March Specials

I'd like to start having monthly specials. These will be items that I'm offering up for a deal outside of the great deals already offered by Avon. Most of these will be in-stock items I'm trying to clear out to make room for more great deals.

For March I have a couple things I'm offering for amazing deals. I may add more as the month goes on.

Avon Passion Duo

This includes the 50lm Eau de Parfum and the Body Lotion. Together, they retail for $50 at Avon. While my supplies last, you can get both for $25 (plus tax). That's half off the regular price.

The allure of Power... Avon Passion 

Express your inner passion with this bold statement of sparkling starfruit, sensual jasmine and alluring vanilla bourbon. It contains Jasmine Sambac Absolute, a very precious ingredient that makes it pulsate an intense aura of femininity, creating a rich, long-lasting trail.50 ml

Anew Skinvincible

This is quite possibly the best skin care product on the market. It's regular $42 . Avon is going to be having a sale on it for 29.99. But if you want the best deal, I am offering it, while supplies last for 24.99 (plus tax). That's another $5 off the best price Avon has offered. 

BE BEAUTIFUL IN BLUE 
Environmental aggressors are the #1 cause of visible aging. Smoke and pollution, UV rays and extreme temperatures contribute to wrinkles, sun spots and dryness. 

The World's 1st with SmartRepair^TM Technology, inspired by pioneering scientific research, Anew Clinical Skinvincible Deep Recovery Cream TARGETSvisible AGE DAMAGE that your skin has had for years! It diminishes the look oflines, wrinkles and sun spots. 

This Moisturizing Night Cream will redefine the meaning of Beauty Sleep! 30 g

That's it for now for March Specials. I may add some more, so stay tuned.

Parent Perks - Bag Review

As both a sponsor, a best friend of the founder, a blogger and of course an extra pair of hands to pack, I was lucky to be able to get an early Parent Perks bag to take home for review (and use!)

What is Parent Perks? It's the brain child of Monika at Aias dot ca

Parent Perks prepares and distributes gift bags full of fabulous perks for parents. These gift bags are 100% free to parents and contain coupons, gift cards, product samples, and full-sized products from Vancouver and Canadian based businesses.   Products vary from items for kids and babies, to perks that are just for mom and dad. Parents pay zero dollars to get a Parent Perks Gift Bag. Sponsors pay a small fee to participate and have their goodies in the bags.

Others have and continue to do something similar, but she took it to a whole new level. In the past, I've gotten one of those "free for parent bags" and almost all of it was just paper that ended up in recycling. There were a couple of good offers, but most of it was not even worth the time I spent sorting it. I've also paid for bags full of 'surprise' products from multiple companies. Now these, I've mostly liked, but they run about 30 each and even then there was lots I couldn't use.

So I was a bit skeptical when Monika started Parent Perks. But I had also recently launched my Avon Independent Rep business. I wanted in that bag! If it was going to be all junk, I wanted to be the one who stood out. I put together 100 bags with a full sized Avon product, some samples, a business card, an offer code and a flyer. I figured I was rocking it!

Then I went over to help stuff the bags on Sunday. I was blown away.

Fast forward to when I got home and was able to unpack the bag. Check out how much was in the bag!!! And it may not even be complete as there was 1 or 2 sponsors who said their products 'were in the mail'.

For me, this was one of my favorite and shows how serious the sponsors were about the bags. There were 100 handmade greeting cards from Stampin' it Up. There is even a class only a few blocks from me!

This next group contained lots of samples. Almost all of these are new to me and I'm excited to try them out. There was more than 1 pack of Runa tea, Ener-C supplied one of each flavor, and Gardener's Dream also provided several good sized samples. Along with the sample products, most of these included an offer or a discount coupon so once you find a favorite, you can save on your next purchase!

A few Sponsors offered services rather than products, or were larger, heavier products so of course they couldn't include a sample. They did manage some kick ass offers though. There is a coupon for a free David's Tea, a 6 pack of zevia (I'm glad we didn't have to bag full sized of these!), 25% off at Helix Personal Training and more.

Then there was this grouping. These were full sized included products! A bag of Hardbite chips, a full bag of coffee from local roaster Doi Chaang Coffee, Valentine's Day lunch box Lovable Labels, Bamboobino washcloths, candles, scrubbers and more.

