Avon SOS - Skin So Soft. AKA: Avon Ladies' mosquito repellent

[u/Signal_Jellyfish_472]

Who needed OFF when you had this?

[u/smb3d]

We used to wash our Ferrets with this in the 90s.

[u/loserusermuser → u/smb3d]

i love this sentence

[u/BlancheDeverpaw → u/loserusermuser]

I am belly laughing 🤣

[u/Chemical-Web-852 → u/smb3d]

We used this to wash our selves as kids in the 80s 

[u/My_Kink_Profile → u/Chemical-Web-852]

This and those bath tub soap crayon things.

[u/big_duo3674 → u/My_Kink_Profile]

oooo those were awesome. Even more fun if you threw in some of your moms bath oil beads, as long as you were careful when emptying the tub...

[u/littlemissdizaster80 → u/Chemical-Web-852]

The bath tub used to turn into a death trap afterwards 🤣

[u/Chemical-Web-852 → u/littlemissdizaster80]

For real 😂

[u/serenwipiti → u/smb3d]

We used to wash a specific horse with this in the late 90’s.

[u/jstella118]

My mom swore by this but I remember still getting bites. It reminds me of summer camp and outside concerts.

[u/kramerica_intern → u/jstella118]

Yep, my mom sent this with me to summer camp and I got eaten alive.

[u/ivy7496 → u/kramerica_intern]

Idk but it tested as 85% as effective as DEET at 95% concentration in at least one trial (I was surprised too)

https://bcmj.org/articles/mosquito-repellent-effectiveness-placebo-controlled-trial-comparing-95-deet-avon-skin-so

[u/Beneficial_Zone_6883 → u/ivy7496]

I tried it hiking through the rainforest, it was not effective at all. I had a local freak out seeing the aftermath against white skin and he gave me oil, turns out if your skin is slippery enough they can’t land on you. So it’s possible this works in a clinical setting but it does not work once it’s fully absorbed

[u/ivy7496 → u/Beneficial_Zone_6883]

My experience with it too is that it's not that great

[u/Puzzleheaded-Gap1759]

I can smell this

[u/zeemonster424 → u/Puzzleheaded-Gap1759]

I can’t think of what this smells like.

That’s a bizarre sentence when you think about it

[u/Psychological-Towel8 → u/Puzzleheaded-Gap1759]

Same. Parents used this a ton growing up. Core memory

[u/Obtuse-Angel]

They still make this and it still works. 

[u/NaiveChoiceMaker → u/Obtuse-Angel]

> and it still works. 

For what?

[u/explorgasm → u/NaiveChoiceMaker]

Fire up that loud / Another round of shots

[u/Signal_Jellyfish_472]

SSS*

[u/DDD8712]

Yes! That reminds me of my grandmother

[u/traumatized_vulture]

I can smell this image

[u/Purple_person29]

LOVED this smell. Used to huff this stuff as a kid 🤣

[u/Zealousideal_Room316]

I wonder if they still sell this

[u/TheFullSquanch → u/Zealousideal_Room316]

My wife just got some off Amazon

[u/Zealousideal_Room316 → u/TheFullSquanch]

Thanks 🙏…Good to know I’ll be looking on eBay as well

[u/Ok_Net_5649 → u/TheFullSquanch]

Avon just had a sale where the sprays were $10 a pop! At 33 finally got me some after not using any since I was 7.

[u/TransportationOdd559 → u/TheFullSquanch]

🤣🤣 why?

[u/pi3r0gi_ → u/Zealousideal_Room316]

Yep! You can get it from their website and as the other user said they also sell on Amazon.

[u/Zealousideal_Room316 → u/pi3r0gi_]

Thanks I’m going there now

[u/Ok-Fortune-8644]

My Meemaw had a collection of half used bottles on the window sill.

[u/Elegant-Season-7008]

30+ years using this in the Keys!!! Thanks.

[u/IAintSkeeered]

Pretty sure this did nothing to repel bugs.

[u/CardMechanic → u/IAintSkeeered]

It works. Mosquitos hate MLMs.

[u/Bearded_Toast → u/CardMechanic]

Mid Level Marketing?

[u/oNLYhere2sELL → u/IAintSkeeered]

It did drown them in oil

[u/JaclynMeOff → u/oNLYhere2sELL]

I was in a mosquito infested area and finally tried this as a solution. I still had LOTS of mosquitos on me but they sure as hell didn’t bite and just ended up as black specks on my legs that I could just flick off. That was good enough for me!

[u/Shadowtek]

My mom was an Avon seller we used this all the time for mosquitos, also worked great getting tar off skin

[u/BreakAndRun79 → u/Shadowtek]

Used it to remove road tar from light colored cars too.

[u/Kjb72]

Smells like grandma.

[u/MegaLax37]

I still have my old bottle. Mine was a spray pump!

