promise kept

Have you ever been waylaid by an Israeli cosmetics salesperson? You should, it’s quite an experience. Tonight I was leaving the mall–as it was closing–and a young man with that familiar accent came up to me.

He insisted on rubbing sea-salt on my arm, then serum, then body butter. When I didn’t immediately run away, he applied eye serum and eye cream.  He made me compare my eye circles while he exclaimed, “Amazing!” and “Look how different!”

He started mentioning prices, and I started making that pained, hissing noise when large dollar amounts are whispered delicately into one’s ear.  He lowered prices and added a couple free gifts (for my beloved mother, of course). After I reluctantly agreed to fork over my credit card (reluctance mixed with the joy of getting high-quality skin products), he tried to sell me another line of even more expensive products.  He went through two more full-blown sales pitches, applying products, naming astronomical prices, lowering said prices, throwing in free gifts.  I enjoyed the show, but I stayed firm.  I already spent enough money.

Finally the lights in the mall were turned off, all the store fronts locked, and he slowly put my purchases into a bag–not without a couple interruptions where he made another deal, and kept placing items in my hands, as if I wouldn’t be able to let them ago.  But no, I would get away with just a handful of items, each one guaranteed to last at least a year.

Really, his performance was fit for Broadway.  He gently mentioned my facial imperfections, asked for personal details about my life, acted like he was really interested.  Maybe he was.

One thing I learned in my economics studies is that a sale benefits both parties.  I spent the amount of money that I was willing to pay for such products.  He made a sale.  I assume that’s beneficial for him, because he worked very hard.

Each product is supposed to last a year.  I want to know if I actually got my money’s worth.  So, here is my BEFORE picture:

Yes, I used unflattering light and a white background on purpose.

A year from today, I will post an AFTER picture.  I bet you can’t wait.

For the record, the products I purchased are Vivienne by Dr. Luxman.

I have:

Exfoliating Body Scrub

Shea Nut Body Butter

OnSen Pure-a-Peel

Pure & Calm Facial Cleanser

Mega-Moisture for face

Peptox Eye Cream

Green Seaweed Serum for eyes

and

2 bars of soap

Not for the record: how much I paid, because my mom reads this blog.

If you want to experience the sales pitch of an Israeli salesman, they have locations in El Paso, Austin, Friendswood and Houston.