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Wednesday, March 21, 2012

A Sheen To Die For!

“The hair is the richest ornament of women”

Martin Luther (1483-1546)



My Grandmother used to say if your hair is not well groomed, nothing will look good on you. Experience has taught me the truth in this. There have been times I adorned an outfit that looked wonderful on the hanger and yet if the hair was not behaving, the mirror image looking back at me left much to desired. The outfit that made even a hanger look good did very little to enhance my reflection. These occasions are commonly referred to as, 'A Bad Hair Day.'

After an exhausting day I sat in front of the telly in zombie mode and aimlessly flicked through channels. I paused for a moment curious to discover the name of the product promising me healthy, silky smooth hair, with a sheen to die for. A sheen the likes my hair hasn’t known for many a year. All I had to do was call the number on the screen….money back guaranteed if I don’t get the results promised. If I called within the next minute I would get not  $10, not  $20 but $30 off the already reduced price. But wait, call right this minute and not only would I get this great offer but they would throw in free shipping and two free gifts.
They had me!


I picked up the telephone and dialed the number flashing on the screen. Voice in head said, “You are an all-time eejit!” Voice in head was getting on my nerves. So, I told Voice, “Listen I will be put on hold and while I wait listening to a computerized Voice informing me, Please hold all our agents are busy. Your call will be answered in the order it was received. I might very well change my mind and hang up.”

That is not the way things transpired. Oh No! My call was answered on the second ring. I was shocked into a moment’s speechlessness. No computerized voice, just Shirley. Shirley asked me my name. She didn’t quite understand my accent, so I had to spell it for her, A….N…..N. I was slightly distracted because both Shirley and Voice were talking at the same time. Well Voice was actually laughing! I decided to go ahead with the order in spite of Voice. After all it was not like I was signing my life away. I can cancel the order at any time.

I have never ordered anything from the telly before. I felt a twinge of embarrassment even though I was alone in the house that is if you don’t count laughing Voice. The procedure I discovered is not quite as straightforward as, Yes, I want to try the magic hair stuff with free shipping and two free gifts. Oh No! That would be too easy. Shirley toted another magically product to die for, available at the incredible once in a lifetime low of  $5 and would I like to add this little bit of magic to my order? No, I responded politely. Shirley obviously didn’t hear me say, 'No, thank you very much,' because she repeated the incredible offer. With my second negative response Shirley decided I might like to try a course of special vitamins. Voice tittered. 'No thank you Shirley.' Shirley proceeded to expound on the virtues of healthy inside, healthy outside. 'No thank you Shirley. I am only interested in purchasing the sheen to die for hair product.' Finally Shirley accepted the fact I had no intention of being reeled in by the bait she was dangling and we parted ways.

 “See,” I told Voice, “Not such an eejit after all.” I am not sure, but I thought I heard a sniggering hurumph.


Mary at Waibels World very graciously bestowed the Liebster Blog Award on Inkpots n' Quills.  Thank you Mary. Stop by Waibels World and enjoy!  I will pass on the Liebster Blog Award shortly.

20 comments:

A said...

Your grandmother is so right. Nice hair, nice skin, nice teeth and the woman looks like a million bucks.

niamh said...

brilliant:) Thanks for the laugh! I really loved the bit when Shirley and the voice were talking at the same time! Good for you for resisting all the extras:)

Let us know how the 'sheen to die for' works out!

Old Kitty said...

Oh Ann!! Yay for being firm with Shirley!! Sometimes it's good to listen to the Voice but oh they do snigger! LOL!

I'm all for great hair days but not when it comes with such a hard sell!

Take care
x

Unknown said...

LOL! I hope the product works as well as it claimed! What a cute story-- thanks for sharing it!

Mary said...

Well done Ann ..may your bad hair days be few and should they persist may your crowning glory sport a sheen to die for! Glad The Voice didn't get the better of you ...

Brigid O'Connor said...

So funny, us women and our hair. Myself and my daughter just discovered 'Herbal Essences', range, mightn't provide a sheen to die for but close (and cheap).
Our grandmothers were right about lots of things but they also wore a lot of hats:)

catdownunder said...

Well done you! I am afraid I prowl along the supermarket shelves and try to ignore the (usually expensive) hype.

Karen Jones Gowen said...

Oh my, now I'm worried about my hair...It could definitely use some shine!

Susan Flett Swiderski said...

I hope that hair product is every bit as good as promised. My grandmother never had much to say about hair, but she was a firm believer in always putting a nice polish to your shoes. Shine, yes, but at the other end of the body.

Talli Roland said...

Hehe! I can just picture Shirley trying to convince you and having no joy!

Liza said...

Oh, please follow up and let us know how the hair product works! I've been tempted so many times to pick up the phone on those advertisements. Now I feel like I "know" someone who did! Very daring of you!

Michael Offutt, Phantom Reader said...

Medieval misogyny has much to say over the length of hair that women possess. Not that length means that hair should be styled or unstyled. Simply that medieval writers believed there was some inherent power associated with long hair that a wise man should fear.

Siobhan said...

I hope the product works for you. Hope it ships in adequate time also. Cute story.

Theresa Milstein said...

Keep us posted on how your hair turns out. Glad you stood your ground on the other stuff.

Congrats on your award!

D.J. Kirkby said...

Your grandmother and my Grammie C sound very similar in their views about well coiffed hair. My hair used to cause my Grammie C despair!

LittleWomen21 said...

I love that Voice! Sometimes we just gotta do crazy things to keep our Voice guessing. I haven't ordered anything off TV/telly in a long time, but usually good came of it those times I did (despite my own Voice issues)!

Manzanita said...

Sometimes there are just too many bossy Shirleys in the world. Gotta be firm. I kinda live in the sticks and have ordered from the telly, catalogs and computer quite often. I always laugh at that extra sales pitch. Gotta squeeze every penny from the customer. :)

Margo Kelly said...

My mother is a hairdresser, and when I was a child, she'd go away for a week to an intensive hair cutting school to learn all the latest tips and tricks. Then, she'd come home and try them out on me. *sigh* but I ALWAYS had the coolest and best kept hair of anyone I knew.

Julie said...

What?! Thats it?! Here you have me on the edge of my seat, DYING to know if said to-die-for-awesome-sheen hair product works AND YOU LEAVE OUT THE ENDING!!

That's just cold.

Hahaha! ( : I'm sensing a follow up post... after the 30 day free trial, of course.

P.s. I KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN about the bad hair day-ness. It doesn't matter HOW stinkin' cute the outfit is... if the hair isn't "in it" that day... NOTHING will go right!!

Hold my hand: a social worker's blog said...

Hahaha That was funny--Shirley and Voice. You are a courageous lady by calling on that ad. :-))

I agree, the hair tells a lot about self-care or others' care. When I tour visitors/families in the nursing home, I normally point out that they can observe how nice our ladies look and that about 90% of them go to the beauty parlor on a regular basis, which is true.

Doris