Caribou Plains in the Fall | Fundy National Park New Brunswick

More sights and views from the Fundy National Park. This park is truly vast and beautiful. I've been here many times and yet there's still spots I haven't seen. And the place transforms into a different kind of beauty in the Autumn as well. It would almost feel like a completely different place.  Here is a hiking trail that I visited for the first time.

Hopewell Rocks

 Hopewell Rocks also known as Flower Pot Rocks

Kayak or walk on the seabed.
Come and visit with me ~ The world's highest tides at Hopewell Rocks, Fundy, NB.

Hopewell is a small town in New Brunswick, situated along the Fundy Bay.  It boast Flower Pot Rocks aka Hopewell Rocks ~ where one could see the highest tide changes on the planet.  Personally, I haven't seen this place at high tide yet.  There's so many things to visit at the Fundy National Park that we often spend the time sight seeing somewhere else while waiting for the waters to drop.  After all, walking on the sea bed, under the sea, is quite thrilling.  But I sure want to see high tide too, and maybe kayak around the massive rocks.  That would be pretty cool, wouldn't it?

Fall in Love with Dickson Falls

Fall in love with Dickson Fall's
Summer Lush
or Autumn Beauty

"Where do you want to go?"  Hubby asked me the night before we planned to take our dear visiting friend to the National Park.  "Dickson Falls!"  I replied very quickly and eagerly.  "You've been there twice this year already?" was his kind but surprised answer. With a smile of excitement I whispered: "Yes, but it's Autumn!  I'm sure it'll look very different." "Oh come, let's take a look at the map and maybe you'll want to go somewhere else this time..."  Indeed I found another part of the park I have not visited yet.  We planned our route... But guess what?  Can't resist Dickson Falls, before you know it... it's still on top of my list.

The Summer Breeze at Bennett Lake

Summer passed by like a breeze.  Time went by so fast...

It was a really great summer though.  Hubby and I hosted many friends in our humble home and showed them around our little town.  The favorite destination is, of course, the Fundy National Park.  O, this park is so vast that it's not possible to see everything in just one day!  Our first group of visitors came to Fundy twice and saw different spots in two separate days.  There are also many things to try out like horseback riding or kayaking.  First, let me show you Bennett Lake.

Watch Out For That Tree | Tree Go Adventure

How did you get up there???

Would you like to try this?

A good friend of mine was visiting from Toronto this past long weekend.  As you can imagine, we showed her around. We had a lot of adventures in a short time. For now, I'll show you about Treego. Treego is located at the Centennial Park in Moncton, NB.  It's composed of obstacle courses, swinging logs, zip-lining, tight-rope walking, Tarzan swinging and others.  There are four courses: Green, Blue, Red and Black.  Each one is more difficult than the last.  All of these are amidst trees in a forest-like environment.
A harness is belted around the body and it is attached through carabiners in a tight rope overhead.  It keeps us safe and alive.  The guides in the park are very strict and they make sure that these are always used and connected properly.  If they spot you above ground with both carabiners on hand, they take you down and you are done for the day... Hey, you're safety's at stake, you know?  Then you can set out for the adventure...  Ahhh?  Is this extreme sports?!? :D

Training and orientation ~ how to use the equipment, et al.

Some obstacle courses are similar to this ~ Swinging Logs
This adventure is not for the weak willed and those afraid of heights.
(I'm sticking my tongue and looking at you with silly face, hihi :p )

Now the real thing...
This is the first and the shortest ladder in the whole course.

Tight rope walking with some obstacles.
This part is preeeetty easy :)

Hanging planks.
It starts with the comfortable distance of a step,
then the planks go further from each other as you reach the center.
I think this is one of the easiest.

