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

We're not eating it all on the same day - this is over the whole Christmas period.

Yes, I got that. There's still a load of stuff you could survive without, especially the sweets. (Your ancestors far back bought exactly the same amount of food with the same carbon footprint as you? Yes, I know you'll say they did.) I don't imagine you intend to stick to your advised daily calorie count all over Christmas. Calories you don't NEED.

Please understand, I'm not saying you're wrong to do this. I'm just making the point that we ALL buy things we don't NEED over Christmas. It's just that we all think that where WE happen to land is just the right balance, and anyone who does it differently is the mindless wasteful consumerist.

Beauty advent calendars are completely off the chart if you use this scale.

Like that.

Where's OP @royco gone? Created a storm now hiding

I have one child only, does that cancel out the environmental impact of my beauty calendar, which contains mostly stuff I'd have bought anyway?

Obviously not, it doesn't work like that, I think it would be helpful if we stop jumping on every small thing people do. It's not a competition, none of us know what other choices people are making in terms of their environmental impact.

@CSJobseeker

It's the waste that gets me with these things. Masses if packaging for lots of small items. And invariably, several of the items won't be things I want.

I'd rather just buy myself some treats to have during December.

Another vote for the waste of it all (packaging, unused products).

The got to tell people aspect is a bit 'uhh really' with the posts on social media 'look at my 3 advent calendars' ... why the need to post and tell people 'everything'. Lacking somewhere obviously.

I always really like the idea of them because I quite like hair and skin stuff but can't stand the idea of all the packaging and waste so have held of for now, but I do see the appeal but just isn't for me.

Adult advent calendars are marketing genius, which is why so many companies do one. They are pure incremental spend for a brand - eg, someone who usually buys from a specific brand generally would get a calendar on top of this usual spend, without reducing the full price/full-size products they buy (noting there are some exceptions like some of the savvy PPs). They are a brilliant way of getting us to part with more money, by creating demand for something new. The criticism around them is the same as that for Halloween decorations, baby showers, etc - there are new ways to celebrate events today versus 30 years ago.

Calendars are particularly interesting because rather than just buying physical things, they give us an experience - a lovely dopamine hit every day we open a door. No criticism of people who choose to buy them - they are beautiful and fun, and people can spend their money how they want. But always interesting to consider that it is just another example of how we are all cogs in the consumerist machine….

(I will confess that I quite enjoy reading the s&b threads of people opening their calendars - nice to hear about new products and the threads are such happy places. I am a bit odd, I know!).

If anyone is looking to reduce waste etc at Christmas, one of the best things you could do is forego wrapping paper.

In recent years, I've done a mix of recycling the wrapping paper from gifts I've received, and wrapping gifts in fabric (which can obviously be reused for decades). I had various scraps of pretty fabric in the house anyway, leftover from craft projects etc.

You fold the fabric around the gift, tie with a ribbon, and it looks lovely - and a lot less time-consuming than paper wrapping. The fabric is part of the gift, so the recipient can reuse it next time they give a gift.

It's very freeing when you realise that a lot of the things you previously thought you needed to organise each Xmas (e.g. buying wrapping paper) are not necessary at all, and it feels good to reduce what you buy.

If we’re playing top trumps - I haven’t been on a plane since 2008, am child free, have a very economical car which does about 1000km a year as I’m disabled and need it occasionally.

I don’t think a beauty advent calendar is going to make a lot of difference to my carbon footprint

always interesting to consider that it is just another example of how we are all cogs in the consumerist machine….

Yes, definitely. It's interesting to see how adept companies are at convincing the population that they need/want a new thing.

@kikipie You can have two

My husband bought me a Liberty one this year, a massive treat which I am absolutely going to enjoy every day. The packaging is beautiful! I bought a chocolate calendar for him, a beauty calendar for my daughter and a men’s ‘beauty/grooming’ for my son. We’re all very happy!!

@RunRunGingerbreadMan 🤣

Oh and I use reusable gift bags instead of wrapping paper - where do I get my medal?

The environmental damage caused by flying, or eating meat, neither of which I do on a regular basis, is worse I think, but no one starts a thread berating non veggies or those who fly on holiday four times a year.

Yes they do, I've seen plenty of both on MN.

I take the point that there are many forms of wasteful consumerism but I do think it's a shame to be introducing new forms in this way. It's going to be hard enough for people to give up already engrained patterns of consumption (and ultimately I don't think it'll happen without legislation) so creating new demands in this way seems so wrong-headed to me. The trend for adults to have these huge advent calendars hasn't replaced something else, it's just added a new form of consumption where it wasn't there before.

