it being steeply priced for a drugstore conditioning mask. I've been using this once a week since Christmas (so not a lot), but I've fallen in love and always look forward to using this because of the strands of silk that end up on top of my head after use (haha!). If you enjoy deep conditioning masks and have a bit of cash to splash then go out and get this! Definite stand out product from the set.

Overall, I am overjoyed that I received this set as a present and have loved using all of the products within it. They are all ones that I will be able to get regular use from (the heat defence the least, only because I don't use much heat), and the mask is one that I know I will repurchase on it's own!

Have you ever tried any of these from Lee Stafford's Argan Oil Range?

♥

A Great Big Box of LUSH Goodies!

Hello little cherubs. My weekend was made yesterday when a postman landed up on my doorstep with a hefty sized brown box with the words 'LUSH' plastered all over it - Yaay! My order had arrived four days earlier than expected and I couldn't wait to rip it open!

 

I've been wanting to have a huge splurge in Lush for a while, especially now that the Christmas stock is there (it's actually been there since about October so I've been resisting for a long time), but I held off until it was a little bit closer to Christmas and after it had been my birthday so I could use my birthday money to go all out and treat myself to some pamper bits and pieces! So, if you're an auntie or uncle of mine that put money in one of my birthday cards.. this box is from you - Thank you!

Grease Lightning Spot Treatment - £5.95

"Strikes the spot with lightning precision. Dab on this super effective tea tree and witch hazel gel to zap zits before they show themselves"

 

This invisible gel is packed full to the brim with every key spot fighting ingredient under the sun, including: tea tree, rosemary, aloe vera, witch hazel, grape juice, sea water, and lavender for a complementary spot fighting and skin healing action at super speed. This dinky little bottle should come in handy to quickly fight away any pesky spots that come creeping in.

 

Love Lettuce Fresh Face Mask - £5.95

"Exfoliating face mask to give normal to oily skin a radiant glow. With polishing almond shells, softening almond oil, soothing lavender oil and the magical tightening action of Fullers Earth"

 

I always thought that this had lettuce in it as the main ingredient.. hence the name 'love lettuce', but lettuce is no where to be found on the ingredients list for this face mask! I've tried a sample of this before and absolutely loved it so snapped up a full sized pot with no hestiation - it's a refreshing and exfoliating face mask that really brightens the skin after use. It's just a shame that this has a 'use by' date of 30th December so I'm going to end up using this almost daily in order to not waste any of it.

H'Suan Wen Hua Hair Moisturiser - £8.95

"We all sometimes need to turn to the God of hair. A mask to improve the condition, lustre and combability of hair"

 

This 'god of hair masks' is to be used a pre-shampoo treatment around once a week to help out limp locks that have lost their mojo. Slap it all over dry hair, leave for twenty minutes and then rinse and shampoo and condition as usual to reveal fresh, shiny and intensely conditioned hair. This tub is full of fresh and natural ingredients so has a 'use by' time limit of three months and contains the likes of eggs, bananas, advocado, balsamic vinegar and olive oil - what a strange combination!

 

New Solid Shampoo Bar - £5.25

"Packed with scalp stimulating herbs and spices to pep up sluggish circulation at the root, as well as an infusion of nettle and peppermint to help slow down hair fall, New gives you shiny locks, a bit of body and a healthy, happy scalp"

 

I bought this for the novelty factor and also out of curiousity.. I mean, it's shampoo in solid form - that's pretty unique isn't it? I'm not too sure what to make of this or exactly how I'm going to use it, plus it smells a little bit weird but I'm looking forward to the scalp stimulation as that is supposed to increase hair growth. It contains cinnamon and rosemary, along with a nettle and peppermint infusion which is interesting. we'll see how I get on and I plan on doing a full review to help out anybody who is as curious and confused about this product as I am.

Soft Coeur Massage Bar - £4.75

"Messy fun for consenting adults everywhere. Makes the tastiest person in your life tastier still"

 

I didn't actually realise what this was intended to be..! I just spotted it in store, thought a creamy and beautifully smelling heart shaped bar would be a cool thing to have so just popped it into my online shopping bag without reading too much about it, but, erm, it's nicknamed 'The Honeymooner' and is supposed to be 'perfect for passionate evenings when the moment stikes' - Oo-er! I feel so dense not realising that this is a sexy product for couples haha, but The Lush Times has assured me not to worry if I'm 'flying solo this Christmas' as these are still good to use just as a moisturiser without the massage. But anyway, cocoa butter, shea butter, honey, almond oil and a chocolate centre - could there be an anymore perfect combination of ingredients? Mmmm!!