More Tight Ropes.
This one's easy too :)
Most really use the tight rope overhead as a support and
most of the body weight is centered on the arms.
That's what I did the first time and it left me very sore.
On the successive tried, I learned to trust my harness more,
giving-up some of my weight to it. ;)

Dear Kimchi says, "I'm scared, I want my mommy..." lol... This is really hard and scary, true.  But it's also quite fun.  You need a lot of upper body strength and you must not be scared of heights.  I conquered a lot of fear doing this.  Kimchi and I were among the last group of tree-climbers that day.  We were the last of that last group.  So when she stopped after the third course, I debated continuing on.  Should I leave my tourist friend waiting for me on the ground?  Am I brave enough to do it alone?  It's quite a strenuous course. I knew that the third course have those really cool zip-lines though.  And my friend offered to take pictures.  The conflict was quickly resolved.  I decided to go on and finish the third course and leave the black course (the hardest one) for next time.... Don't feel bad dear, 1/3 of all the visitors give up after the second course as well. And that's 300-400 visitors a day in the summer! The height is quite scary at the beginning.  But the adventure and the view makes it all worth it.  

As I stand on one of the highest platforms, all I could hear are the leaves moving with the wind, birds and some animals.  It was almost eerie.  I noticed that there wasn't the usual fear I feel though.  Either I yell out "Guide, guide, guide" and I'm done... yup, they come to rescue me and lower me down from any point of the course or.... I keep going.  I felt some sort of determination to finish in that time of solitude.  As I looked at the Tarzan rope, my nemesis, I took a deep breath, checked my life-lines one more time and jumped!  That was easy :)  I used to count 1,2,3 many times before I finally jump... After I finished the second zip-line, I heard a noise from the first zip-line.  Ngee, I was almost scared 'till I saw the guide flying through, "It's just me" he yelled... "It's good to have company,"  I said... No more eerie feeling.  See, it's truly safe... I finished three courses... will save the black course for next time... maybe when hubby can join.  There's a 'spider web' there that's really hard for me :)  well, you can cheat and walk the rope instead, but where's the fun in that? hahaha...

I think that I did this course about 3 or 4 times in total now.  That doesn't make it any easier and the adventure doesn't diminish.  After all, there's about a year gap in between each time I did it.  I can say, you really conquer a lot of fear when you finish this course.  Your hands will be sore from climbing and holding on the tight rope very tightly  but it may give you the motivation you needed to start that long schemed diet and fitness routine.  Thinking, "maybe next time I do this, I'd have better endurance and lesser weight..." Okay, that's me thinking out loud (wink).  I conclude that Autumn is the best time to do it.  The weather's cool and comfortable.  There are no bugs!  And how about the great, vibrant view of the trees?  Yes, the body will be sore the next day.  Two days after and I'm still sore.  But it was still quite fun!  It's a something enjoyable to do when you come to Moncton :)
 

Instagram | Facebook | Etsy | YouTube | Pinterest

A Lesson from the Rocks

Last year, volunteers from Toronto and Montreal came to New Brunswick to help us in our important work of reaching ones who are interested in studying the Bible from the Filipino-speaking community.  For a break, Hubby and I played tour-guide and took them to the Fundy National Park.  As we were enjoying the beautiful scenery, one of our brothers noticed some of us comparing rocks - some smooth, others rough.  We found different shapes - egglike, flat, heart, round.  He picked up two rocks himself and...

"See these two rocks?  Can you tell the difference? One is very fine, very smooth... the other, rough with sharp edges.  What made the difference?  This (fine) rock, was closer to the shore.  The water comes and goes with the tides and smoothens it's surface.  Not only that, the rocks rob, collide, hit on each other every time the water comes through, polishing their surfaces.  The rough rocks were untouched, left alone for a long long time.

The lesson?  We know that God's word the Bible is like water.  Regularly being wet by it: reading it daily, studying and meditating on it will polish us - smooth out our rough edges.  And what else?  Our dear brothers and sisters whom we get in contact with regularly can collide with us.  Often, we may rub each other in the wrong way.  But we also lift each other up, carry each others' load.  When we take these as lessons to learn from and apply them, continuing to love each other and helping one another out despite our differences - we become as fine stones honed by adversity rather than broken by it."

What a delight it is truly to be sharpened by one another.

"I am giving you a new commandment, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, you also love one another. By this all will know that you are my disciples—if you have love among yourselves." ~ John 13:34,35

Bloglovin'  |  Instagram | Facebook |   Etsy |  YouTube |  Pinterest

Hello Autumn!!!

Till we see you again, Summer!

