My first Avon product encounter was purely by chance. Walking home from school with my best friend in 1974, I unintentionally stepped on something under a bunch of orange, crunchy fallen leaves that caused my foot to roll slightly and being a little kid who liked finding random objects, I curiously picked it up.
I remember it was a small plastic cylinder, kind of like a Chapstick, which we had in my house, but larger and the color of a dark night of rain; fancy in its appearance. As I turned it over in my hand, my friend decided we should show it to her mother. We lived in the same apartment complex, but Teri's building was nearer to school than mine, so her place would be our first stop with an item of such grand importance. This was back in the days when kids found something of value and quickly ran home so that they could turn it over to the first available adult, otherwise if you hid it in a pocket it glowed there like red hot contraband and would burn your hand if you fiddled with it.
Rose, my friend's mother, identified the valuable object right away as an Avon "Demistick". She popped off the cap and expertly twisted up what was left of the solid milky looking fragrance. There was very little left in the tube, clearly this had been discarded, street-side, on purpose. As Rose tossed it in the trash, she explained that this was not an unusual item for a lady to have in her purse or coat pocket. Since nearly all of the women in our apartment complex were Avon customers, Rose naturally had a Demistick or two of her own. Grabbing a new one from the medicine cabinet, still packaged in its small box, she sat us down in the living room so that she could show it off. In my mind's eye, I see a navy colored label showcasing a female figure, Greek or Roman, mythical in appearance. The goddess may or may not have been wearing a toga. As a five year old, this seemed like an unbelievable treasure.
"Moonwind," Rose said peering at the label on the bottom of the stick. Teri and I looked at one another and she went on to explain that names of all of the Avon perfumes were redolent of far away places or romance. Teri and I observed excitedly as she first dabbed some on herself; permitting each of us to test the grown up scent on our wrists and behind our ears. We lifted our little arms to our noses in order to inhale our newly spicy bouquet.
Rose game me that Demistick, probably because I was so enamored with it and the one I'd stumbled upon was not useful. I carried the Moonwind Demistick to my apartment and placed it in my red patent purse which was used for carrying my small sized identification and books and candies for church each Sunday. I don't recall applying it but I liked taking it out and drawing in its incensy goodness.
My mother got her first visit from the Avon lady almost immediately following my discovery. Ringing the doorbell with her small valise of items, she was a bit like a traveling sales Mary Poppins. Makeup, fragrance, and jewelry would pour out of what seemed like too small a case to hold all of the goodies which Mom and I were encouraged to admire, hold, or sample.
Flash forward to November 2020 and I have begun selling Avon at age 51.
I am the Avon Lady.
Needing a little something special for myself, this seems very comfortable and natural. That early childhood introduction led to a lifetime of Avon during which I've received dozens of cherished gifts, and, when I was old enough, selected products of my own which have brought me an abundance of happiness.
Tune in for more Avon stories, which I plan to chronicle here and on my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/valbucciavonlady.
Enjoy these cool photos I found of vintage Demisticks. Do you remember them?
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