Of Secret Handshakes and Pinky Promises

How many promises have you made throughout your lifetime? A hundred? A thousand?

I learned the value of a promise early on in life. Imagine my 5-year-old self making a bashful promise to a friend to meet up again for a play date in the park. “I promise to meet right here by the seesaw!” I also vividly remember holding on to my mother’s promise of getting the Mermaid Barbie doll for Christmas—the one with the luscious, long hair (that I eventually chopped off into a pixie). I also—I kid you not—held Santa Claus to his promises. I’d write him a wishlist of things I wanted and I’d look into his eyes as I’d sit on his lap and hope to goodness that he delivers. He always did. (Thanks, family, for keeping up the charade—one I was too naive to see through. Also, you owe me for hanging that Naughty or Nice list over my head for way too long.)

Promises have always demanded trust, even when trust wasn’t deserved. I did get the Barbie dolls come Christmas time and I’m pretty sure play dates pushed through, but I as I got older promises didn’t seem to hold the same weight as before—even if the promises escalated in importance and meaning. Sometimes, even if the intent is there and you do really want to keep your promises, life gets in the way. Promises, however empty or impossible to keep, have always been so reassuring. Especially when it comes to goodbyes. Or love.

I remember grade school friends who migrated overseas who promised to stay in touch. We sent each other snail mail a few times but it eventually just stopped. Then there were the people you thought would be your best friends for life—your ride-or-dies—and you pinky promise that you’ll all have kids at the same time and that your kids will also grow up to be friends (#truestory) and then you just grow apart—even before the second generation munchkins are even a possibility. Then there are flames with even grander promises that you just know won’t be kept, but somehow you manage to believe anyway.

I think women, as we get older, have a harder time trusting sweeping statements and seemingly too-good-to-be-true promises. We have been burned aplenty by promises both big and small. Even for the products we buy, we have a hard time believing the label. We order clothes online and they don’t always look like the photo. That’s why we really do our research on purchases especially when it comes to beauty. We look at reviews, we read blogs, we sample. It takes a lot for us to buy into promises.

One beauty brand that holds promises to a higher standard, with the tagline “Beautiful promises kept,” is Avon. Avon tells you exactly what you’re getting with each product and makes sure that the formulation delivers. If it’s moisturizing glossy lips that are promised, then it’s moisturized glossy lips that you’ll get. It has been a trusted brand since I was young and it still keeps its loyal following to this day.

I test-drove some of the makeup products of the Avon True Color line recently and I can say that they still deliver. I especially like the Perfectly Matte Lipstick in Red Supreme, because unlike other tubes of matte lipstick, it gives off a good matte color pay without drying your lips. I love the Glazewear Lip Gloss in Mauve Movement. It was pretty sheer at first, but after applying a few coats the sheen was on point. It works even better on top of the Perfectly Matte Lipstick in Wild Cherry.

The Avon True Color Eyeshadow Quad 5G is infused with real gold and it always feels luxurious to know you’re playing with the highly-coveted mineral. (The same can be said of the 24K Gold Lipstick that gives a shimmery sheen, as expected.) The base I used is the Skin Goodness Moisturizing BB Cream topped with the Ideal Oil Control Plus Dual Powder Foundation. The BB cream alone is enough to give good coverage, but since I prefer a matte finish for the red lipped-look, I dusted on the powder. The products are effortless and easy to use. They last. And, more importantly, they do what they say they’ll do.

I know that in life some promises are meant to be kept, while some are meant to be broken. That’s just the way it is. But when it comes to makeup, I don’t compromise. And neither should you.

Visit avonshop.ph to purchase or contact your Avon Representative.

Article by Alyssa Lapid
[This article originally appeared on AlyssaLapid.com. Minor edits have been made by Avon.ph editors.]