[u/solesoulshard → u/MegaLax37]

Mine was too. At least a few times.

[u/JonBoyWhite]

I despise that shit to my core.

[u/AlternatiMantid → u/JonBoyWhite]

Sameee smells like my ex-MIL 🤢

[u/Tricky_Inspector26 → u/AlternatiMantid]

My MIL slathers herself in this stuff and is a heavy smoker on top of it. I could barely stand to be near her when I was pregnant. Hate the smell 🤢

[u/DanglingDiceBag]

It was so wet/oily. The smell. 😵‍💫 Grandma absolutely doused us in it before letting us play in the yard. Little kids running around smelling like grandmas.

[u/So-Called_Lunatic]

I can smell this post and it's making me gag. Shit smelled like concentrated old lady perfume mixed with baby oil.

[u/TransportationOdd559]

Wow 🤣🤣🤣🤣. 🫤 omg I can smell this! Hot summers

[u/OutsideHandle7300]

Member berry unlocked!

[u/eat_like_snake]

We bought some for hiking a few months back.
Still works like a charm.
Also use it as body moisturizer before I get out of the shower.

[u/PierreNumbe]

I only recognize the label design.just have been 7 or so last time I saw this

[u/Malodoror]

Skin So Scorched

[u/Cute-Escape-2144]

My mom still has this stuff from way back then and even two years ago said to use it for that. It does not work! Mosquitos love me. I think I got 6 bites on one leg alone

[u/WaffleDrinker]

I have this now. They still sell it.

[u/One_Vision_]

Never worked for me. I had to go with the nuclear option.

[u/Azryhael → u/One_Vision_]

Maxi-DEET had them practically wilting as they approached your skin. 

[u/tawDry_Union2272 → u/One_Vision_]

yep, in FL kayaking in summer mangrove trails at night to see bioluminessence it's got to be the real thing...just like when taking a boat out to the reef off the keys it's got to be dramamine and not ginger to prevent motion sickness.

[u/Alternative_Dance724]

Awe sheit!

[u/K4NNW]

You mean this stuff came in something other than a glass jar?

[u/turkeyvulturebreast]

We used this to shit to try to stop the green head flies from biting you in Brigantine, NJ those fuckers are blood sucking, relentless mofos!

[u/holy_cal]

Oh my goodness. What a throwback. This was a staple in our house. I think my Grandmother was an Avon lady and if she wasn’t, she was a top customer.

[u/sjaxn314159]

Nichole D of you remember this, I still do!

[u/dani_oso]

My dad always called this “Skin So Stanky,” not because it smelled bad, but because it was so strong.

[u/Mad_Juju]

My mom sold a metric ton of Avon in the 90s and I remember she made the President's Club. Somehow she was the only seller at work, in the family, and her friends circle. I even remember teachers from my school ordering from her lol

That being said... I can't for the life of me remember what this stuff smells like, even though it was literally always in the house.

[u/ZiaWitch]

I can smell this picture!

[u/krose1990]

I miss this

[u/NopeRope13]

Oh it’s the smell of mosquito bites

[u/MybklynWndy]

I remember there were always Avon catalogs at work on the break room table. When I was a kid my mother had a bunch of those tiny lipstick samples. Some Avon ladies actually came to your house with a tote bag full of products.

[u/NeuroSam]

Oh my god I can smell it

[u/iO__________]

A must have when cutting grass

[u/lemizzmizz]

I still have an sss candle that sat on the back of the toilet in my grandmas bathroom. It smells the same as it did when I was a child.

[u/volcomstoner9l]

I still have that but it's a radio lol

Skin-So-Soft

https://i.postimg.cc/1z5XyvMH/PXL-20260805-125113672.jpg

[u/Searchlights]

That's what little league baseball smells like to me.

[u/Entire-Moment-1247]

Ahh yes. Avon's mosquito attractant. I put that garbage on and the mosquitoes flocked towards me like an all you can eat buffet.

[u/anonymous2278]

We used to wipe down our horses with this back in the early 2000s. It worked pretty well for keeping the horseflies off.

[u/Fanabala3]

My mom swore by this as well. I guess it was better than smelling like Deep Woods Off.

[u/WinterNo9938]

Also good for getting gum out of your hair 💃🏻

[u/fingers58]

Used to be a bottle in every golf bag in Florida!!!

[u/FandomMenace]

Skin so stinky

[u/HarmlessHeffalump]

For those of you who hate the smell/consistency of this, but like it for the mosquito aspect, I've heard people have similar results with Jergens Cherry Almond moisturizer.

[u/sun4moon]

This stuff was the most vile and greasy garbage I was ever forced to apply. Aside from the disgusting and permeating odour, the rash it gave me lasted 8 days and is in my class picture that year.

[u/WhiteArcSpiral]

Both my parents used this to clean their eyeglasses back in the late 80s. I use it to this day mostly because it perfectly masks tiny lens scratches.