Loads of people with money waste money on things. Shrug.

Why ‘waste’? What is wasted exactly?

I get DH a beer one each year, it's £50 or £45 if i get in early, that's £2 a can roughly, which is less than they retail for, it also means no beer in the grocery shopping for December which is usually £10 - £12 a week for 4 cans , so actually I either save a little or break even and DH gets some hipster new beers to try (all recycled packaging and carbon neutral company). I'm not fussed about an advent calendar but have a wooden decorative one which DH usually puts some nice chocolate in. It doesn't feel like the biggest of extravagances.

@knittingaddict

I can't bring myself to conden them despite having no interest in one myself. However a hand dyed yarn advent is a whole other story and I would love one. I mean really really love one. Maybe soon. 🧶

I would love a hand-dyed yarn advent calendar too, @knittingaddict, but I can't wear pure wool - it's too itchy - and I've never seen a hand dyed yarn calendar with different yarn (silk, silk cotton mis, cotton, maybe). It's a gap in the market, and when they fill it, I will be right there to buy one.

My usual advent calendar is a gingerbread biscuit one - I used to get it from John Lewis, but they stopped making it, so I ordered one online from a biscuit company last year, but they haven't done it this year either, so no gingerbread for me. I've got a different one, though, so my life is not totally tragic.

I have looked at the beauty advent calendars, from time to time, but my 'beauty' regime is so sparse, that they'd be a total waste for me - the only things I regularly use on my face are moisturiser and diprobase eczema cream, and I almost never wear make up.

I agree the packaging is the main issue to be concerned about here. The idea of a calendar - well, I wouldn't want one, but everyone's taste is different - however, we should be moving away from over-packaged things. The 'novelty' of having 24 things to unpackage doesn't really justify the environmental impact.

I'll have had three, I got the Revolution one from their website (which I'm opening one day at a time) the Revolution one from Superdrug, which I opened in one go, and I ordered the massive Revolution one from Superdrug (which I tried talking myself out of, but failed,) and I might save that till after Christmas.
I also have a chocolate one from Hotel Chocolat. Having a Revolution and a Hotel Chocolat advent calendar are a tradition at this point, 2017 was the first year I did it, then I couldn't get a Hotel Chocolat one last year and really missed it, so got in early this year. It cheers me up as I hate this time of year, it's so dark.

Why is it your business?
She can obviously afford it so it's fine.
I treated myself to one for the first time this year and I love it! The two things I've opened so far are full size and will be used.
Regardless, it makes me smile each day.

I never get time to browse make up in the shops so it's a big treat for me. I wouldn't like to think my friends were judging me or taking the piss.

I have a beauty one, 2 candle ones, a chocolate wine, in fact we have 9 in our household of 4 adults. Advent calendars are one of our favourite Christmas things. We have reduced present buying as my DC have good jobs and buy most of what they want themselves.
It’s fun to do and a nice daily family activity.
I think we should have a Christmas cracker and wrapping paper bashing thread instead.

@wavingwhilstdrowning

Things traditionally for women - beauty, bags, nails etc are all ridiculed as unnecessary and flippant and a waste. It is misogyny. It's no more of a waste that items men buy. I remember once my dad ridiculing DM's silly 'lotions and potions' whilst carefully organising his hundreds of mad expensive fishing lures and floats. Even at 10 the hypocrisy wasn't lost on me.

Haha classic.

Fil talks about handbags etc, doesn't mention the TWELVE road bikes he has

@DrSbaitso

We're not eating it all on the same day - this is over the whole Christmas period.

Yes, I got that. There's still a load of stuff you could survive without, especially the sweets. (Your ancestors far back bought exactly the same amount of food with the same carbon footprint as you? Yes, I know you'll say they did.) I don't imagine you intend to stick to your advised daily calorie count all over Christmas. Calories you don't NEED.

Please understand, I'm not saying you're wrong to do this. I'm just making the point that we ALL buy things we don't NEED over Christmas. It's just that we all think that where WE happen to land is just the right balance, and anyone who does it differently is the mindless wasteful consumerist.

Beauty advent calendars are completely off the chart if you use this scale.

Like that.

I don't think I have the perfect balance at all. I do a lot of things I feel are not ideal because I live in a consumerist society and you don't always have complete choice. I'm just saying that these calendars are a new thing and tip the balance in completely the wrong direction.

I set my own balance on avoiding buying new things and living a similar sort of lifestyle compared to my ancestors. I think it's likely that this is largely sustainable, though unlikely to be perfect. It doesn't hurt to reflect on whether your choices are sustainable too.

Do kids need half the crap that goes in their stockings?
How about selection boxes?