Holland & Barrett Advent Calendar 2020 - discussion/swap thread

[IToldYouIWasFreaky]

Thread for discussing the contents of the lovely Holland & Barrett 2020 advent calendar.

Please - no spoilers! Can we agree not to give away what's behind each door before that day?

See you all on 1st December!

I'm absolutely thrilled to have a Kbeauty product and this looks absolutely beautiful. So happy with todays!

This could absolutely be judging a book by its cover but I love the look of this product. The packaging is beautiful. I enjoy Korean products so im sure this one will be lovely to use.

Love the packaging on this one . If the contents is half as good I will be very happy .

Oh looks really pretty! I am happy to try this one.

This is lovely, smells great, lovely bottle. Really looking forward to using this and it is something I would never have chosen.

I used my ear bud to clean up my mascara from my bottom lashes and it actually worked very well.

Day 17: Whamsia Organic Flowers Toner Deep Rich

I couldn't actually find this on the H&B site. They just seem to have the Refresh variant.

Anyway, this is just the kind of thing I was hoping for today! The packaging is beautiful, loving the glass bottle.

I've tried it out already. I treated it like a toner and tried to dispense it onto a pad but it came out very slowly and didn't soak a pad like a toner would. So, I tried a very drops into my hand and could see that the texture is thicker than a usual toner.
Then I read the packaging and realised it's described as a serum toner and that you should apply by dispensing into your hand and patting onto the skin. So yeah, it helps to read the packaging first!

It's a lovely product, it feels moisturising and light and smells divine. It reminds me of orange flower water. I've never tried a Korean beauty product before so I really am chuffed with this one.

It's so pretty! I'm a sucker for cute packaging

I'm surprised at just how much I'm loving this calendar! There's definitely things I'll buy again. I'm loving the eye cream.

Ohhh, I was so eager to use today's that I didn't read the instructions and was very puzzled as to how little came out onto the cotton pad! Will use hands tomorrow!

@XiCi

I'm surprised at just how much I'm loving this calendar! There's definitely things I'll buy again. I'm loving the eye cream.

Its certainly better that the much more expensive Glossybox one i also go. Full of sample sized very expensive products. Least with the H&B I can actually afford to buy the things I like!

I agree Plump82. Often with tiny sample sizes as well you don't have enough product to test any positive or negative effects on the skin so they're pretty useless sometimes.

So is it a serum that you put on and leave on? Or toner that you wipe off?

Its an essence so you would pat it on using your hands after cleansing and before serum/moisturizer.

@RoxyGrey

Ohhh, I was so eager to use today's that I didn't read the instructions and was very puzzled as to how little came out onto the cotton pad! Will use hands tomorrow!

Glad it wasn't just me!

I agree with Plump82 too. It's great to be able to properly try out a product, and have it within your reach to actually buy too! I fell in love with a Emma Hardie cleansing balm from the M&S calendar a couple of years ago but it's £25 for a pot...I don't think I could ever justify spending £25 on something to wash my face with, no matter how lovely.

Agree ITold, seems daft for something you wash straight off.

I can recommend The Superfacialist Vit C Cleansing Oil. Price £11 but it's often on offer around £7. Feels lovely massaged in as a second cleanse.

Gosh this one's lovely! What an incredible smell and so softening. I've used the serum tonight as well and I don't think my skin has looked as good - really impressed with some of these products!

For anyone that liked the rosehip facial oil, I got a half price gift set with this and an exfoliator from the same range in a H&B store today!

I love today's I've nearly run out of toner and serum so good timing. It felt a little bit sticky at first but left my skin lovely and soft.

I've also found a use for yesterday's - it's the perfect size to clean the inside of the straw of my water bottle

I've also found a use for yesterday's - it's the perfect size to clean the inside of the straw of my water bottle

You are a genius! That's a great idea.
Love today's - always been intrigued by this notion but never tried. Although I haven't opened the solid cleanser bar and am reluctant to open these as I haven't got anything to store them in...Oooh hold on, maybe there's a solid bar container behind another calendar door. If not, it'll have to be an old takeaway container!

Really like today's solid shampoo and conditioner bars. Nice that they included both of them.

I've wanted to try a solid shampoo bar for a while so happy again with todays offering

I've been using solid shampoo for nearly three years now - have never managed to get on with solid conditioner so am very glad to get another one of those to try as well :)

Think its really good they've included both the shampoo and conditioner. I've never found a solid shampoo that suits my hair so im keen to try this one.

I’m looking forward to trying these too, have been thinking of getting them for a while

Day 18: Ethique Pinkalicious Solid Shampoo Mini 15g AND
Ethique The Guardian Solid Conditioner Mini 15g

This is the one that I could remember coming, as I usually can't use hair care products as I follow Curly Girl method.

However, I do think it's great that they've included both a shampoo and a conditioner for people to try. I definitely won't be using the shampoo so I've passed that on to DS and he's keen to give it a go. It'd be great if he likes it actually as he uses normal shampoo in a plastic bottle so if we can switch to this one, we'd be reducing our plastic as a household.
I initially offered him the conditioner bar too, then I read the packaging and it says that it can also be used as a shave bar or "in-shower cream" (I presume they mean like a body lotion?) so I'm going to try using it for that.

So, I'm actually pretty pleased with today!

I can't remember who was asking for feedback on the Ethique deodorant bar, sorry! But I've been using it for a couple of days, and I quite like it. The texture is like a bar of soap, but more powdery. It goes on nicely, leaving a bit of a powdery residue. I'm disappointed that it doesn't have a stronger scent though. As I said, I'm already using a Salt of the Earth unscented crystal which is great for days I don't do very much (which is most days as the moment!) but I wanted something with a bit more ooomph when I do more activity. Having said that, I did go to the gym the other night and the Ethique held up well. It'll be interesting to see how it would hold up to a more normal day of commuting on public transport, walking around shops etc.

So, I quite like it but it doesn't have much of an edge over the Salt of the Earth for me, which is lasting me for ever! If you're looking for an eco friendly deodorant, I think I'd recommend that over Ethique.