Beauty advent calendars 2024 #6

[virgocatlover]

We still have a few weeks to go but we are up to thread 6.

Will we get any good Black Friday discounts?

What is the OK deal people keep mentioning? When I look on the website I just see the calendar is £100

Is the bottom left in that picture the Penhaligons set?

They replaced the product but used the same link with the previous reviews for various Christmas edits.
Also I think the Instagram videos are from the main Christmas edits as well, because I can't see how they can film packing the £50 Christmas box before it went on sale.
They did that before with other mystery boxes.
Basically if you want to know what you're going to get, or if you never used it before, BB is not for you. Over analysing the online content and descriptions doesn't bring any real results. It's not like John Lewis where you know exactly where you stand. You either take the risk and be disappointed or pleased with the result or leave well alone.
I can understand a lot if people would be suspicious. One of life's rules: 'if in doubt, don't' with my own sub-note 'and forget about it'.
It's one if those weird, unusual small scale setups where you need to build trust slowly. The way I understand it, Mystery boxes are a side line. The main business sells standard or personalised bridal beauty boxes to order.
As it appears to be a small company, then advertising is going to be patchy and not always reliable.
I've been consistently pleased with my purchases of normal edits, where they show the exact content, and with mystery boxes.

https://www.okbeautybox.co.uk/products/ultimate-christmas-bundle?utmsource=Klaviyo&utmmmedium=campaign&kx=momLj5ZdjsbXhh2CMmqBx5oMG-6S3rH1DnepOVgj9OVxj3i521TjPTNMJYTpWlkg.VWpuVt

One of the many webpages on my phone, pondering should I shouldn't I ...

I learnt my "mystery kit " lesson with BBC , products good but not amazing but mainly that their customer service was awful , I have never been spoken to so rudely by a member of supposed customer service in my life ! As I previously said , I had to contact the owner as I was genuinely upset by the whole thing. I actually gasped reading their response at one point and I am not usually very dramatic 🙁

They definitely have a plant or two in this thread that counteracts anything negative so I'm sure someone will be along soon to say they had a problem with a box and CS were just wonderful and have now become best friends!

The fake reviews with my name just finished me off
Hello to the spies , hope you are enjoying monitoring this thread 👋🏻

Thanks @Branster ☺️

Is anyone signed up to showcase.co? Just noticed they have an advent and gift set sale next week though one of the brands is the dreaded Avant.

They can be hit and miss. I had a Ren order yesterday. Full price would have been nearly £200, paid £51 so great value. My best buy was Espa diffuser pods for £25!

@Branster my thoughts exactly

Completely agree.

@diamondsandrose you really need to ask them to remove the reviews because that's really bad. The whole experiences you've been having have been awful.
I didn't think they had a customer service team as such, they look too small for a full on operation like that.
It's difficult knowing what to trust with reviews, because I don't leave positive or negative reviews even when I think I should and I will do it next week then I never do. As an example, I don't know what possessed me to trust my 10 year old nephew's request to buy him a personalised hoodie from a random link. It looked very suspicious, I tried to find a similar top elsewhere and I couldn't. I read loads of reviews including TrustPilot, all positive. I was still in two minds about it but really wanted to get the top for him. After two weeks of deliberations I went ahead and ordered it. All perfect, order confirmed, tracking number provided, consistent communication with the company to confirm exact delivery address in different country, all the rest of it. It never turned up and I never got a refund! That's nearly £100 gone and a very disappointed (but gracious) 10 year old. I never bothered to leave a negative review because the entire process was so exhausting and I wanted to forget it ever happened. I'm sure they'd have found a way to remove my negative review if I ever posted one.

Received an email for £58 off the Latest in Beauty advent, so brings it down to £111. Code is ACOFFER58.

@Branster that's really rotten re the hoody. Can you claim on your bank card ?

I feel the same about the BBC reviews , I was totally shocked to see my name not once but 3 times. My name as I said before is v unusual so they are totally at it .

I felt like I was dealing with a teenager / young person by the language they used. It's a small set up you can tell. Can't be bothered chasing it up .

I think they bulk buy products close to sell by date , bit like tk maxx type thing and then sell on or lump into mystery boxes.
The charity aspect is clearly fishy . Who doesn't advertise with a link / logos / what percentage/ is it after costs? And no refund or offer codes because charity ? Surely they take the hit on that so wouldn't affect charity donation.

Anyway I've said my bit I won't drone on any more on the subject .