I was very impressed. More than impressed. There is very little "just paper" and what there is has a very compelling offer. There were many sample and full sized products. There were no business cards with a candy stuck on as the offer. I think if I added the value of this, it's less than those full sized bundles I paid for, but I will get more value out of it. Also, these are mostly local small sometimes sole proprietorship businesses, not big corporations, looking for an extra buck. 

As a parent who got a bag, I think Parent Perks is an amazing service. As a small business owner, I have high hopes for the marketing outreach. These bags are reaching a target market, mostly parents, all local (bags must be picked up in person). Vancouver is a very expensive city and I can't afford to be at trade shows, but this is something within my reach. How successful remains to be seen. 

This is being cross posted on my other blog And Mommy Makes 3

Avon Nail Art - Review and a Giveaway

While I've developed a recent love affair with Avon nail polish, I didn't expect to feel the same away about the nail art, but wow. I got one of the Halloween designs and tried it out. They were so easy to apply. You just match your finger size, then peel and stick. I folded the end of the strip over and just filed it off. I found several youtube videos of different ways to do it, but this looked the easiest and it was for me. I was even able to put them on while on the bus on the way to work!

Pretty cool!

Everywhere I went I had compliments on them, followed by surprise when I mentioned they were Avon. They looked so professional, were very inexpensive and easy to apply.

But then how durable are they (or aren't they)? The shot above is after a full week. you can see where the nail has grown a bit at the bottom, but they still looked great. I think if these had been a very dark solid color it might have shown more, but the base of the nail is so close to skin color that it wouldn't stand out much.

You can see the thumbnail above where it's a bit chipped at the tip. Again, a solid dark strip would show more wear, but with this pattern it wasn't noticeable to anyone else until I pointed it out. And to be fair, with kids, I'm quite rough on my nails, digging in dirt, picking things up, playing etc. But they held for over a week.  They were so sturdy that they held a split nail on for 3 days. My thumbnail was split about a 1/3 near the base of the nail, but it held on.

But how to get them off? Even easier, just peel them. I started at the base of each nail and just peeled it up. A quick wash and my nails were back to normal. Nothing could be simpler.

I've ordered 2 of the holiday styles and want to pass one onto my readers. But more than that, I want to help Christian's grant grow and word of the Angel Tree get out there. So this giveaway is all about promoting the Angel Tree and in particular Christian.

This giveaway is open world wide. I will send the winner one set of Avon Holiday Cheer  nail art strips. I make no promise they will get there before Christmas, but I will try!

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Chosen - a Fundraiser

Welcome to my first Avon fundraiser.

I talked a couple of posts ago on how you can earn money with Avon, well the same ideas can be applied to fundraising. All of my profits (the part I earn from the Avon discount) from customer purchases in Campaign 25 will go the Angel Tree Fund for a special little boy in Eastern Europe.

On Reeces Rainbow, he is given the alias Christian. He is a sweet 4 year old boy who's only misfortune was being born with down syndrome in a country that doesn't yet accept that a child with special needs has value. He currently lives in a 'baby house' but the next step for him in a couple of years will be an adult mental hospital.

You can read more about Christian on my family blog here A Home for the Holiday and if you want, you can search this tag  to find my posts from last year and the year before.  This is a cause that I'm really committed to. I explored adoption, special needs adoption in particular before I had the boys (and continue to consider it).

But back to fundraising. It's quite simple, be in my delivery area, order from me in Campaign 25. The discount I get from Avon will go to Christian's fund instead of my pocket. I am a gold level rep, this means for beauty products (make-up, perfume, bath products) 35% of your payment will go to Christian. For everything else, it's 15%.  This can add up very fast. You get great products at a great price, this boy gets a chance at a family and a future.

I will be doing a contest this campaign towards this fundraiser, but I'm working out the details. I have to allow for entries not related to a purchase or a donation that still help his cause. I hope to  have his up by the weekend. It will be open world wide.

To get you started, you can find the e-brochure here

If you want to know more about fundraising with Avon ask me or your local rep. To see all the kids on the Angel Tree this year, click this link

Reece's Rainbow 2013 Christmas Angel Tree

I am an Angel Tree Warrior for Christian!

