Those pins are fantastic! I remember the Avon Lady too but I don't think she visited us as much as yours did or maybe it was while I was in school. The photo is awesome too. I always loved Skin So Soft but then when I heard that it kept bugs away and could also be used for things like removing corrosion from batteries, I just wasn't so sure I ought to put it on my body or in my bathtub! haha. Thanks for a fun memory.
I seriously was just talking about Avon a couple of weeks ago! I loved that bubble bath and those little lipstick samples were the best! I remember the catalog fondly. I can vaguely remember those pins. Such good memories.
Do you remember Bonne Bell Lip Smackers and Love's Baby Soft?
I wore Love’s Baby Soft all the time! And I loved Bonnie Bell Lip smackers. I guess we were a 1970/1980s version of Sephora Kids. (Though I would never have used face creams & anti-wrinkle products like 10 year olds do today!)
Wow Laura! I love this essay and also the fact that you STILL have all those pins. I remember our Avon lady -- she was our next door neighbor. "Ding dong. Avon calling" (anyone remember that?) Little brooches of perfume, tiny lipstick samples...yes. And, of course, Skin so Soft -- which I continued to buy long after Avon Ladies stopped being "a thing" because it was a good mosquito repellent! Welcome back to Substack! So good to have you writing again.
Thanks Kaarin! It’s good to be back. As for my pin collection-it’s just another example of how I doubt I would ever be as brave you and significantly reduce my belongings! Ha!
Well, I have to tell you I woke up yesterday knowing this was coming, and you did NOT disappoint! I love it. The soft pink bubble bath! That's the thing I remember the most, that and the catalogues. Sadly, I did not have any of the pins. How I would have loved them! I have a bottle of Skin So Soft for mosquito repellency now, it works okay but you know me, nothing REALLY is going to work. PIN PALS. I forgot all about that. It's so funny, you mention people just "popping by" - well, that happens to me frequently with my MIL! It's...maybe not as fun. Maybe it would be more fun if she had a catalogue! There is a comedian who has a bit about back in our childhood, where someone would stop by and it would be incredible. It would be "company!" You'd bring out good snacks and everyone would be so happy because COMPANY. Now, someone knocks on your door and it's like "lights out, hide."
Thanks Nicole. I was excited for you to read it because I knew you would like it. You crack me up about your MIL and so true about COMPANY. Do we even use that word anymore? I haven't heard it in ages, but it always made me so excited when I was a kid and COMPANY was coming. It might take some getting used to these days but I would like to believe I would get the same charge out of someone dropping by. The closest we get is with our next door neighbors-both of us will occasionally send a last minute text asking one another over for drinks.
Omg I must have been super spoiled because I had EVERY ONE of these pins! Your little essay and these photos are a total walk down memory lane and it made me wish I could be an Avon Lady in the 70's. I also love the dichotomy of the "Better Than Sex" modern-day mascara to the sweet photo of you and the Avon products of yesterday. Ha! Although, the Love's Baby Soft Bottle could have been next to that mascara, me thinks.... ha!
Those pins are fantastic! I remember the Avon Lady too but I don't think she visited us as much as yours did or maybe it was while I was in school. The photo is awesome too. I always loved Skin So Soft but then when I heard that it kept bugs away and could also be used for things like removing corrosion from batteries, I just wasn't so sure I ought to put it on my body or in my bathtub! haha. Thanks for a fun memory.
Thanks Sue! I knew about the bug repellent lore but not the battery acid. It’s a wonder any of us came out of the 70s alive.
We're resilient!
What a fun read, Laura. Love that beautiful photo of you!
Thanks! Did you have an Avon Lady, Anne?
So sorry for the loss of your friend Laura.
I seriously was just talking about Avon a couple of weeks ago! I loved that bubble bath and those little lipstick samples were the best! I remember the catalog fondly. I can vaguely remember those pins. Such good memories.
Do you remember Bonne Bell Lip Smackers and Love's Baby Soft?
I wore Love’s Baby Soft all the time! And I loved Bonnie Bell Lip smackers. I guess we were a 1970/1980s version of Sephora Kids. (Though I would never have used face creams & anti-wrinkle products like 10 year olds do today!)
They do? Wow!
Wow Laura! I love this essay and also the fact that you STILL have all those pins. I remember our Avon lady -- she was our next door neighbor. "Ding dong. Avon calling" (anyone remember that?) Little brooches of perfume, tiny lipstick samples...yes. And, of course, Skin so Soft -- which I continued to buy long after Avon Ladies stopped being "a thing" because it was a good mosquito repellent! Welcome back to Substack! So good to have you writing again.
Thanks Kaarin! It’s good to be back. As for my pin collection-it’s just another example of how I doubt I would ever be as brave you and significantly reduce my belongings! Ha!
Well, I have to tell you I woke up yesterday knowing this was coming, and you did NOT disappoint! I love it. The soft pink bubble bath! That's the thing I remember the most, that and the catalogues. Sadly, I did not have any of the pins. How I would have loved them! I have a bottle of Skin So Soft for mosquito repellency now, it works okay but you know me, nothing REALLY is going to work. PIN PALS. I forgot all about that. It's so funny, you mention people just "popping by" - well, that happens to me frequently with my MIL! It's...maybe not as fun. Maybe it would be more fun if she had a catalogue! There is a comedian who has a bit about back in our childhood, where someone would stop by and it would be incredible. It would be "company!" You'd bring out good snacks and everyone would be so happy because COMPANY. Now, someone knocks on your door and it's like "lights out, hide."
Thanks Nicole. I was excited for you to read it because I knew you would like it. You crack me up about your MIL and so true about COMPANY. Do we even use that word anymore? I haven't heard it in ages, but it always made me so excited when I was a kid and COMPANY was coming. It might take some getting used to these days but I would like to believe I would get the same charge out of someone dropping by. The closest we get is with our next door neighbors-both of us will occasionally send a last minute text asking one another over for drinks.
Omg I must have been super spoiled because I had EVERY ONE of these pins! Your little essay and these photos are a total walk down memory lane and it made me wish I could be an Avon Lady in the 70's. I also love the dichotomy of the "Better Than Sex" modern-day mascara to the sweet photo of you and the Avon products of yesterday. Ha! Although, the Love's Baby Soft Bottle could have been next to that mascara, me thinks.... ha!
I’m so jealous that you had all of them! If we had been friends back then we could have coordinated our accessories.
So fun! We totally would have been friends. XO
My aunt was an Avon regional manager for years. I always got the neatest Christmas gifts from her.
Also, I loved this line: "like Mary Poppins with a carpet bag full of beauty supplies."
Thanks Carissa. I love that line too. Don’t you love it when something like that comes out of you, out of nowhere?