It was announced during the week that cosmetics company Avon will cease in Australia and New Zealand by the end of the year.

And customers and representatives are devastated.

Most girls would have been introduced to makeup from a young age with their own stash of Little Blossom products.

And most ladies would have a hoard of Imari or Skin So Soft in their bathrooms.

You can recognise an Avon fragrance from a mile away 

Avon is a product most people have used and even more have heard of.

The campaigning means we no longer can help saying “ding-dong, Avon calling” every time the doorbell rings.

The business structure meant it was fantastic for women, who were looking to enter the job market in a part time capacity, to set their own hours and make some money.

You didn’t mind a visit from the Avon lady because they were always so well presented and always had a smile on their face.

As promotions headed towards sexualising women in their advertisements, Avon always seemed to portray the good, clean, wholesome woman that reminded you of your mum or nanna.

As it stands, about 220 employees and 21,400 consultants across the country are set to lose their jobs.

But the loss of Avon is more than a loss of jobs, it’s the lost of an institution.

It started in New York in 1886 but didn’t come to Australia until 1967.

Door-to-door saleswomen were a regular occurrence in Australian households and often a little plastic bag with the white receipt clipped to the top could be found in our mother’s bathrooms or closets, with goods waiting to be used.

The demise of the business in Australia could be from a largely growing market on social media and online.

Makeup and beauty products are not like clothes that you need to feel or try on.

What you see online is normally what you get so shopping with the click of a button is often easier.

Online shopping has been the death of many a business and Avon seems to be its latest victim. There’s still time to stock up on those plum-coloured lipsticks and scented talcum powder before the company ceases selling in the country, though.