General “Waifs and Strays” Beauty Advent Calendar opening thread 2024

[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).

Carrying on the traditional from previous years, it will also be fun to hear about other calendar openings - Degusta, jam, escape room anyone?

I know there are mixed feelings on this, but many of us would really appreciate it if spoilers are not posted before 7am on the relevant day. Please also avoid dropping hints or spoilers about future contents if you have opened the calendar in advance.

Posting pictures of contents is also always much appreciated.

I’ll be opening the Space NK and Harrods calendars this year. Really looking forward to Day 1 tomorrow.

@Ems235 £70 for a pair of socks! Can you imagine?! How the other half live! What a lovely treat to get in your advent calendar. They look gorgeous, I've been after some cashmere socks for ages. Hope your feet enjoy them! Vogue is looking great this year!

@Stoic123 Thanks so much for the tip! Exfoliating my face off completely would be less than ideal. I'm really looking forward to trying it out, could def do with a bit of glow!

Hi, old Rituals today was a little Amsterdam body spray - I have some of this already, so happy to have more! Shiseido’s offering again looked hopeful - big box - inside was a 40ml hand cream. Better than the 2ml item yesterday, but still disappointing for a hand cream.

Tbf to Shiseido, (although I will NOT be buying it again unless very very very reduced 😹), I will use everything from doors 1-6 apart from the eyelash serum, so that’s something, I suppose.

DD got wristbands in Glossybox today. She is thrilled with them as she puts lots of drippy stuff on her face. They'd be wasted on me but work very well for her!

Day 6 on TreatBox. I don't think anyone else is doing this one but just in case - spoiler alert - I couldn't tell which was 6 or 9 so I just picked one. It's a mango and coconut body scrub. It smells delicious! I will try it later.

I can’t remember the NUXE today but yesterday was the hand and nail cream which has really pleased me as it gorgeous and I wanted to take it into hospital with me. I am now hoping the lip balm is in a day before the 11th as I really want to take that too!

The Neal’s Yard looks lovely @Pinenu- I used to love that geranium and orange scent!

Glad Gruum finally got you sorted @OchonAgusOchonOhbut what a palaver. Very frustrating. I am awaiting a free Gruum GWP with a Look Fantastic order - but I placed the order on the 28th Nov and the order is still processing, with two generic “sorry your order has been delayed” emails I really only ordered it to get the Gruum gifts for the DC so fingers crossed for that too.

Thanks @ThePeopleBowedAndPrayedToTheNeonGodTheyMade

I hope yours turns up soon. The products are lovely.

@ConradKnightSocks the white company ones were in the calendar last year. I think they sell in store for about £38 but they are gorgeous. I've never had something so luxurious on my feet!

@OchonAgusOchonOh did your Grüum AC arrive? I'm feeling a bit meh with it so far although it's probably unfair to say that since I also have a Space NK one so it's not a fair comparison!

@Ilikeyoursleeves It arrived yesterday. They had been ignoring me emails asking for an update so I put a negative review on Trustpilot about their poor logistics management and their lack of response to queries. Next thing they refunded me the full cost so even if it's not great, it's free😁

I haven't opened it yet. I'm debating a jadvent or a bulk open.

@OchonAgusOchonOh oh that's great you got a refund! It's not a bad AC at all, it's just that I'm also opening what feels like a super luxurious AC at the same time 😆

@Ilikeyoursleeves my other one is H&B so definitely not lux. I'm saving the HN fragrance one for between Christmas and little Christmas.

Very average day from m and s and Fortnums.

I’ll try the Fortnums but will pass on the Nsils Inc.

pic

Day 6 Jo Malone English Pear & Freesia cologne. Not keen on this one, I think it'll end up on Vinted or Ebay.

Disappointed with this one. No scent whatsoever.

Not so keen on the ASOS Iconic lip gloss today, favourites so far are the MAC lipstick, This Works pillow spray (one of the very few people that have never had this before!) and yesterdays glorious face scrub! Two 'meh' so far!

@BlueLimeRun quite a coincidence to get two, not very exciting, very similar colour Nail polishes on the same day!

Lumene was a 10ml light moisturiser for sensitive skin, probably just enough to try it for a week or two.
Bonne maman was Orange and Grapefruit

Interesting @Cyclingmummy1 . I find neon completely overrated, but thought it was just me!

Yes, I had a browse in John Lewis as felt needed another treat.. so many nice things in Bobbi Brown, but offers had finished. I felt I couldn’t buy when there was 20% a couple of days ago..

I used the Harrods cleanser this morning. I suppose it cleaned my face, but not sure how wowed I was by it! Will be used, for sure. Nice texture and not too drying.

I thought the same about the blusher, but I remembered it was in the AC a couple of weeks ago so took the opportunity to test it in Space NK to see what the shade was like before I wasted one opening it. It’s a rich colour but a little goes a long way, so I think just build it up gradually

@Cyclingmummy1 I thought the same about Neom. Was very excited to be given a candle as a gift from dh, but couldn't really smell anything. Plus it absolutely reeked when it was blown out, almost made me gag!

He also got me a Neom bubble bath - almost no bubbles!! And it ran out really quickly too.

I want to like Neom but have come to the conclusion they're a bit overrated.

Day 7:

Space Nk: Supergoop Glow sunscreen. Another good sized product. I like the Supergoop sunscreens generally, so happy enough with this.

Harrods: A small size again, Cle de Peau “The Serum”. This is one of those products that seems to have no particular active ingredients but instead uses some proprietary “wonder” formula that works miracles and is super expensive - worth a try I guess.

F&M tea: Black tea with Strawberry. Not sure about this one. Yesterday’s Ceylon tea was lovely.

@Thelifeofawife thanks, I was also planning to pop into SpaceNK to test before opening, but that sounds promising.