Avon Recordable Christmas Ornament

These ornaments are adorable! I couldn't wait to try them out and my kids were more than happy to oblige. They are so easy to use. Press and hold the microphone button for 6 seconds to record. The beep tells you when to start and when you're done. Then press the play button to listen. Don't like how it turned out? Repeat it until you do.

It's a bit larger than it seems in the catalog. I took the picture next to a Lego minifigure for comparison. It will stand out on a tree, and it also easily stands on it's own.

The kids had a blast. Of course they had more of their own agenda than helping mommy make an Avon video.

We did a few recordings, playing around with  how close, how loud and how quiet. It was so easy to use.  After a few tries, N of course was "Let me do it" and with no extra instruction, was able to do his own version of Jingle Bells.

I honestly think these should be the hottest item this Christmas. At only 9.99 each, they are an inexpensive way to create a totally personalize gift. They are perfect for kids to send to grandparents and other relatives. The same is true for a grandparent to send to their favorite (all) grandchild. And what about to your spouse? One of these used as the gift wrapping with the recording "Marry me" would make for a novel holiday proposal.

There are 4 different versions to choose from. Can't decide? Why not one of each?

Check with your local Avon rep. If you don't have one, you can find me on Facebook and I can help hook you up.

How to Have Christmas for Free

Is it possible to have a fabulous Christmas and come out ahead? Yes. Join Avon as an Independent Sales representative right away and you can.

Christmas is the biggest selling time for Avon. I joined at the end of August. This was good, because it let 'get my feet wet' with smaller orders, learning what works and how to find customers. My first order had 1 customer - me. My most recent order was for 18 customers. They were slow to acquire at first. mostly friends, but now they are coming out of the woodwork, approaching me because I've made it known I sell Avon.

My first order, where I bought only for myself was just over $100. But that's okay, I joined with 3 hours left in the current campaign. I shopped smart and got almost $200 worth of products, between the sales and representative discounts. How do I go from spending $100 to getting Christmas for free?

As a new representative, you are guaranteed a discount of 25% on beauty and jewelry items (except watches) and 15% on everything else. This is for your first 7 campaigns so will take you past the holiday season. This means you save 25% or 15% on all your personal purchases and EARN 25% or 15% on all your sales to friends, family, neighbors, coworkers and Avon generated customers.

How does that work? Can you make money with Avon? Yes. Full disclosure here. This is my most recent order due to arrive this week. My Avon invoice is  $593.39 after taxes.

Line Item	Cost after Tax	Personal Discount
Shipping	8
Supplies	44.83
Gifts	100.31	33.96
Total	153.14	33.96

I saved 33.96 on my gifts and personal products. I spent 44.83 to grow my business in the future. Because I had a massive order, I spent $8 in shipping. 

Then, I have customers who will pay $606.11 after tax for their purchases. But wait you say, my Avon invoice was only $593.39!!! This means once my order is delivered and the customers pay me, I'll have $12 in my pocket and my entire gift and supply costs are covered. 

I earned over $160 in free products. I could have just as easily not made any personal purchases and pocketed the profit. 

So you've seen how you can make money with Avon. You can use the money to grow your business, buy gifts for yourself, friends or family at a discount, use the money for a vacation, pay of debts etc. It is your choice how you use it. You can also earn more than I do. There are people who support their family with their business.

I am a single mother of 4 year old twins, with a full time day job. I do my computer work at night, when the kids are asleep. They help me sort and delivery orders. I'm woken up almost every morning with requests from them to "put stickers on books" (labels on my brochures). I network on Facebook, through this blog, at the playground and any time I'm anywhere with my kids.  I carry a bag that says Avon on it. I wear and use Avon products. I used Avon nail art this Halloween and with the compliments I get every time I pay for groceries, do my banking, or show my bus pass, I say "It's Avon, would you like a brochure?" 

With 2 campaigns a month, starting only 3 months ago I'm earning $320 with just the basic work, and not interfering with my time with my kids. I'm also a leader, in that I help other people start their own business with Avon. I earn from that also. Currently, I'm earning between 200-350 a month that way. My goal when I joined was to earn 500/month by the end of the year. I'm already there.  Now the sky is the limit. 

(phone numbers on shirt are from day camp, not my number)

And now you know how to earn money and how to save money this Christmas. For only $10, you can start your own Avon business. You set your own hours and you take it as far as you want to. There are no quotas and no minimums to spend. You can use it to earn money or even just save on your own purchases. What are you waiting for? You can join from anywhere in Canada. 