Snow Fairy Shower Gel (100g) - £3.50

Limited Edition for Christmas

"Cheering up your shower yet again with her candy floss scent and lovely pink glittering foam. Get your wings fluttering and lather up with this cutie"

 

This showergel is incredibly hyped up, I've never heard so many people go crazy for a showergel like this one before so I just had to see what all the fuss was about it. This Christmas limited edition showergel comes in three sizes and I got the smallest bottle because I wasn't sure if I'd like it because I've heard that is incrrrredibly sweet and some people can find it too sickly.. and unfortunately I am one of those people! One whiff of this was too much for me, the extremely strong candyfloss scent is a little bit overwhelming, but I'm hoping that it will grow on me! It is really pretty though, it's pink and very glittery - so girly.

 

Christmas Eve Bubble Bar - £2.95

Limited Edition for Christmas

"To calm your beating heart on the 24th December, crumble this jasmine and ylang ylang bubble bar under running taps and watch the bath turn a deep midnight blue; frothing up to create a tub full of sweet, tropical blossom bubbles"

 

I just couldn't resist ordering this one - I'm absolutely going to use it on Christmas Eve! It's a bit bigger than I expected it to be so I'm hoping I get more than one use out of this by breaking it up as it smells really soothing and relaxing. It was one of the cheapest bubble bars too.
 

 

Bubblebeard Reusable Bubble Bar - £4.95

Limited Edition for Christmas

"A Christmas party costume and a reusable bubble bar in one? Amazing! Swish Bubblebeard around your tub for (almost) neverending sandalwood and lavendar suds"

 

Another irresistable purchase! A sparkly moustache on a stick that makes bubbles for your bath again and again and again? And, who hasn't bought this bubble bar and posed with it as a faux moustache? I know I have - *hangs head in shame*. I absolutely cannot wait to use this in my next bath, this is definitely going to be the first product from this stash that I use, I'm a sucker for a novelty product.
 

The Melting Snowman - £1.95

Limited Edition for Christmas

"Fill up your tub with warm water before dropping in your cinnamon, clove and lime snowman as the taps are running. As he dissolves and disperses silky bath oil all around you, he fulfils his destiny and softens your skin to boot"

 

How cute?! Aw poor little melting snowman. This super cheap little bath melt has a classic Christmas smell and melts away in the bath softening the water with the oils that it contains and leaving skin silky smooth and nourished, all with an element of fun too.

FUN sample size - free

"FUN is a wonderful brand new invention from Lush! It's a soap, a bubble bath, a shampoo - and a toy!"

 

I think 'Fun' is an amazing new invention and I had had more than my fair share of time playing with it last time I was in store! It's a bit like play-doh in the way that it can be moulded and created into a different shapes, but can also be used to wash yourself too, and only the teeny tiniest piece is needed to create a mound of frothing bubbles in a tub! A little goes a long way so it's extremely good value with 200g costing just £5.00. I was very close to ordering myself some of this but then changed my mind and decided that I had enough in my basket, so imagine my delight when there was a surprise free sample size in my box! I received the yellow one which is described as 'comforting, nostalgic vanilla'.

I wasn't ever very good at art when I was in school!!

 

I am so happy with my great big bag/box full of new LUSH goodies and it's safe to say that I have lots of Christmas-y things to play with now and I'll be smelling extra yummy for weeks! I cannot wait for my next bath time and pamper day!

 

♥



Review: Lee Stafford Hair Growth Treatment Mask

Lee Stafford Hair Growth Treatment 200ml - £7.99 - link

This pretty little pink tub full of a conditioning treatment mask is a much used, much loved and heavily reviewed product in the beauty world, but that isn't going to stop me voicing my little opinion on it too, for those of you out there who maybe haven't heard of/tried this product before and need a little convincing about its wonders.

First off, don't expect a miracle when you use this. It's a little bit misleading to call it a 'hair growth' mask, insinuating that it will miraculously increase the rate of growth and have you waking up in the morning looking like Rapunzel. No, it won't do that at all, it's £8 a tub so its an averagely priced drugstore conditioning treatment and if it really did make everyone's hair grow at twice it's normal speed then everybody would be using it, wouldn't they? 

I find this a really interesting product, it's pretty unique as far as conditioning treatment masks go as most hair masks focus solely on repairing the already dead, dry and damaged ends of the hair, whereas this one's primary focus is to nourish the roots and 'fertilize your follicles'. As explained on the packaging this mask encourages growth of hair by doing one thing; nourishing your roots and the scalp for optimum health and strength within your hair from the earliest stages possible, so it's growing in good condition from the very beginning. 

