Beauty Advent Calendars 2023 Part B - have we chosen...or not?

[Stoic123]

Are we going to buy or have we peaked?

Ah I came back to blather on about how after my weekend spent running and early nights, and shuffling after kids, that I’d realised I was still holding onto some vogue London life dream that I only lived for a few years in my 20s and that I am going to buy the runners advent calendar to align with my actual life… then I saw @WeAreBorg’s method for choosing! Who is your worst enemy?! What did they do?

I was going to be quite clever about it too, and buy some jewellery to make up for the 3 single sock days…

Now 10% cashback for Vogue with TopCashBack.
They emailed me - obviously I looked at it too often!
I'm staying strong
I suspect ebay will have these for £500 or more after they sell out.

Ooh that’s an idea! I’m deffo not opening it until Dec

I thought everyone had a mortal enemy/nemesis? What do you spend your time plotting about if you don’t?
Sorry I cannot let you get a sock-based AC you must get the Vogue with me!

I may or may not have had a sneaky peak inside my Selfridges calendar 🤫. It's so good! The fragrances are amazing. Definitely recommend if anyone is considering it.

There's a shirt video clip of Vogue on instagram. Also looks great!

www.instagram.com/p/CxfdsZdIvxd/

Anyone going for cult beauty today?? Just received a general sale email ..

@Giftwithpurchase I’ve been considering CB but I’m not sure I’d be devastated if it sold out and I don’t have one which makes me think I must not want it that much!

I’m still dithering - I think I’ll end up with boots premium and maybe CB, JL or Space NK later if there are discounts to be had. Or I might just hang off altogether for now and if there are no discounts then so be it. I can just get a chocolate calendar!

Nothing is jumping out at me this year - loved F&M last year but this years is too samey.
Im therefore thinking Jo Malone, Molton Brown or The White Company. Has anyone got opinions on these 3, do they usually sell out , any chance of a discount etc? Jo Malone is in first place at the moment but sooo spendy ?

I have had the Molton Brown one before it was lovely (but also includes 2 full size fragrances) it did get a bit boring after a while however the products last ages

@MidnightMeltdown Selfridges is the only one that is tempting me because of the lipsticks and perfumes. The 7 hair products are a bit off-putting though as I already have countless unused hair stuff kicking around.

Yeah, all the hair products put me off a bit too initially. However, 3 of them are small products which all come in the same box. The hair oil also comes in a box with 2 other items. Hair perfume smells gorgeous

@Nearlyadoctor white company is really poor value compared to the others at a similar price point

@ClarkWGreaseball - that is my feeling as well.

I don't really like single brand calendars. I had rituals one year and found it quite dull. They are usually poor value as well. If you're paying close to the retail value for products then you might just as well buy the individual products that you want.

There seems to loads of them this year though. Every brand seems to have a calendar and the competition has definitely become more intense. I guess that lots of people stock up at Christmas now, and so brands that don't offer calendars or Christmas specials are losing out.

@Nearlyadoctor I thought the same about the cost vs value of TWC. Actually came to say almost exactly the same as @MidnightMeltdown about single brand calendars, down to having Rituals one year and finding it boring. I am considering Jo Loves this year though, have you looked at that? Similar pricing and contents to Jo Malone, but for me slightly better value based on the voucher for a full-size scent of your choice

I'm quite disappointed with the calendars this year. There isn't one that I'm compelled to buy as with previous years. I'm quite keen to try drunk elephant though (I think Space NK has that in). Anyone have an opinion about drunk elephant?

@Tambatamba I had the F balm waterfacial a few years ago in a calendar and was underwhelmed tbh, but that's the only product I've tried. Sephora also has a Drunk Elephant product and the other contents are better than Space NK IMO (cheaper too), so maybe worth a look

@Tambatamba

Drunk elephant generally doesn't do much for me. The products seem to be really mild, so may suit someone with sensitive skin, but I like my skin care a bit more potent!

I do like the whipped cream moisturiser that's in space nk though.

Thank you, both!

I had Jo Malone two years ago and will get it again this year. It had a lovely range of small fragrance sprays, body lotions, soaps, and a couple of candles. I was pleasantly surprised by the number of fragrances. I've not seen the contents for this year, but I really like it because I don't want makeup in my calendars and love my perfumes. I've not tried the others you've mentioned.

I had Jo Loves last year which was just as good, and I agree it was maybe better value with the voucher for the full size fragrance. It had more candles than Jo Malone the previous year and I've not really considered it this year because they don't have as wide a range of fragrances and I didn't want the baubles!

I think once you've had a single brand calendar once, that's enough. Side note, I just got an email with 15% off The White Company and it works on the calendar. I'm not willing to share unfortunately as I'll probably use it for Christmas presents, but worth checking your email if you're on their list. Brings the calendar to just under £150

Single brand calendars can be a good way of trying out a brand if they're not too pricey. I've often been tempted to buy Lumene for that reason - but every year I end up blowing my beauty budget on other things.

If I ever did get it, I don't think I'd treat it as an advent calendar though. Or at least, I would definitely need a multi brand one as well!