Away to ponder OK bundle .....I must resist ... but I could gift some of it ... aaaagh

I should have pursued it further @diamondsandrose but it took so long to get the final conclusion that no refund will be processed that I had no energy to deal with it anymore. And somewhat embarrassed too if I am to be honest with myself. I just wanted the whole story gone.

Interesting about TK Maxx, do they really sell near expiry date skincare? DD uses and likes Cosrx niacinamide serum and I was wondering if I should repurchase from there because it is much cheaper. Also cheaper on Amazon but I heard lots of stories of fake products being sold on Amazon.

@Branster - interesting you mention near expiry skincare, though I can't comment on TKMaxx I can tell you I was not thrilled to discover the pot of Kate Somerville recovery cream in Harvey Nichols advent expires in May 25! I was a bit naughty and opened it all early to treat myself but this one smelt a bit 'odd' so I emailed HN -not interested- then emailed KS who confirmed the batch number only lasts until May 25. Which is fine if you plan on using all your advent goodies in the 5 months after Christmas but not so great for storers like me -I often like to use a few and save a few for during the year.

I have to say I never look at dates. I’m so bad at using things I suspect most of mine stuff is way beyond!

Just wanted to mention that I have been loving the Hourglass stuff I got for my birthday so much. There’s a stick eyeshadow that is just fabulous.

Cult beauty have £10 gift card free with purchases over £60 today.

@Doubleraspberry I must agree regarding
Hourglass, I bought one of the ambient palettes and the brushes and love them. Will next to ask Santa for an eyeshadow stick to try. I also tried the unlocked mascara which has turned into a firm favourite and the one I reach for daily.

@alwaysfretting thanks for the offer but to be honest I’m drowning in stuff right now, so need to avoid adding anything more to my stash (is that even possible? 🤣).

l’ve been following all the comments re BBC with interest and have to say that dealing with customer service / fake reviews etc., I’ve definitely been put off buying from them again. My box was fine. No other words to describe it. I’m still not enamoured with the ‘device’ which as I’ve said previously, wasn’t something I was expecting. The Ziip Halo does look great and has a high retail value, but it’s just not something I think I’d use consistently (and having investigated further it seems to be something you have to use very regularly to achieve good results). I have great trouble sticking with routines!

That all said, would anyone on here be interested in buying my Ziip Halo? It’s still unopened and shrink wrapped. I’m not looking for anything like the amount they are going for on eBay, but would like to get my money back + a bit more (I intend to donate all monies to a local animal rescue centre) + postage. If no takers I’ll just put it on eBay for the ‘going rate’ 😊

I’ve gone for the hair and skincare CB edits. I can’t justify it so won’t even try 😂

Speaking of reviews, I once left a review after a negative experience with a company setting out the facts of what had happened. I then had an email from them threatening to sue me for defamation if I didn’t remove it. Since then I put little stock into company reviews and prefer to search forums instead.

I've ordered the BB £50 mystery box and I blame @mrsbnow12 for my first foray into the BB mystery edits!

I’m beginning to wonder if @diamondsandrose actually works for a BB arch rival and competitor and is stalking this thread to refute any poster happy with their products and service. I’m another very happy customer!

Just throwing my thoughts in re BB I have only ever bought their beauty boxes where I know what's in them and they have always been great.
I did however buy a skincare box and there was a recent scathing review of it . I still bought it despite the review and it was great so I wrote a matching good review however a week later I noticed the negative review had disappeared. In fairness the review was pretty scathing and my experience did not match the comments on the review regarding the quality so I assumed the review was malicious and had been taken down.
I agree though that reviews need to be taken with a pinch of salt . Its like the SpaceNk lip cracker. I ended up ordering 3 at different times for presents they all came with a full size CT lipstick but if you read the reviews they talk about mini lipsticks as per the original wrong description which makes me wonder if the reviewers actually bought the item at all

@Biscuitburglar to be fair to @diamondsandrose, none of her comments contest or question anyone else's experiences and I think it is unfair to single her out like this.
I'm at the opposite end and appreciated reading other buyers' experiences, both positive and negative.

I agree with the comment that forums are more reliable than actual website reviews.

Halfeti to me has the benefit of being less stinky then other ouds my son loves. He loves Halfeti.

Interesting. I had a Halfeti body lotion from a beauty box and DP loved it on me - he would always comment when I wore it. I quite like it, but it wouldn't have gone out and chosen it.

That’s pressure but I hope you are very happy with it and don’t have buyers remorse when it comes.