A Christmas Show Surprise

Christmas craft & vendor shows always put me in the Christmas spirit. Have you been to one this season? I’ve seen lightbulbs painted into snowmen and home-poured candles among the many options. And, usually, among the various booths are home consultant vendors of all sorts, collecting catalog orders of everything from jewelry to make-up to chocolate.

If you’ve experienced walking past home consultants (or direct marketers), you KNOW that if you act too interested, you are doing three home parties and becoming a consultant before the friendly vendors are done with ya. I know because I am a consultant and that is pretty much my goal when I go to these things — to book parties and sign on consultants.

But if you perfect the “walk-by,” you can see what they are selling and not get engaged if nothing strikes your fancy — unless you just want to talk for friendliness sake — which is NOT me when I am trying to figure out what my sister would like for Christmas and whether my mother-in-law has too many knitted scarves and so on . . .

SOOO, the other night, I was doing my usual walk-by when THERE SHE WAS! The Mary Kay lady. A year ago, I would have kept walking. A year ago I hadn’t used Mary Kay products for a decade. But this last January, a friend (okay, Jo-Lynne) was helping me get back on track with the right colors for my face and suggested her friend who was getting out of selling Mary Kay but still had stock and samples on hand.

Through that experience, I totally got hooked on two Mary Kay products. Now I track down any Mary Kay consultant I can find to replace them when they run out. Then I learned one of our Chic-Critique writers, Darla, sells Mary Kay ONLINE so now I am set and I can tell you where to go to shop!

Here’s what I bought from the lady at the vendor show — the brown Mary Kay eyeliner pencil that twists up without you ever having to sharpen. It is soft and smooth and glides on very easily. The brown color compliments my green eyes, and I love it.

Here’s what I bought from a woman at our campground last summer — the Mary Kay Eyesicles (R) cream-to-powder eyeshadow. It is squishy and goes on so smoothly. Don’t let the small container fool you because it really does last a long time, and a little goes a long way!

Enjoy your Christmas holiday shopping! What have you been impressed with at a Christmas show lately? Anything new I should be looking out for?