Here's the nice, feminine design I was sporting last week :)

I used chunky glitters on my ring-finger combined with fine glitters.
I also applied that same glitter on my tips.
Since I rather spent time with friends to enjoy outdoors this summer,
I used stickers to add the floral I always love at half the time of painting them.

Love that shiny effect of the Polymer top-coat
and I can't get over how the Polymer top coat from Julep made it so durable.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I can't believe that summer is over.

It came and it went like a passing breeze.

Summer was so packed with adventures, it was crazy busy... it almost passed by unnoticed until I pay attention to all the great memories: met a lot of new friends, saw new places and learned new things...   And it's always great to see familiar places with those who are seeing it for the first time.  It's like you see things you've not seen before.  Their feelings reminds me of how it was like for my first time.  I used to be a stranger to Canada, a foreigner looking in.  How I dreamt of coming to this beautiful country and enjoy those post-card views. Now, I actually live here!  Funny how we tend to take things for granted once we get acclimated to our surroundings.  I have not realized how accustomed I am here already until I stay somewhere else for a few days...

I'm sad that summer is over.  But how can you stay sad when you walk around and enjoy the beautiful colors of fall?  And here it is - apple picking!  We said hello to Autumn by traveling 45 minutes southeast of Moncton to Memramcook.  These are not nail art related but so pretty I can't resist but sharing them:

Hello Pumpkins!

I don't know what these grapes are called, do you?
Oh, were they ever so sweet!

Different kinds of Squash and Pumpkins

Are these corn edible?
Or are they just used for Halloween displays?

Oh these looks sooooo good!

I wish I took pictures of how gorgeous the place was too... I know better next time ;)

Deer Island, New Brunswick 2013

In late September year 2013, I had the privilege of being a part of a special visitation to encourage our Pilipino brothers and sisters in New Brunswick. Not only was I spiritually refreshed from the spiritual gifts the brothers brought with them, my soul was also refreshed by the beauty of God's work of art. We visited quite a few places and Deer Island was one of them. I was thrilled as this is my first time visiting the island myself.  It's a visit with a purpose and adventure!

Easy and Pretty Flowers with a Golden Touch (Nail Art Beginners)

                

Easy and Pretty Flowers
with a Golden Touch 
Nail Art Beginners

Here's a video tutorial!   

I hope that you enjoy watching this ladies and I hope that you would recreate the design as well. 

 Have fun and I hope that you will have a great week ahead...

 Take care and stay safe!

My "Roman Holiday" Manicure :)

     I was dreaming of a trip to Europe, particularly Rome.  My mother in law suggested that I watch "Roman Holiday."  It's a black and white movie but it shows a lot of Rome.  I was quite hesitant at first but I gave in.  Frankly, it was hubby who doesn't want to get the movie for me to watch, but he gave in, lol...  And it was thoroughly enjoyable! Yes, I did not grow up in the West so I was not very familiar with Audrey Hepburn.  Now, I am.  And I'm totally hooked on the idea of going to Rome. (And here you thought it was about Audrey Hepburn?  Could be... {wink} ;)

     The story was so sweet and quite cute, I was inspired to pull out my nail art set and paint my nails while watching the movie.  I wanted something girly, cheerful, with some elegance.  So I made a design out of gold glitter, coral polish and of course, white flowers. 

How To: Safely Remove Soak-off Gel Polish (2 methods)

"How to Safely Remove Your Soak-off Gel Polish"

How long does your manicure last?

 

How long does your manicure last?  

 Mine usually last for 4 days without chipping, gone on the fifth day.  I usually don't pay much attention because I want to paint my nails again... This time, I wanted to know just how long my mani could last... I broke the record and passed 6 days... here are some pictures :) ~ Some tips at the end of this blog ;)

Here's how the fresh manicure looks...
since I did this in the morning, this would be DAY 1

Here's some chores I performed today for reference on how hard this manicure worked.
Day 1 was an easy day,
usual tidying up of the house, dishwashing (i do this everyday ;),
and some beauty routines including nighly mini-facial and washing my hair.