I'm all stocked up on this bad boy as it is one my favourite hair products to use and I'm on about my 6th tub of it within the past year. You massage this mainly into roots as that is the area that you are focussing on, and then I just use a wide-tooth comb to run it through to the mid-lengths and ends so that they benefit from it's conditioning properties. Then leave on for five minutes (I usually sit in the bath and leave for longer) and rinse away. If you have already spotted the images below and noticed that I have included an egg and you have never come across this product before then you may be a little bit confused. Well, I brought the egg in for demonstative purposes with regards to the instructions for use of this product. Users are direct to, after shampooing, scoop out 'an egg sized amount' of the treatment and massage from roots to ends. An egg sized amount you say Lee? This egg is only from my kitchen cupboard, just your average medium sized egg, but I think we can all agree that it looks pretty big in comparison to these 200ml tubs. I'd say if you followed the directions and really did use an 'egg sized' amount with every application, and also used this with every wash as advised, then you'd be going through this stuff at a pretty quick pace. I wouldn't say anymore than 5 eggs can be scooped out of here, and if it's used every wash that's about two weeks it'll last you? I don't know about you but I won't be dishing out £8 every two weeks for an extra step in my hair washing routine on top of shampoo and conditioner! Even with regular offers surrounding this brand, often 3 for 2, or 3 for £12, then it still works out as a pretty costly product.

I use around half of the recommended amount and use this once/twice weekly, depending on whether or not I can find the time to leave it sitting on my hair when I wash it. One tub will last me on average two months.

After moaning about how it's not a miracle product, and how costly it would be to follow the directions I suppose I'd better give some justifications as to why I actually do really love this product! Okay, well I'll start off first of all with the superficial factors and tell you that I like the smell of this and also the packaging, but more importantly than that is that I really do feel like it's doing something for my hair. It isn't just an illusion, or I wouldn't have purchased at least 10 tubs of this product if it was just a conditioner in a tub - it's more than that. After just one use of this and leaving my hair to dry naturally the effects on my locks really was noticeable - the condition was vastly improved, it felt silky smooth to the touch and I smelt like I was fresh from the hairdressers! To deep condition the hair isn't even what this product primarily claims to do; it's just a by-product of the nourishment that is gives to your overall head of hair, so even if you're not convinced of it's growth properties then you can benefit from it's conditioning treatment. This feeds the roots of your and it's follicles (let's not get into the science of it) and it helps to anchor your hair to your scalp which is great if you suffer with a bit of hair loss and thinning, but it makes your hair strong from the root. It also moisturises and reduces irritation on the scalp and Lee's little quote on the tub is that 'if the earth's not nourished you'll never grow beautiful flowers' so it really does tackle problems from the root.

This is a bit of a 'marmite' product; I've seen so many people talk about this and say they were totally unimpressed and saw no benefits, but there are just as many others, such as myself who pretty swear by this product. There will always, always be a tub of this in my bathroom, probably until they stop selling it. Those people who claim that this product is useless and just made their hair a little softer probably used the one tub, not on a regular basis and that was it so of course they wouldn't reap the full benefits. I'd say that you really have to persevere with a product like this as this isn't going to take instant effect on your hair in just five minutes of sitting there and then being rinsed away, it's something that I have been continually using for about a year now to have been able to see noticeable improvements to my hair growth and also a reduction in hair that I lost whilst washing and brushing. 

My hair is now in the best condition it has ever been and I can always judge the rate of my hair growth by looking at the visibility of my roots and how urgently my dye is going to need a touch up! Prior to use of this my hair used to grow at an average speed and I'd say my hair would need re-dyeing around every 5-6 weeks but now it's more like two weeks after dyeing and the roots look pretty unbareable - if that's not improved rate of hair growth then I don't know what is! So, YES, it does work and does do what it says it does, you just need to give it chance and invest a heck of a lot of time and money into repurchasing and regularly using to be able to see noticeable results in growth and length. All I need to work on now is stopping these bleached, dead ends from snapping away and then I can have hair even Rapunzel would envy!

If you've tried this 'rate it or hate it' product yourself then what did you think of it?

♥

Splashing Out At Avon | Haul

Once upon a time, I used to be Avon representative. 

