Beauty advent calendars 2024 #7

[virgocatlover]

Only a few days to go until the doors open.

Please share thoughts, discussions and any last minute discounts!

Got the same offer as most from BBC re money back. I didn’t know my friend had also bought one (following me saying how good it looked for the £, I have apologised profusely) and she said they have been really rude with their communication… She didn’t get the same offer of a refund as many of us have and she questioned it for this reason, they said they decide who gets what how they see fit regardless of it being the same issues but different people getting different amounts. Strange one.

*Edited for autocorrect

@Branster - thanks for the EL tip. I have ordered the box as I also had a 10% off automatically applied vis my Advantage Card. I will definitely use the moisturiser and serums and probably the hand cream and cleanser too, so it was a good deal.

I went through TCB, but who knows if it will track - I don’t have much luck with it, but happy enough even so.

I am justifying it as it’s my birthday next week and I didn’t buy more calendars around BF 😹

My Boots EL order has tracked with TCB.

To celebrate I popped over to EL to order some foundation so I could get my birthday gift. I am a sucker for a freebie - very sad!

Btw: 20% off plus free gift wrap at EL atm, so I got it gift wrapped too!

Thank you so much
just bought this

Thank you for pointing the way to the other thread @IlovePond. Very interesting and it really is as bad as it can possibly be with BBC. They are incapable of handling complaints in a uniform positive manner. I think they lost an awful lot of customers with this disaster.

Glad the EL offer was useful to some posters on here. It came on a weekly savings newsletter I subscribe to, a lady I saw on Instagram. She sometimes posts about beauty deals/freebies which I don't get to hear about elsewhere. But, most importantly, she comes across as a normal real woman, none of that sickening filters and idiotic poses and pretence. Quite refreshing actually.
chloesdealclub.com

I was thinking the other day, these beauty buying threads are not far off from radicalisation. I'm completely immersed and believe most of the stuff I read, I even act on it (my bank card can attest to this)! And nobody in real life would understand! Sadly I'm useless at converting any real people. I gift loads of beauty items and have some staples I always buy as presents (Neutral Chanel lipstick, YSL concealer, big size Elizabeth Arden 8 h hand cream etc) plus other less known products as small attentions. I don't think many of the recipients go onto re-buying for themselves afterwards because, strangely, a lot of women I interviewed claim not to have time or not 'believe' in skincare or beauty treatments. And, of course, I never talk about this topic with a lot of women because it's a bit too personal and not always appropriate.

Hi @Branster - you’re welcome. I feel lucky to have avoided the BBC mess as I know what you mean about being drawn in. If it hadn’t have been for my bad experience with GB, I might have been tempted!

I was on some general Xmas threads last year, and got some good bargains as presents. However, I think my personal spending has got worse in the run up to this Xmas due to my finding brilliant bargains for me - not presents🙀

I jumped on the EL BB you kindly flagged up because I use the ANR eye and face serum every day and get through it at an alarming rate. I usually get the EL BB box anyway, but had told myself I would resist this year unless the minimum spend was removed. Plus Boots gave me another £8 off for some reason and TCB appears to be tracking so far 🤞

Of course, the fact that I then toddled off to the EL site to buy something else just so I could get my birthday freebie is all on me 🙈

2025 will have to be a no-spend on beauty products for me because, despite having only one face/body 😹 I currently own a small shop’s worth of products!

I do enjoy these threads, though. It’s nice to chat about products and bargains with people who are interested!

Someone on here mentioned the other day about Boop Beauty. Never heard of them, so took a look and was (as a self confessed beauty junkie) beside myself at the prices. Last Friday night, I made three orders in quick succession spending well over £100.

The stuff arrived yesterday and today. It's just awful. Leaking bottles, dirty packaging and really old shrivelled face creams. Eve Lom mini moistures shrivelled up in the bottom of the pot to a disgusting orange/brown blob and Ormovicza Instant Plumbing Cream shrivelled up to something resembling a blob of Vaseline. Plus leaking liquids. The stuff just stinks.

I've tried contacting them with images, but they are now not responding.

I'm so surprised, because I was convinced that they must be ok as they had won a Marie Claire sustainability award. Basically, their business method is to buy end of range/overstocked orders etc which they sell on instead of them ending up in landfill.

Please avoid, fellow beauty product lovers.

Oh I’m so sorry to hear that @Ladybrows - that’s awful - and disgusting - thanks for the warning!

Have you tried a CB via your card/asking PP for a refund?

How would I do that? I've never been in this situation before... 😞😞😞

You raise a dispute. Ask your bank if you can’t find the option easily on your app/website. It’s really easy to do.

Oh no, that’s awful. I used them a few months ago and was very pleased with my products so maybe I was lucky. It is such a shame you had a bad experience. 😞

Thank you! I'll do that. 🙏

The stuff is just gross....I'm sticking to beauty boxes/advents from legitimate well know companies in future. 😞

@Ladybrows so sorry to hear about your experience with Beauty Boop I have only used them once a while back and the stuff seemed ok although from memory I think it was shower gel or something so possibly more forgiving. What you received is terrible they should definitely be refunding. Another company to add to the avoid pile .

Has anyone had a liberty AC and had the email saying not to use the Granado candle - but also that they are sending everyone a £25 voucher to make up for it? I'd long since sold the candle on Ebay but I'll be very appreciative of the £25 voucher - which with BD credit and Liberty vouchers will mean not far off £100 in January.

@IDontHateRainbows I received my voucher via email yesterday, the expiry is December 2025 so has a long validity on it.

@IDontHateRainbows yes we all had it on the Liberty AC opening thread. You should let the person who bought it know as the candle burns too hot and there’s a risk of the flame burning too hot and the glass shattering, as well as it burning too quickly and catching fire from the fumes.

The net-a-porter sale has a number of beauty products included (Hourglass, Charlotte Tilbury, Gucci etc) at 50% off.
Postage is expensive at £7 or free at £300 spend.

Nipped to Aldi this morning for some last minute food and found one of the La Soie face and eye cream sets. Not sure about the face cream but the eye cream looks nice.

My local Aldi had these too @OvaHere

Worth getting? What are they a dupe for?

With the Aldi dupes of La mer, is it just the packaging that’s similar or do they actually have the same ingredients?

I think it's La Mer. I have a tiny pot (thimble size) of the real thing and to be honest it just seems like Nivea to me. I'm assuming the dupe will be the same.

I don't know how the ingredients compare. Would be interesting to look.

I wouldn't like to say if it's worth it although the eye cream is a decent size so for a tenner for both I figured not much harm in trying.

Fully agree… Nivea with seaweed as its well known as. While some spenny things are worth it, La Mer isn’t based on ingredients!!

Happy Christmas to all who celebrate, I’ve loved reading this thread for the first time this year and loved even more my first Beauty Advent in the form of Harrods. It’s helped get through each day in what unexpectedly turn out to be a heartbreaking month for our family - the power of a little treat can’t be underestimated when each day is hard to drag yourself through. This will be a new tradition for me for sure and whilst products will change each year, I know where to start in 2025 thanks to everyone’s hints, tips and sharing on here :) hopefully I will contribute more. See you next year!