DAY 2
Still looking great.
Chores include the same as yesterday's plus
handwashing about 10 pieces of delicate clothing.
BTW, i use hand-gloves when doing dishes or washing clothes ;)

DAY 4
Today I re-applied glitters on the middle finger
and clear top coat on the rest ;)
Out and about includes shopping... plus the usual.
Made stew for dinner :)  Mani still looking great!

DAY 5
Impressive huh?
Usually by today, my manicure would have been chipped to half of the are of the finger.
That is without the re-application of top-coat.
This time, still looking awesome at day five...
My nail growth isn't very noticeable yet, but when I removed the polish the next day,
my nails have grown a lot longer!
I think they still look nice because I use cuticle oil every night,
and hand-cream everytime I wash my hands ;)

I wonder if my mani lasted even longer if I re-applied the top-coat before going to the waterpark... :)
I was just too happy that I passed 5 days, I did not even think of it...
I could have patched up the chip and wore it longer since the rest of the nails are still looking great?
hmmm... the what if's, hahaha....

DAY 6
Baby-sitting day for my niece (6 yrs old) and nephew (2 yrs old) for the whole day.  Besides the usual activities, there's hiking to the park, playing in the park and the water sprinkler too...  The polish on my pointer finger (right hand) peeled off, the rest was still looking great.  Since I had one chipped, I started peeling off the rest, then it looked unpleasant ;( ~ bad, don't peel your mani, lol... must remove it properly... ~  Ok, so this mani retired at the end of the 6th day... that breaks my record of 5 days!

This is what helped my mani last up to 6 days:

* Applied basecoat to clean, dry nails before the color, and applied top-coat after.
* Cleaned out polish that got into my cuticles and skin before drying.  I find that if I do not do this, the excess polish cause lifting (peeling).
* Capped the tips of my nails when applying the polish. (I make sure I brush some polish on the tips of my finger nails too to seal it.
* Applied cuticle oil every night and hand-cream everytime I wash my hands.  Having healthy cuticles makes your manicure look better.
* And of course, I don't use my nails as tools.  I try to treat them gently and use gloves whenever I can.

Want to make your manicure last even longer?

* Try using Julep's Polymer Top Coat
* Even better, paint your favorite polish in between a gel polish base coat and top-coat (fondly called gelly-sandwich).  This may make your manicure last for up to a week.
* And the winner?  Wear your manicure for up to 14 days if you use gel-polish or shellac (but there's a price to pay... hahaha)

How do you make your manicure last longer?

Have you heard about JULEP?

    

Nail art collection and 

How to get your first box free :)

    Many of you already know Julep and their Julep Maven Program.  For those who are new at this, it is essentially a Nail Polish and Beauty Products monthly subscription.  If you sign-up for this, you are then dubbed "Maven."
 

I just skipped this month's box :( so sad....

     How does it work? You can take a short fashion quiz at the beginning and then you are assigned a fashion style.  I took the quiz and I was dubbed the "Classic with a twist."  For the love of nail polish though, I opted instead for "It girl."  (Yes, you can change Fashion styles, lol)

From this, you are to receive either a box of 3 polishes or a box with 2 polishes plus a beauty product or a box with purely beauty products and no polishes. As of May 2014, Julep introduced a few more options such as customizing the contents of your box.

In the end, you can stick to the fashion style assigned to you based on your answers or try others styles by switching manually. Of course you can also get more than one box for that particular month or get the entire wardrobe (upgraded box)!  That means all the products in each style.  That is about 9 polishes and up to 2 beauty products.  Sometimes Mystery Boxes are also offered where as the name implies, you can't be too sure what you are going to get.  It will always have nail polishes of course. 

     Some girls had problems with being a Maven and eventually cancelled their accounts.  Personally, I love the polishes and I don't mind the subscription.  I can't always afford to get the monthly box.  So I am very glad that Julep allows you to skip a month for any number of months without loosing your membership.  Many complain that the polish does not stick well to the nails, therefore the manicure only last for a few days.  Well, this has always been the case for me even with other brands.  So I can't blame Julep for that.  Some complain about the formula or the consistency... bad frizzy brushes and the like... I must be a very good girl because I haven't had such troubles... yet :)  Seriously speaking, I think this are random occurrences which are unavoidable if you are producing thousands of polishes.  Customer service has always been accommodating as per my experience.