It wasn't a very fun job at all and I certainly didn't reap all of the benefits that they promise to you. Working on 11% commission only on sales over £75 is hardly a big earner and a lot more time and effort goes into the process than is originally advertised. You must go essentially go door to door around your neighbourhood, or pester the other females in your life, delivering and handing out brochures in hope that someone will flick through and place an order. A few days later you must then trek back out again to collect these brochures from every house and people are supposed to leave them on the doorstep with their orders filled in but many people do not do this and you must pester them for it. Then, online you must order each of the products ordered by your customers and they are delivered to you, to your house. Here comes the bad part: you must then go out again to each customers house, this time with their products, and deliver them but also collect the money in cash there and then from the person. What happens if you go all the way to a persons house with their order and they aren't in? You can't leave it on the doorstep and walk away, then you haven't collected the money for it. So that is the tricky part of actually making sure that people are in and have cash available to pay to you when you arrive. By the time you have stopped pestering your customers, handed out their products and collected payment, you must then send away all of the money you collected and send it off to Avon. If you are short on the amount of money collected for some reason, maybe you couldn't get hold of somebody or maybe they changed their mind, then the money must come out of your own pocket to make up for it. Also, each customer is entitled to a refund too if they so wish and this must come out of your own pocket. All in all, not a simple process! 

On my first attempt I made sales of £32, so received no commission. On my second attempt I made sales of £45. But still received zero commission because I hadn't reached the £75 sales threshold. By this time I decided to give up as I had badgered my neighbours, family, and my mum's work colleagues for 2 months and had put in a lot of my own time to deliver their products to receive nothing in return for it. 

So, one day last month when an Avon brochure landed up on my doorstep for the first time since I moved house, I realised that some poor soul must be trying their hardest to make a few sales so I had sympathy and put in an order to help them out! Avon has never really been a brand that has appealed to me and for some reason I think it's always had the stigmata that it is for older people. I had a good flick through and saw a lot of things that caught my eye - here is what I ordered:

(I haven't tried a single one of these products yet so there will be reviews to come, I just want to show everybody what is out there and the range of products that are available; there is more than just nail varnish and foundation sold by Avon!)

Morroccan Argon Oil Leave In Treatment 30ml - £2.99
This was going to be a sure order for me. It's currently Avon's featured product with an introductory price of just £2.99 (usually £5.00). I've seen this pop up on blogs time and time again and each time the review on it was positive. I'm a huge fan of using oil on the ends of my hair and I am looking forward to trying out a super cheap alternative to others on the market and seeing how it lives up to the other leading brands.

Morcoccan Argan Oil Shampoo 250ml - £1.50

Moroccan Argan Oil Conditioner 250ml - £1.50
If I was getting the leave in oil treatment I thought that I might as well go all out and get a matching set of shampoo and conditioner to reap the full benefits and get the advertised '360 nourishment'. At £1.50 for a 250ml bottle that's an absolute steal and it isn't going to be the end of the world if I don't love it.

Acai Berry & Shea Oil Hair Souffle 125ml - £1.25
Ever the lover of deep conditioning masks and leave-in treatments to help out my damaged hair I couldn't resist ordering a hair 'souffle'. I've never heard of a mask be called a souffle before so I don't know if there's an actually difference or if it's just Avon trying to be different. The directions say to distribute evenly throughout wet hair after shampooing, leave for 5 minutes and then rinse thoroughly. It smells absolutely GORGEOUS and I love that there is a warning on the tub that the product is not edible! The tub isn't very big so I'm not sure how long this will last but I am looking forward to rotating this into my shower routine and hope it will nourish my hair a bit.

Strawberry and White Chocolate Shower Gel 200ml - £1.30
I don't need another shower gel at all, I have a cupboard full of bottles waiting to be used! I was attracted to the idea of a strawberry and white chocolate scent though and it won me over by being so cheap too. This is something a bit different to the usual scented shower gels that you find and I thought that I would enjoy it and at least give it a try.

Blemish Clearing 3-in-1 Cleanser/Scrub/Mask 125ml - £5.00

Blackhead Clearing Daily Cleanser 125ml - £4.50

Pore Penetrating Invigorating Scrub 75ml - £4.00
I've been looking to try out a new skin care regime for quite a long time as mine is a bit all over the place at the moment. I do use a cleanser, exfoliator, toner and moisturiser but each one is from a different brand and I feel that if they were all from the same brand or range then they would work in harmony with each other and the results would be stronger. If my thoughts on this are true or false could somebody let me know??
Anyway, Avon stocked three different ranges in their skincare: Blemish Clearing, Blackhead Clearing and Pore Penetrating and across all of the ranges there was an offer of 3 for £6. I couldn't decide which range I wanted to go for as I could do with benefits from all three, so opted for one thing from each range to give them a try and see what I think. I was originally just going to go with the 3-in-1 Cleanser for £5, but if I could get another 2 products for an extra £1 it would be silly not to! I made a fantastic saving of £7.50 with this offer and got almost two products for free.

Total: £14.54

I think that's such a bargain price for 8 products, including a shampoo, conditioner, oil treatment, deep conditioner, shower gel and full skin care set! All of the items appear to be good quality too so the quality isn't compromised with the price.

Do you ever order from Avon? Have you ever been a representative too?

♥