Avon | My Best Beauty Buys

Now I have to admit I do love Avon; I always get excited looking through a new brochure! Some of the first bits of make-up items I used as a young teen were from Avon, I love the fact that it's just so affordable so here's a few of my favourites along with a few new bits I've tried.

The two products I've been using the longest are the Ideal Flawless Cream-to-Powder Foundation in Nude and the Infinitize Mascara in brown/black pictured above.

The Cream to Powder Foundation has become by go to product when I don't have much time to spend on my make-up. It is a handy compact and comes with a round sponge applicator which is very handy when you're on the go. When applying this it gives a great coverage and evens out my skin tone/blemishes perfectly without the need for much (if any) concealer. Avon describe this as being super lightweight formula which glides on as a cream with the light texture of a powder. I certainly agree with that Avon considering I'm on my 5th one at the moment! I would recommend this to anyone wanting a quick go-to compact foundation which is creamy and easy to blend but lightweight enough to not feel like you have foundation on. 

Now I've been loving the Infinitize Mascara for a while now and still love the packaging as much as the first time I saw it! I can't help but love the vibrant orange colour with the shimmery effect. To me this just screamed BUY ME! (I do love sparkly things...). I've used quite a few Avon mascaras in the past and not one has come close to this, the brush is so chunky and unusual it was love at first sight before I'd even tried it. Moving on to the actual application, the brush is amazing at picking out even the tiniest of lashes giving you fuller longer lashes instantly, plus it does not smudge easily and lasts a lot longer than the 8 hours Avon claims which is just perfect for me. I will warn you it is a little difficult to remove and can feel like you're using a never-ending amount of cotton pads to take it off at the end of the day but for a mascara this good... It's definitely worth it!

The Mega Effects Mascara was launched last year and created a big hype of anticipation for all Avon lovers before its release. First thoughts on this were that it looked a little complicated to use so personally I didn't jump to buy one. With the last Avon campaign it was on offer so thought I'd bite the bullet and give it a try. I ordered the Navy colour just to try something a little different; usually I tend to stick to just black or brown. When it arrived I liked the unusual design and the fact that the size is quite compact so it would be easy to throw in my bag to carry with me, but I'm sorry to say I was disappointed when trying this out. First of all you have to take the cap off.. simple enough. Then you have to pull the brush out by wiggling it from side-to-side before trying to angle it to apply on to your lashes. This in itself is much to complicated for me and trying to get the brush at the right angle for a good application is difficult! Afterwards you need to make sure you push the brush back in to the holder hard enough to lock in place... mine does not seem to do this? Don't get me wrong I'll still use it as I do love the colour but I'm afraid it's not quite for me being too fiddly; it may be that I'm just so used to the traditional mascara wand, has anyone else had any luck with this?

I have quite a favouring of nude lip colours lately so got the Ultra Glimmerstick Lip Liner in Nude and the Ultra Colour Indulgence Lipstick in In Bloom. Avon claim that the liner defines without smudging or feathering which I can certainly vouch for! It's lovely to apply, goes on really smoothly and lasts the majority of the day. The pigment is great and the colour is easy to blend, I may need to get a few more! I tried out the In Bloom lipstick with the liner; the colour is lovely, has a slight shimmer to it and feels really hydrating. I suffer with dry, cracked lips a lot so always need something which won't accentuate it. The downside to this is the lipstick doesn't seem to have as much pigment as I'd like when applied, I was a little disappointed with this as I loved the colour. It may be just the particular colour I chose or may be my lips are a little too dry for this particular lipstick I'm not sure! Has anyone else tried out this one?

Swatches L-R: Cream-to-Powder Foundation in Nude, Glimmersticks Lip Liner in Nude, Ultra Colour Lipstick in In Bloom

So there you have it, my favourite Avon products with a few newbies tried out. I know there's a mix of good and bad points with some of the products but that won't stop me trying out others.

Are there any Avon products you love? Which would you recommend?

Sam

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