Three 'beauty' advent calendars for a grown woman?

[royco]

I've just seen someone posting that she's got three beauty advent calendars to open this year.

When did this become a thing? Surely it's wasteful, expensive and completely unnecessary?

Call me Scrooge

@icedcoffees

How is it wasteful if the products are going to be used?

Because I highly doubt that 72 mini products will all be to taste, and most will end up in a cupboard somewhere

@Bigassbeebuzzbuzz

I wondered this yesterday when everyone posted their families advent calendars on Facebook. My dc must feel hard done by because they only got 1 £2 chocolate advent calendar each. Some dc had 5 advent calendars! Personally I wouldn't have one (maybe a chocolate one) but if that's what people want to buy it's got nothing to do with me.

5? Fucking hell.

@icedcoffees

The sizes are tiny, so the ratio of packaging to product is significantly worse than with a larger item.

But if she was bought a full sized item she hated, the entire product would be going in the bin too. Nobody's going to want your opened and used cosmetics, lol.

Or maybe buying advent gifts isn't necessary at all? Adults being bought advent calendars is a recent thing, not exactly a mandatory tradition. Capitalism convinces us that endless consumption and gift buying is necessary in order to be happy, but it really isn't.

I'd rather save my money, and my friends save their money, and perhaps we can each treat ourselves to something we know we enjoy during Xmas. Or meet up for an evening together and share a posher than usual bottle of wine.

I wasn't suggesting that being bought an unwanted full size gift was the optimum alternative.

You can say the same about any (one year only) advent calendar.
The chocolate ones with minuscule pieces of chocolate and huge amounts of packaging for example.

It’s strange isn’t it because we had a fabric advent calendar when we were young - a wall hanging of a Christmas tree with numbered pockets.
Every day we would take a ‘decoration’ out of a numbered pocket and attach it to the Christmas tree with a pin.
By Christmas Day the tree was decorated.
Exciting times (!) 🤣🤣

I mean where does it end?

Advent calendar gifts, Xmas eve boxes, Xmas gifts.... At what point do people think that they might possibly have enough stuff?

@NinaDefoe

You can say the same about any (one year only) advent calendar. The chocolate ones with minuscule pieces of chocolate and huge amounts of packaging for example.

It’s strange isn’t it because we had a fabric advent calendar when we were young - a wall hanging of a Christmas tree with numbered pockets.
Every day we would take a ‘decoration’ out of a numbered pocket and attach it to the Christmas tree with a pin.
By Christmas Day the tree was decorated.
Exciting times (!) 🤣🤣

I love that idea!

She might sell or donate what she doesn't use. I had one of the M&S washbag deals, I kept about half the products and sold the rest on eBay.

I do see the appeal and I would have absolutely loved the daily surprise when I was younger; but now I’m trying to be more mindful about what I consume and not having extra packaging/items for the sake of it. It just seems very wasteful to me.

I’m no saint, I treat myself all the time, but to me it makes more sense to buy full size products that I actually want and will use.

We are doing books they already own in a pillowcase. Worst mum

CSJobseeker

We were easily pleased!
My bother and I would fall out if one of us decorated the tree and it wasn’t our turn.
Definitely simpler times!

You’d hate Christmas at our house, OP. We go all out, and I mean all out 😅 Piles of presents, way too much food, every inch of the house and garden decorated.

Gosh. Imagine being so miserable you sit there complaining that other people are enjoying life.

Instead of getting yourself all worked up over what other people are doing, make changes in your own life to make yourself happy. Because if you were happy, you wouldn’t give a crap what anyone else is doing.

Surely it's wasteful, expensive and completely unnecessary?

Have you ever exchanged gifts or been to a party?

Well, DP gave me a super swanky one, total surprise, and so exciting each day. A little bit of pleasure in a dark world.

So, YABU, because this has really cheered me up. Feels special

This is a total con! Consumerism telling us we need to buy more and more stuff. At massive cost to us, because we have to work more to pay for this stuff, and massive cost to the planet. You can have a great, happy Christmas with food, decorations, songs and friends (as has been traditional for hundreds of years) without the need to buy endless stuff. It's like we're children needing these little treats all the time.

@royco

Explain why? Which ones? What's the appeal?

I have 2.

And I don't have to explain why to you or anyone else.

It’s strange isn’t it because we had a fabric advent calendar when we were young - a wall hanging of a Christmas tree with numbered pockets.
Every day we would take a ‘decoration’ out of a numbered pocket and attach it to the Christmas tree with a pin.
By Christmas Day the tree was decorated.
Exciting times (!) 🤣🤣

Far more exciting than another hair mask.

And I don't have to explain why to you or anyone else

Fine. But why join the conversation at all?

I have an M&S one and Aldi one, and couldn't care less what judgey people like you think OP. It's a bit of fun before Christmas and something of a Christmas tradition for me.

You do you.

@fedup65356

I have an M&S one and Aldi one, and couldn't care less what judgey people like you think OP. It's a bit of fun before Christmas and something of a Christmas tradition for me.

You do you.

I am indeed judging

I actually love the idea of someone sat with their pursed lips judging while I merrily consume the gin that came in my advent calendar. Makes it taste all the sweeter!

These products are usually a ploy to draw some customers in. So you try the product, hopefully will like at least one and will carry in using it.
That’s why they are cheaper than buying the products individually. It’s just basic advertising.

It’s not just make up advent calendar. It’s the booze, tea etc….

If the products get used then what’s the issue? I have two and they both include full sized products that I use anyway, so it was a cheaper way of getting those with some new products to try. I don’t post about them on social media though.

Beauty products are my thing. Clothes and shoes aren’t; I only buy clothes and shoes when I actually need them, so if a jumper gets a hole that’s behind repair then I’ll replace it and I have clothes that are many years old. I think fast fashion is far more wasteful.

We consume too much. It’s why the environment is fucked.

Yep, another scrooge here. Let's be honest, most of us buy things we don't need/will ultimately throw away. It's all the extra plastic and raw materials and energy that makes it problematic for me, not the cost.

Everyone likes to pay lip service to protecting the planet and caring about those less fortunate than us but hardly anyone is prepared to make sacrifices to do it...🤷🏾‍♀️

I am indeed judging

So why isn't your feeling of superiority enough for you?