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

@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.

I agree with this ^^

Your FIL sounds like my dh, @royco. Apparently there is an easy formula to decide how many bikes one needs:

Correct number of bikes = X +1, where X is the number of bikes you currently have.

This explains why, at one point, we had 9.5 bikes, and only 4 people who ride bikes (dh and the three dses - I haven't ridden in years). Any attempt on my part to question why we needed so many bikes was met with utter disbelief.

Oh - and 0.5 of a bike comes from dh's habit of buying scrap bikes for parts to repair the other bikes, stripping them down for the part he needed and selling on the other usable parts, which meant we often had bits of bike, adding up to about a half bike, sculling around the shed.

It is much more comfortable to avoid thinking about this, but I don't think we have that luxury any more.

Well, I bought an M and S calendar for myself because it’s such good value for things you actually want, and then my Mum gave me another calendar. So I’ve got two advent calendars, even though not both beauty. I’m not sure if this makes me terrible in your eyes?

@Pipsandseeds

It is much more comfortable to avoid thinking about this, but I don't think we have that luxury any more.

I do think about it. That’s why we sold our second car, we use public transport where possible and we walk anything under 2 miles. It’s why I buy my fruit and veg in paper bags from the grocers rather than in plastic punnets from the supermarket. It’s why I mend clothes with holes in rather than replacing them, and buy second hand where possible (not socks though 😬). I try very very hard to not buy from China. Having a gin advent calendar (given to me as a gift) doesn’t negate all those other things I do.

@Nomorescreentime

For me, these advent calendars are a symbol of endless consumerism and so although I don't begrudge or judge people having a little treat each day at all, it makes me incredibly sad that we all just keep buying more and more stuff and none of us seem to be able to stop. I'm including myself in this.

I think I hate these adult advent calendars in particular as they weren't something that even existed a few years ago until companies twigged it was a method to sell us even more stuff.

I got my first beauty advent calendar over 10 years ago (Selfridges) so they did exist a few years ago. They’re more widespread now though.

I set my own balance

Yes, that's the point!

And like everyone else, your balance is the right one. And anyone who buys something unnecessary that isn't the same unnecessary thing you buy is the crass, materialist consumerist!

And strangely, none of this criticism is levelled at items that are considered good taste and middle class...

@HoppingPavlova

What a weird post. I have …….. drumroll ……. 9. Of those, 5 are beauty. The others are food/teas/jams/alcohol). My beauty ones are Clinique, Body Shop, L’Occitane, ASOS, Fantastic.

I don’t open all 9 at once but have 9 months of Advent, one a month, then a 3 month break before starting again each November. I just keep an eye on expiry dates for food ones and time it all to fit. Obviously the last week of each month is also a break before starting each new one.

I’ve never had any in the food ones not to my taste, probably because I only buy ones I know I will like. Most of the beauty stuff gets used, the odd thing I know DD would really like I put aside and recycle one and give it to her for her birthday month so she has a special month. On the rare occasion there is something neither DD or I would use I would usually take it to work and someone wants it (that fell down a bit when in lockdowns obviously but usually it’s the fix to avoid any waste).

I also get each member of my household an Advent I know they will like for December. Again, in a rare instance they don’t want something it’s easily shuffled off to someone else. I’m happy to spring for one, if they want more to do similar to myself they need to organise/purchase and they don’t.

I’m happy. Couldn’t give a shiny shit what you think.

9 is completely ridiculous.

[quote luckylavender]@royco - you 'highly doubt' You can't possibly know what people will use or not. [/quote]
I can make an assessment based on sell and swap groups on Facebook, friends' conversations about their calendars, how unlikely it would be to end up with 72 products that were to the buyer's taste. It's hardly a leap

@fedup65356

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

Hi! I'm still here, sorry I wasn't online for every second of the live long day!

@DrSbaitso

Food: a pile of veg; beef joint; fruit; stuff to make Christmas pudding; stuff to make mince pies; ice cream.

Three desserts/sweets? Four, if you count the fruit. That's unnecessary. You probably don't NEED all the veg and fruit you buy either. Even if you do eat it all, you'll be stuffed and overfull. You don't NEED beef either. Chicken would be cheaper and less excessive. Vegetarian or vegan would be better yet, especially for the environment.

Presents: second-hand things - lego, puzzles, books, pencils, pyjamas, socks. Stuff I've made - individual christmas cakes. Things I've bought new - books, socks. I'm also giving some experiences, like lessons for things my kids want to learn.

Gifts are unnecessary. Nobody NEEDS gifts, even if you did indirectly contribute to consumerism consumerism by buying stuff that someone else bought already. And you bought stuff new, too! You can get books from the library. And was there any plastic in any of this stuff? And what are these experiences, will they involve any emissions, even just to get there, or any wastage? Anyway, who NEEDS to go go karting or glass blowing or whatever?

More Christmas cakes? So that's four, or maybe five, sweet things that nobody NEEDS?

Would it be OK for people to buy decorations if, unlike you, they didn't buy them already?

So much that you don't NEED!

Forgetting the calenders, this is why we'll never be able to tackle climate change. Because people use other people as an excuse as to why that won't change their behaviours. 'I buy a calendar, but you're doing x y z so ner ner ner.' and nothing changes and people carry on just because they think other people are just as bad.