    

Smart Shopping
This is regular price $84.00
Got it only for $35.00 :)

     Price? A bottle of polish is very pricey ($14.00 or $11.20 for mavens).  This is so if you buy the polish at regular price.  My advice?  Stick to the monthly box or shop during special sales like a "warehouse sale"  or during special holidays.  You will be able to get polishes for as low as $2.50 each!  

For example, I have been drooling over Ophra's Favorite Things Collection but it cost $84.00. That's steep.  So I waited and waited and it paid off!!!  During the past "warehouse sale" it costs only $35.00 (see photo).  What do you say to that?  Other polishes were, as I mentioned as low as $2.50... Well, they were $4.99.  But when you do the Beauty-Bio quiz, you get a promo code for 50% off...  See what I mean by shopping during sales?  Now that is smart shopping :)

    

The three bottles on the right were from my first box ever.
I paid a penny for that :)
The rest is the Glamour Box Collection
I got for FREE courtesy of the referral program.

     Another perk that I really like is the referral program.  When you refer a friend, you get 1000 JULES (referral points).  Buying a monthly box gives you at least 300 points.  Jules increases as you upgrade your box. 

Your birthday and Julep anniversary earn your Jules as well.  This month, I had both my birthday and anniversary.  Hence, I was able to collect enough points to get me the "Party's Over" glitter remover set for free. 

What's the benefit?  Well, well... You can get a free monthly box of any style for 2000 points!  Or you can get the entire wardrobe for 5000 points! Guess what I did?  I told all my friends and family about it, showed them a couple of polishes and told them I want to earn a free box.  Then 5 of my ever wonderful, loving family and friends signed up and I got the points I needed to get the entire month's collection.  The happy, happy thing about this is... when I accumulated the points, the month's collection included the Polymer Topcoat and Oxygen Treatment.  Plus 2 bottles of polishes extra with the Lacquer Jewelry box!  How awesome was that?  Yup, I hit the jackpot, lol...

So dear, if you want to join Julep please give the referral bonus to a friend.  If you don't know anyone, uhmmm, I will be more than happy to refer you, lol... (no, really :)  O yeah, I got me the DD cream and concealer as well.  Cause you know, I had enough Jules.  Awesome huh? :)

     Overall, I love being a Julep Maven.  I wish that one day I would win a Golden box, where you get the entire collection as a prize.  Indeed, free! One Maven gets this every month.  Sometimes you can find a really great surprise on the box too like a gift card or vacation... yes vacation... I have not won any of these... but who knows?  Someday?

Would you be interested in knowing more about Julep?



Basics:

Frequency & Cost: Starts from US $24.99/a month or $19.99 if you pre-pay for three months each time. Price increases with add-ons, upgrades and contents-customization.

Products: at least two nail polishes and one beauty product; or three nail polishes; or pure beauty products (your choice).  You may swap and add products to customize.  Or you may also shop for individual products and deals besides the subscription box.

Perks:  New Mavens earns a "Skip" every 6 months.  You may also choose to send out your box to someone else as a gift.

Ships To: US and Canada 

Shipping Cost: FREE standard shipping (5 - 10 days) for Mavens (subscriber)

Promo Code: Use code FREEBOX or FREECOLOR to get your first box free! (small shipping fee applies for first order only; Shipping for free box is waived with a minimum purchase of $10.00) 

Point System: Referrals and Subscription purchases earns reward points called "Jules," redeemable for free Julep Monthly Boxes or add-ons.  Referrals who order for the first time will earn you 1000 Jules (2000 Jules = 1 free subscription box).  Subscription boxes earns at least 300 Jules and increases with upgrades.

