Beauty advent calendars 2024 #5

[virgocatlover]

Continued advent calendar discussions. Please share thoughts, purchases and if you see any discounts!

Sorry quote didn't copy I was talking about the SpaceNk crackers not the BB mystery box I am not that generous!

Boots has a little something advent . Body and beauty treats for £24 was £30 . Might be a good one to buy for teens , as its not a bad price

4 weeks now until 1 December! I have 1 calendar at the moment but I am open to getting another if there's a good discount. Is anyone still on the fence?

What did you get @virgocatlover ? I can’t remember.

If M&S was available without the minimum spend, (it was, briefly, two years ago), I might crack. I usually get M&S and the EL blockbuster but am not planning on either this year, (which weirdly seems ‘wrong’ as it’s a bit of a - recent - tradition😹)

I have the sort of bargain Shiseido a/c as I have wanted to try Shiseido products for a while, (even though the sizes are tiny and Cosmetopeia would be very disappointed in me😹)

I also have my bargain Rituals from a previous year, plus whatever is in the DiY a/c DH is stuffing for me with a couple of beauty boxes I got and didn’t look at. (I bought a £20 mystery from LiB and got a freebie from LF). (He is also adding to this on his own initiative.)

That should be more than enough, given my existing horde.

I might succumb if any ‘bargains’ appear between now and BF. I am weak…

Im going to M and S tomorrow and I keep trying to practice saying no to the advent . Although maybe seeing it in real life will make my mind up . I do not need it , although I know none of us maybe need any of these advents 🤣 I'm going to look at beauty crackers now .

@MrsBnow12 Thank you! Unfortunately I’ve checked in late as I was doing some cleaning so only just saw your message, and I’ve missed the boat again! It showed as 1 left but in my basket it says unavailable.

I did the ‘notify me’ option a couple of days ago, and I checked at around 1am so I could get in early in case any more were released, I’m not having much luck 🫠

@IlovePond You lucky thing having your DH on board! If I asked my DH to do that he would either forget or it would have chocolate in the remaining boxes 😅
You’ll have to let us know what he has come up with once you open the boxes/doors

I got JL in the end, it was the best one for me. But I'm open to getting another, just depends on if there are any discounts this month...

Which ones have you got?

The Flannels beauty cracker looks good but it's expensive at full price.

Ooh I will have a look tomorrow. The JL and space Nk don't look bad either , I'm thinking there might be some BF discounts soon .
It's a foundation I really need .

Good daily chatter happening in scent of the day thread. Don't forget to share your bargains and thoughts on perfumes there!

I went to space nk yesterday but only came out with small set of handcreams to use up points

Morning all. Still following this thread series and enjoying it. Happy with my one calendar (Harrods) but have now succumbed to the Liberty Scent Kit to address the FOMO I was feeling about the scent calendars.

Not interested in anything else unless large discounts. Have picked up several each of Good Genes, AA bath oils, Olverum oils and Power EGF serums from Vinted and eBay calendar sales as I use them regularly.

It's a shame more companies don't do what No 7 have done a few times where one drawer is a voucher to go in to store and choose your shade.

@IlovePond I'm starting to feel buyers remorse about the Shiseido AC. I got it on a great deal and I would like to try their skincare but I have quite the stash to work my way through before I even get to this. Will the product still be good if it stays unopened until Xmas 25?

It doesn't work though if you don't have those shops near you. At least most people will have a large Boots with a No 7 counter near them. The HN vouchers in recent years were useless for many customers.

@IlovePond "If M&S was available without the minimum spend, (it was, briefly, two years ago), I might crack."

You can always return what you bought. You don''t have to return the AC if you return the items purchased.

I know @OchonAgusOchonOh - I did that last year - didn’t do it deliberately, but the top I bought was awful was on.

The woman at the till was horrendously rude to me: ‘Oh, you only got this for the a/c, didn’t you, so you could return it’ at the top of her voice with lots of sneering, scowling and harrumphing.

I was so taken aback - even if I did, so what? People take stuff back all the time, it doesn’t affect her. It really upset me🙀

@virgocatlover - I got Shiseido reduced at Bicester outlet and Rituals, (put away from last year, also from Bicester).

My DSis usually gets JL - it looks great, but too much retinol for me as I don’t use it.

@OvaHere - I love that gif!

I was having that very conversation with the person in store - she said - at least two years from purchase as long as unopened.

Obviously no guarantee, but seems fair enough.

From experience, I have found and used unopened stuff squirrelled away from previous years and it’s been fine.

The exception was a load of Clinique that I had put in a cupboard and forgotten about. However, a) it had been there a LONG time and b) it was very obviously separated and stinky so no chance of using it by accident🤢

That's horrible. I did it one year for a similar reason. I returned the item to store as it didn't fit but did re-order in a different size from home again. The woman on the till was fine about it.

@Thelifeofawife - I am managing my expectations but I appreciate his effort!

I don't think m&s accept returns on the advent calendar, so you could take the item back with the calendar and they will only allow the return of the item. This may stop a situation similar to pond happening.
I say this because I ordered 2 summer beauty bags/boxes with the idea of gifting 1, however the recipient purchased their own. At collection I said i wanted to return the beauty bag and the reason but they refused, I asked why and they said hygiene/company policy. I said i haven't even seen/touched the item, you've literally put it on the desk in a cardboard box. They still refused. I ended up returning all the items I'd purchased in the 2 orders, which were way over the minimum spend

It was so bizarre @OchonAgusOchonOh - you’d have thought it was her money!

It’s not the first time I have had some really weird experiences on the till. Most staff are lovely, but I have had a couple of awful moments at M&S over the years. The worst was when they were doing ‘buy five, get one free’ with a cardboard carrier on the cute little wine bottles one Xmas. I took one lot to the till with the rest of my shopping and the guy shouted: ‘What’s wrong with you? Are you an alcoholic?’ in front of my two small children and the rest of the shop. I still can’t believe I just stammered out ‘no’ and paid🙀.

I wasn’t returning the advent calendar @Monpetitchoumonpetitepois - just the top I had bought. This offended the assistant for some reason 🙀

Does anyone know if Diptyque or Penhaligons advent calendars are likely to be discounted around Black Friday?