Still not convinced??? If you have $100 in qualifying value (this is the pre-discount amount) in your first campaign, you will earn this incredible palette, an $80 value, for free. Avon Mega Mix 'N Go Palette

While it would make a great Christmas gift, I have to warn you not to plan on it arriving in time, depending on when you sign up. Avon will wait 3 campaigns to send it to make sure your invoice is paid up and to process any returns. But you will get it with your 3rd order after the one you qualify in. This is only available if that first order is $100 (before discount and before taxes). 

Campaign 23 closes off Nov 6, tomorrow. That is not a lot of time, especially if you want to qualify for the palette. But if you have looked through the online brochure and see things worth $100 or more that you'd like to buy your family, then it's plenty of time! You will get your discounts (25% and 15%) and then Avon will also send you catalogs for your next two campaigns so you can boosts your sales faster. 

If that's too soon for you, Campaign 24 closes November 20th.

Ready to join now? Follow these simple steps. (It's recommended you do this step from a computer, sometimes the captcha-type code doesn't work well on tablets or cell phones). 

Go to: www.avon.ca

Click: JOIN AVON
Click: START YOUR OWN SUCCESS STORY
Complete Steps 1, 2 & 3, click SEARCH FOR SPONSOR

Enter my name: Christine Fretwell
Enter my email: 

crfretwell@gmail.com

Avon will invoice you the $10 joining fee.  You can pay for it online after. 

If you're still not sure, leave me a message at Avon in Vancouver by Chris with any questions. I'd love to help you save and earn this Christmas and going forward.

Portable Device Charger

As you know, one of the products I'm giving away is The Portable Device Charger . I've had a couple of questions, so thought I'd do a review.

I've had mine about a month as I had the chance to get an early demo (rep perk). And I can tell you it's a life saver.

About the size of a pen

I have a Samsung Galaxy phone. And sometimes, something will be running that sucks my battery dry before I even know it. If possible, and if I had it, I would plug it in. But I'm not always somewhere I can do that and I don't always have a charger.

The charger itself if fairly small, so it can be slipped into a pocket, purse or bag. It comes with 5 adapters to cover most products on the market. While it does not come with a wall charger, it does use a USB end, so you can charge it on a computer. If you're like me though, you have one or two wall chargers that are USB compatible and so can leave it charging even when your computer is off.

Does it work? Yes. I've been able to fully charge my phone twice on a single charge. Every device is different so you may not have two, you might even have three (I've never tried or needed to try a third).

USB Plugs

So I have a Samsung you say and you  have an Apple product. Apple is a bit proprietary so I can understand your concern. I have an iPod touch and an Ipad (gen 1). At first, when I plugged it into either of them, I immediately got a message saying it could not charge this device. I was a bit down, but I don't like to give up. I grabbed my Apple USB cord and plugged one end into my iPad and one into the Avon Charger. And success!!! Same with the iPod. Then I wanted to take a picture of the failed charged but when I put the Avon charge cord with the adapter back on, it worked. I have no idea why, or how, but it worked and continues to work.  If this doesn't work for you, try your white Apple USB cord and plug it into the Avon charger....go ahead, try it.

iPod

iPad

I then thought, what the heck, I'm on a roll, what else? I have an older Sony Ereader. Yup, charges that. I have a Kobo Vox; charges that too (yes, I like to read).

So, out of 5 devices by 4 manufacturers, I was able to use the Avon Charger for all of them. I'm totally sold. If by chance, you don't have the same results, Avon does have a money back guarantee.

"100% SATISFACTION GUARANTEED. If you're not happy with any purchase, just return it for replacement or exchange, or your money back.* Products must be returned to your Avon Independent Sales Representative along with your receipt within 60 calendar days from the delivery date stated. Certain restrictions apply."

And don't forget friends and family who can use one, not to mention that Secret Santa gift. It's only 19.99 so what do you have to lose? Contact your Avon rep to order today. If you don't have a rep, drop me a line on my Facebook page and I'll help you find one.

Don't forget to enter my giveaway for the chance to win one. 

And if by chance you want to buy a few, message me about how to become an Avon rep, even if only for the holidays. You can save on ALL your purchases, earn on purchases by friends and neighbors and maybe earn some free gifts too. It's a win win situation.