02 October 2008

Product Review: Avon mark. Shine Tubes Hook Up Lip Gloss


Lip gloss. Yay! Always something new out there to try. Easy to layer over lipstick for a whole new look. Flavoured so you are sweet and tastier than usual. What's not to like about lip gloss?

Well, lots of them have no staying power, to the point where some are even runny. I'm always trying new lip glosses to find ones that stay put, but my biggest disappointment is when I find a colour I really like and it won't hold. I'm always finding little gems, and since most lip gloss isn't too pricey, it's a way to experiment and stay frugal.

I like Avon products. I can order them from a sales rep and give a girl some side cash, or if no-one I know is selling it, I can order it online. The prices are always fair, and they do a good job of staying current. While some of my friends think of Avon as higher end, I consider Avon products to be on par to drug store brands. This isn't a bad thing (it's not like they're dollar store quality), but they don't compare to high-end boutique products. At these prices, how could they?

I don't have a friend selling Avon right now, so I grabbed a flier at the last women's trade fair I attended and put down the name of a local representative on my online order. I thought it would be nice to gie her the commission. I wanted to bump up to the next freebie level, so I needed to spend another $12. I decided to try the mark. Shine Tubes Hook Up Lip Gloss in Crème Caramel. At $7 it seemed like a bargain, and you can combine it with a mark. connector (free with every two purchased) to make a little portable two-piece set. I added the mark. Crystal Shimmer Hook Up Powder (a review for another day) and hit my upgrade level.

The order arrived at my door within a week, complete except for the mark. connector. The lip gloss came in a cute little tube and was a pretty raspberry colour. Not what I consider Crème Caramel, but pretty enough to keep. I was sort of glad since I'd ordered another lipstick that was a mocha colour. This meant I didn't order two similar things.

Well, it was pretty in the tube, and it was pretty on the lips. It tasted like berries and was very sweet. The shimmer in it was nice; bigger flakes but not crazy-big. However, it was really sticky, and it only lasted about 10 minutes before it vanished into nothing. The flavour also turned out to be pretty strong, because I could smell it the entire time I was wearing it; even when the colour was gone. The colour looks nice layered over another colour, but forsuch a dark colour in the tube, it thins out to almost nothing on the lips.

The tube was small and worked without the connector, but at $7 was not the typical good deal you expect from Avon. I called the rep about the connector, but after playing phone tag with her for two weeks I gave up trying to get the doo-hickey. Since I wasn't carrying it around anyway, it didn't seem worth my time.

Overall, it wasn't a great purchase. I won't try Avon mark. Shine Tubes Hook Up Lip Gloss again.

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