Who wants a fancy foreign car? I don't.

Last evening I did attend the "Spa Night" at my neighbor's house. And yes, I did end up bringing a bottle of wine. I'm such a sucker.

The night was in celebration of products made by Arbonne. They have a whopping 400 products in their catalog, which makes it more like a book than a catalog.

I am always skeptical of these types of parties. I know it shocks my readers that I would ever be skeptical about anything, but it's true, folks! I was/am skeptical.

Since, as I said before, I'm a sucker, I usually shell out a lot of money for face moisturizers. Since I'm running low on the cheaper brand than I used buy, I thought it wouldn't hurt to check out Arbonne's moisturizer.

Despite my skepticism, I still was willing to shell out $40 to protect my lovely, smooth skin. Even after they only let us have a "free" gift if we agreed to host a party of six of our soon-to-be-ex-friends.

(I declined, saying I did not know 6 such people. "What about your writers group?!" my neighbor exclaimed. "They'd kick my ass," I replied. Honest to God, that's what I said.)

There were a few things that disturbed me, like the woman who gave the opening spiel backhandedly criticizing the hostess (neighbor) for providing too much food, since anything more than food and crackers is "a distraction." (The 'party' started at 6 p.m.)

What's the marketing strategy behind that, I wonder?

Also, I didn't care for the hard-seeling pitch to join the company, which was given right up front, and was focused on how much money you can make. The company subsidizes the acquisition of a white Mercedes to successful reps.

You get $800/month (after you reach a certain sales level, not specified) and then $1,000/month after you go up a level, to pay for the car.

It seems to me that this is a hook of epic proportions. But the products seem to be popular, and they smelled nice. I don't know if they work for me because neither of the women representing the company had any samples to give out.

Anyway, according to The Beauty Brains, a website I found last night, Arbonne products are not any better (or worse) than less expensive products available at drug or grocery stores. It's just one opinion, but I like the site. It's a riot.