General “waifs and strays” beauty advent calendar opening thread

[AprilLady]

As in previous years, this a thread for those opening Beauty Advent Calendars not covered by specific calendar opening threads (though also happy for contents of those to be shared here too).

As previously, it will also be fun to hear about other calendar openings - food, jam, socks anyone?

Please do not include spoilers before 7am on the relevant day. Please also avoid dropping hints or spoilers about future contents if you have opened the calendar in advance.

I’ll be opening the Vogue and Selfridges calendars this year. Really looking forward to Day 1.

LF is a lash enhancing serum. I'm going to think about it. My lashes are usually pretty good! Maybe I don't need it and can sell it.

Ciate is called Red Red Wine. It's a daaaaark red. Not quite Rouge Noir but close. I love this kind of colour so it's a hit. I have an original Rouge Noir from the 90s.

A 50/50 day!

Day 13 Harrods is a Laura Mercier Caviar Stick Eye Colour in Rose Gold. Not the most exciting day but I’m always happy with these for a quick eye look so will definitely get used. Nice that it’s full size too.

By Terry Day 14 is a travel-sized miscellular water. Not exciting but will use.

Day 14 Space NK is a full size summer Fridays jet lag mask. Have been wanting to try this and was one of the things that pulled me to this calendar so very happy today.

I’ve forgotten to update the Soap and Glory one for a couple of days. Day 12 was a full size Scrub Of Your Life body scrub 200ml and 13 was The Fab Pore sheet mask.
This morning was a DoD - a pink and white stripy scrunchie. 8 yr old thinks it’s lovely so she’s had it.

@lookingforMolly I've had one of the Inis candles and they're lovely!

Day 14 Diptyque: 10ml L'Ombre Dans L'Eau

I haven't tried this one before so looking forward to a test spray! I'm currently wearing very strong smelling hand cream though so it'll have to wait until after I've showered.

Forgot to update yester for Boots Premium.

Better than sex mascara yesterday. I would get to it around 2032 given the number of mascaras I have.

Rituals shower gel. I'm a soap woman generally but I like the rituals shower gels so happy with this.

Refill: ren eye cream and another single teabag.

Degusta: Dinky protein bar.

@SwordBilledHummingbird I’d be interested to know what you think of L’Ombre Dans L’eau. Are you aware it’s the closest perfume match to the Baies candle? It’s definitely in my top 3 Diptyques, with Eau Rose and Philosykos.

@OchonAgusOchonOh I’m also a fan of the Rituals foaming cleanser, so that would be a good day for me.

Another catch up on OK advent day 13 was the Balance Me Hyaluronic Plumping Mist . Which I am sure I will use
Day 14 was the Aroma Active Salt soak - looks like one bath worth which I will use tonight

@Summerdew Same! I can't wait to try this, hoping it's a good one to use on flights too!

@AprilLady I gave it a go earlier and, while it's very nice, it's too sweet for me. I can see that it's pretty close to Baies, which I also like but isn't a favourite.

H&B is a Weleda skin food body lotion today: happy with that. Yesterday was a disappointment - a towelling headband. I wash my hair every day anyway so never worry much about keeping face stuff out of it.

Day 15 Harrods - REN ready steady glow AHA tonic. It will get used but not the most exciting day again. At least it’s a 250ml and not just a little sample.

Day 15 Boots No 7 Restore and Renew

A hydration mask

Same in lift and luminate. I am using one of these at the moment and I really like it. Happy with this one 😊

Day 15

Vogue: A decent candle from a brand I’d not heard of . Like the smell, so happy with this.

Selfridges: A body oil from Costa Brazil. Not something I use, so one of the few DoDs in Selfrdiges for me.

Lancôme Absolue eye cream and No7 Ultimate is a lipstick in Desert Silk which is a good colour for me.

Day 15 LF is a Winter Thyme candle - it smells delicious, very festive! Candles are something I never buy for myself but I do like to receive them so this is very much a winner for me.

Day 15 Diptyque: Roses votive.

I haven't tried this one before so very pleased! I'll be saving it until spring/summer to burn.

Space NK had a lipliner a lip oil and a laneige chocolate sleeping lip mask today. The lip oil and liner are poor colours for me, and not sure about the mask but will give it a go (suspect DD will snaffle it away as popular amongst teens I think). Indulgent to get 3 in one drawer so can’t complain!

REN eye cream in boots Premium. I like this so am happy with today's.

@Summerdew a word of warning about the lip mask. I got it in last year's CB and gave it a go despite the god awful smell (who wants chocolate going to bed). It ended up staining my silk pillow case and despite my best efforts, the stain wouldn't come out. Maybe it would on a material you can wash more aggressively than silk but I was very annoyed.

@Nowtbettertodo I've had this before and found it far too rich but my skin is increasingly drier these days so I'm actually pleased to have it

@Nowtbettertodo re the retinol it's actually fairly strong so if you feel the 'sting' stop using it till that goes away then use it again. I tend to sting around the side of my eyes. I only use retinol twice a week and find that's enough to smooth my skin and ward off wrinkles in my Middle age post menopausal skin