Thank you kindly if you sign-up using my referral link.
Or copy/paste this URL in your browser: http://www.julep.com/rewardsref/index/refer/id/35704/

If you'd like more information, please feel free to 
email me at prettynailsandtea@gmail.com
or send me a message on my Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Pretty.Nails.And.Tea
or send me a direct message on my Instagram @prettynails_andtea
or kik me @pnat_jar

I am looking forward to hear from you...
~*Maya*~

  
    

Berry Kiwi Collada Herbal Tea (by Teavana)

It is quite exciting that this beautiful tea tin also
contained such a beautiful tea blend inside.
My dear sister in law definitely has good taste :)

I served the tea just like this.  Let the tea steep into the whole
teapot, giving the ingredients a lot of room to move around.
Not only that, I found it so pretty...
And then I used a tea strainer when pouring it into the glass.

     Yum, yum, yum!
     Not only is it so beautiful it's really good too, in my opinion of course.  Hubby says, as he often does about herbal teas: "eww, watered down juice," hahaha. Because it's herbal, it very well is. Served hot, it's a nice dessert (well, i did put quite a bit of rock sugar in there).   Served cold, I needed more sweetener.  Tastes very yummy but maybe not quite good for your health that way, lol... It is very tart without the sweetener.  I taste and smell the "berry" there most of all.  I don't know, but my taste buds does not find the coconut.  Hmmm... The citrus flavor and aroma is also quite dominant.  Overall, I am excited about this tea.  (p.s. I was quite surprised to find a carrot in there, lol)

This mug is similar to a french-press on the go.
So the tea stayed in the cup for the duration of my drinking it.
(about 2 hours)
 Because it is herbal, there was no yucky taste of over-steeping.
Not so true when there's tea leaves in there too :)

      My only downside to this tea is the price of course.  But that does not apply to this one right now because it is a gift from my ever wonderful family :) Also, to make the taste become more profound, more tea is needed.  Since this tea is quite pricey, I added some rose buds and hibiscus on my next cup.  And the flavor became even more enchanting...  Hibiscus adds a really great berry flavor.  And the scent of the tea just captured my senses. (oh really? lol) It was a very hot day but I took it out with me in this new mug.  It provided a nice, relaxed feeling while working outside.

"It's Your Avon Lady Calling" - To Be Or not To Be an Avon Lady

"It's Avon calling!" 

      Avon is a very familiar name to many households today and it has been for many years. From perfume to make-up;  clothing and shoes to kitchen stuff, name it!  It's not just about the lipstick anymore... One stop shop for women is what it is.  Browsing through the Avon catalog is surely fun. The prices are very reasonable and the products are very competitive.

      You might have met an "Avon lady," as they are affectionately called when they came to your door offering free samples and catalogs, or through a brochure from work or even through Avon-moms at your kid's school.  They might have asked: "Would you like extra income?" But no matter where you have learned about this opportunity, you wonder: "Is this right for me?" How can you make sure you can really get the extra income and not inevitably have extra expense or worse, credit card debts?

Avon Products I received as a bonus when
I recruited my first team member.
I earned a $200 bonus when reached
5 active members and we had a total of $1000 team sales.

      Here are some tidbits i have learned from being an Avon Lady myself. As in any business venture, you would want to calculate the cost to make sure what you get out of it is more than you give-up. (Sales less all expenses equals profit.) It is very deceiving to just think of the percentage discount you get or the so called profit margin the company offers. True you are charged a percentage less than the suggested price but that's not your clean profit. You have to consider the cost of:
- Shipping paid to Avon
- Delivery cost to your costumers (gas and your time)
- Packaging
- Promotion: such as brochures and samples. Some customers expect free brochures but you actually buy these from Avon yourself.   Some representatives choose to offer free products with purchase or discounts to promote their business.  Even the printing of business cards cost money as well!  All these cost must be factored in to find out if you are really gaining money or not. Or else there maybe something else that will be more worth your time, effort, and save you your hard earned money.

Some of the products I received for free
(Ordered $50 worth of products for 3 consecutive
campaigns and got these for free.)

      On the positive side, you may get free products too depending on your purchases from Avon. You may choose to sell these for profit, or use as promotion items (samples, gifts or prizes) to attract more customers, or use it for yourself.  Avon gives such incentives for a certain quota. For example: order $50 or more for three consecutive campaigns and get $100 worth of free products :) But please keep reading...