Does anyone remember the advent thing on Blue Peter? It was a wire coat hanger draped in tinsel with 4 candles, one lit each weekly episode in the run-up to Christmas. I desperately wanted to make one, but they always sternly specified "flame-proof tinsel" and my mum said she had no idea where to buy that. No presents involved, just light, and therefore not of much use to the marketing department.

I was all ready to come on here and say all how ridiculous etc etc…..

Then I realised that if they did Advent Calendars with tickets to Rock gigs then I’d probably have quite a few 😊. We all have that one temptation we can’t resist!

Forgetting the calenders, this is why we'll never be able to tackle climate change. Because people use other people as an excuse as to why that won't change their behaviours. 'I buy a calendar, but you're doing x y z so ner ner ner.' and nothing changes and people carry on just because they think other people are just as bad.

Or because they'll latch on to something like calendars and load all their judgement on to that so that they can excuse whatever THEY do. Like I've said, it's interesting how "good taste middle class" excesses seem to be exempt.

Meanwhile...

@DrSbaitso

I set my own balance

Yes, that's the point!

And like everyone else, your balance is the right one. And anyone who buys something unnecessary that isn't the same unnecessary thing you buy is the crass, materialist consumerist!

And strangely, none of this criticism is levelled at items that are considered good taste and middle class...

These criticisms absolutely should be levelled at everything unnecessary that we buy.

But I've set my balance, what's yours?

Like I've said, it's interesting how "good taste middle class" excesses seem to be exempt.

Do you mean things like big status cars, frequent long-haul flights etc? I'm happy to criticise those as well. The planet can't sustain it.

But I've set my balance, what's yours?

If I told you, you'd be very annoyed, and not for the reasons you probably imagine. Trust me.

But when I start picking out one particular pretty harmless Christmas practice as the marker for all that's ill, in order to be performatively holier-than-thou, it'll be a relevant question.

Latching on to stuff like advent calendars and Christmas Eve boxes is just a distraction to make the people who don't do them feel superior, and imagine the worst of anyone who does. We would be better off having general discussions about waste and positive action for reducing it (eg, alternatives to wrapping paper), or even looking at what the biggest element of the problem is...and it's not a minority of women buying some makeup in December. Would be so much easier if it were!

@CSJobseeker

Like I've said, it's interesting how "good taste middle class" excesses seem to be exempt.

Do you mean things like big status cars, frequent long-haul flights etc? I'm happy to criticise those as well. The planet can't sustain it.

Yes, but also more expensive tech, bikes, tall trees with the proper Warm White Lights and so on. I'm sure you'll criticise those once I invite you to, but they don't seem to concern people enough to start many threads about them.

It's not that we don't need to make changes for tge planet. Of course we do. But really, this is the issue that should be the focus? And that's got nothing to do with being able to congratulate oneself for not doing this minor thing....and therefore ignore the rest of it?

@royco - to do proper market research you wound need to know how many people purchased each calendar and how many of those were engaging in such chat. Not just Freda moaning on FB.

I agree I think it should be part of a larger conversation around waste. Tbh I think wrapping paper is probably the least of it - gas-guzzling cars, long-haul flights, fast fashion, the latest tech - all completely unsustainable. It's a whole culture that has to change and these calendars are one small part of it, but to me they seem to be a sign that we are still going in the wrong direction.

@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. 🧶

This!! I spend money on yarn, different hooks and needles depending on what I'm currently crocheting, accessories like plastic eyes and noses for when I make dolls and soft toys. To me it's not a waste of money as its one of the only things that focuses my mind (MH issues) and my children like the things I make (I make soft toys for them in their favourite characters, blankets etc)

I'm waffling I know, I just couldn't bring myself to call someone's hobby or interests wasteful, assuming she's either got the money to be able to afford it or has been gifted them, even if not, its not my business. I agree about the packaging, they could be made environmentally friendly or reusable in some way I'm sure.

Mine is beautiful abd made of cardboard, no plastics

The point about adult advent calendars and Christmas Eve boxes is that we used to enjoy Christmas without them. They are a nakedly cynical modern marketing invention aimed at making people buy yet more stuff (with the additional contemporary bonus of people being able to boast about how much new stuff they're getting on social media). It's actually quite impressive how they've managed to turn a religious observance of patience and anticipation into a consumer frenzy.

There is a sensible middle ground to be found between current consumption and living like a mediaeval hermit, but I don't think products like this help people locate it.

[quote luckylavender]@royco - to do proper market research you wound need to know how many people purchased each calendar and how many of those were engaging in such chat. Not just Freda moaning on FB. [/quote]
Ok but I was expressing an opinion, an educated opinion. I wasn't stating anything as fact.

@WouldBeGood

Mine is beautiful abd made of cardboard, no plastics

So is mine, or rather are mine. I have Fortnum & Mason, Space NK and also the Bonne Maman jam one - all three are cardboard packaging and the first two are particularly sturdy so will be reused. Like PP, anything in them that I won't use will be donated to my local refuge (which will not include any jam ).

I like being able to try new products I'd been keen on buying and also get to use those I'd love to buy but can't justify paying for separately - the F&M one has a 10ml bottle of a perfume that costs £295 for the 100ml bottle and I will never own one. I will reuse the little jam jars too.

Did somebody mention a cheese calendar?