      Self-discipline is very important specially if you employ the online ordering system. Online shopping can be very addictive and there are so many promotions and offers online that can push an impulse buyer into a deep pit of unsold inventory. Not to mention the more you order, the bigger discount ("profit") you may get. So it is very tempting to order more products than what your customers actually ordered just to reach a certain level of discount, thinking: "oh I can sell this later." It's good if you do, but what if you don't? It's good to put your thinking cap on and determine how you can sell extra orders before you actually order them. Otherwise, you will soon find yourself drowning in inventory. Overflowing unsold inventory not only means no income, it also means no cash to pay Avon. Consider: if you fail to pay Avon, they charge administrative fees of 1.5%. So you use your credit card to cover the cost. Consider again: credit card interest rates are enormously high and unforgiving.  In the end, if an Avon Representative is not careful, she will soon find herself in debt.  ouch!

Bubble Bath is my most favorite Avon Product.
These sell for at least $5.00 each
But I was able to get them at 50% less through
a daily deal promotion. Deals like this can help you earn more.

      It takes skills, perseverance and a lot of effort to run a business. This is a good example of a "people" business. You need to build a good connection - a network of customers to keep a consistent business. So you would need to set aside that shyness and be ready to approach others with your products. It would almost form an integral part of your conversations which can be a little awkward. This is no problem if you're a natural extrovert :) If you are really determined then there's nothing you cannot learn, including mustering the courage to do the  door to door prospecting or speaking the "Avon" lingo wherever you go.

      Another source of money in this business is "leadership." Avon pays incentives to those who recruit others to be a part of Avon. Commissions are also paid according to your "downline's" sales. Remember though that recruitment is not the only requirement. One must maintain a certain amount of sales so as to qualify. Added to that, your "team" must also reach a certain threshold. You need a minimum of 5 "active" team members (that means each of them must place an order every campaign) and $1,000 total team sales per campaign in order to get commissions. And of course, you need to maintain a certain amount of sales yourself. You must have a personal sales of $125 in order to get the recruitment bonus. The $1000 thresh hold includes your own purchase. So it's cool because you can cover the lacking amount if your team is close to the $1000. But the sad thing is, again, it may mean a mountain of unsold inventory for you.  So please ask your "Avon lady" about these details before signing up for leadership.

     I am happy to say that although I have quite a bit of inventory on me right now, I did not loose money in the business. I love some of Avon products and most of the time, the profit I gain from selling covers the cost of my personal orders.  Of course, like I said before, self-discipline is key.  With my personal orders, I only get what I can pay for "up-front".  And when I order more products to reach a certain level, I order customer favorites to make sure I can sell them later on.   I was also able to earn the first stage Leadership bonus.  Well, I had to order more products to reach that goal.  If you sell a lot of products, then this should not be a problem for you.     

     Well in short, here are what I think to be the advantages and disadvantages of being and Independent sales representative for Avon. These can be applied to Mary Kay as well as other personal selling business too.  Let me know if you have any other thoughts on the matter.

My most favorite Avon Product is the Nail Polish
When I get them on Demo, I can save the tax
and also get my regular discount.
It's a good deal! :)

Some Advantages:
- Additional income
- Meet new people

- Be motivated to overcome shyness
- Get personal use products at a discount or even for free
- May help with your taxes at the end of the year (Some expenses can be deducted from your taxable income)
- For young ones, it provides good money management training....

- It may even be a good training ground for running your own business in the future
- Easy return and exchange procedures. But be wary of the shipping cost.
- Demo products are tax-free plus you get your regular discount.  So It's a great way to get your favorite products!

Some Disadvantages
- Time consuming
- Finding and keeping customers may be difficult. Your friends and family are not always going to buy from you.  It may involve door to door search (prospecting). Or basically, it will be the center of most, if not all, of your conversations.
- It's hard to derive profit unless you have a big order every campaign. After all the cost is considered, many end with a loss instead of profit.
- Unless the products are damaged when received, shipping for returns and exchanges are covered by the Avon Representative and not the company.
- If you are not careful, your house will be full of Avon products you can't sell.  (Self-discipline!!!)

Clearly, it will take some consideration whether you would join the business or not.  How about sitting down with a cup of tea and paint your nails pretty while you think about it? ;)