🎄 2025 Style and Beauty Advent Calendar Discussion ***SPOILERS*** THREAD 4

[BakeOffRewatch]

Annual Style and Beauty Advent Calendar discussion thread. First AC reveal this year was 23rd June. First luxury reveal was 2nd July.

Thread 1: https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/style_and_beauty/5360770-2025-style-and-beauty-advent-calendar-discussion

Thread 2: https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/style_and_beauty/5388836-2025-style-and-beauty-advent-calendar-discussion-spoilers-thread-2

Thread 3: https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/style_and_beauty/5396898-2025-style-and-beauty-advent-calendar-discussion-spoilers-thread-3

The regulars on the thread mainly discuss luxury BAC and this dies down by September when everyone has purchased and forgotten the contents. Then it goes into discussion on what’s selling out, what hasn’t and what deals and discounts to be had on ACs in the lead up to December. Then in December we move onto AC opening threads!

There’s a separate thread for GWP, discounts and other deals here: https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/style_and_beauty/5389635-beauty-chat-freebiesgifts-with-purchaseoffers-thread-four

A thread for the Liberty Beauty Drop here: https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/style_and_beauty/5253698-liberty-beauty-drop-spoiler-from-the-despatch-date-part-9

MN has a great Christmas board for deals and early gift buying here: https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/christmas

@IDontHateRainbows - I asked in SpaceNK today and the assistant said the calendar would be in-store 9/9 - so presumably the same for the website?

I seem to have become obsessed with body oils and this pm I used my whole £5 SNK reward voucher 😹as part-payment for one of their own brand shimmer body oils. I was going to add it to my DIY calendar, (which already has two body oils in it, if memory serves), so have given it a whirl tonight. Post-shower, it’s a bit overwhelming in smell, tbh🙀

@IlovePond that would make sense for Spacenk as the social media competition they are running ends midnight on the 8th September so this Tuesday decisions need to be made🤯

@Doubleraspberry - thank you for giving me your ‘sniff test’ verdict on the Commodity Milk. Did it remind you of anything?

@Hicupping - thank you very much for your analysis- you seem to know your perfume! Again, did it remind you of anything?

@SoloCat - the Creed from hell had something oud in its name, I think. It came free with my lip oil purchase, so it sounds like it could be the same one.

Mine did not improve with time on the skin - in fact, I have to give it points for longevity 😹 It only completely disappeared after we had all scrubbed ourselves thoroughly but DH swears he can still smell it downstairs where I sprayed. Straight in the bin, unfortunately, but at least I didn’t get DH to put it in my calendar!

Where is this competition???

Sorry I really don't know my perfume, sweet woody marshmallow - it doesn't remind me of anything though.

@ChildrenOfTheQuorn it's on the waitlist the idea is you share the link to all your social media and you go on a leaderboard with 3 top prizes for the people with the most shares. I think I am at position 111823 so not hopeful of winning

On a related note: I spray tested the blue Thameen perfume that was in the Harrods fragrance calendar whilst I was out enjoying the wild and varied delights of Tunbridge Wells this pm.

It didn’t fill me with visceral loathing like the Creed perfume did, (or indeed the Phlur vanilla that I also tried recently), but it did nothing for me either. It reminded me of the smell of the eau de toilette spray testers that used to sit on the chemist’s counter in my childhood.

I really don’t think I am cut out for high end fragrances. That’s why I am a bit miffed at missing out on the LF fragrance, because I would have been fine with the vast majority of those. (But I didn’t need 24 fragrances!)

To me it has notes of home cooked rice pudding.

Good grief @OvaHere - it sounds terrible. I can’t abide food smells in perfume, (vanilla being the exception).

I really don’t think it’s for me 😹😹😹

Good luck with your appointment @namechange0998776554799000 x

It strikes me as a daft competition because surely the winners will be influencers with massive SM followings - all the people SNK send PR and free calendars to anyway.

Honestly if I had to guess based on what you've said you like I don't think it's probably for you. Not if a £75 purchase hinges on it.

Funnily enough this is what I’ve just been sorting out. I have a favourite charity that relies very much on donations. I’ve just made up five beauty bags with some of my stash for them to sell. I also buy three or four of the cheaper advent calendars for them to raffle every Christmas and the beauty eggs at Easter. The calendars and eggs do hugely well in the raffles and the proceeds far exceed my fairly modest outlay.

Yes same for me. I hope they just make an exception and forward them on but that’s maybe wishful thinking. There’s so much in that calendar that I want that it’s def worth it for me I’m wondering if I could maybe get it sent to relations in Scotland and get them to forward it on if all else fails..

Anyone who received their harrods calendar is there anything identifiable on the box that I would need to fess up to relatives what it is I’m causing all the fuss over if I need to get them to forward it to me? Xx

The box is plain cardboard but it does have a small sticker on the side that says 'fragrance advent calendar'.

@HolaLolla - that’s so kind of you, but I have decided to give GlossyBox a miss - there’s too many things in there that I either already have/don’t need/don’t want.

I must be good and not buy GB just because I like the box and can get it with a bit of money off.

I've got into these lately. Favorites being the laura mercier ambre vanille and the mirror water one in the recent liberty kit.

So early access to the ASOS calendar is available on the app. You need to have enabled notifications and be a reward member. I can't see a discount code for it though.

Calendars currently taking up headspace for me are:
ASOS
Spacenk
Possibly spacenk fragrance

I have received my Glossybox calendar, Lookfantastic fragrance has been dispatched and I've ordered Sephora.

I'm keen on the fenwick one whivh hasn't had much mention on here. Last year they did a crappy overpriced 12 days thing whivh flopped so I think they are upping their game.

Then space nk beauty and frag

Maybe hn frag but undecided. It came out late last year.

I'm not buying ASOS straight away but if they do the discount in a week or two like they did last year I might get it. Depending on the discount of course - the mystery discount thing they did last year meant some people got really good discounts and others not so much.

Thanks @OvaHere - I think you are right. I am already annoyed with myself for buying the Vanilla Powder on eBay yesterday without having a clue what it smells like. I don’t know what got into me 🙀

Meanwhile, I can confirm that liberally plastering oneself in SNK’s shimmering Caribbean Shores oil and then being in a confined space is NOT a good idea 🙈It’s definitely an oil for putting on - with a light touch - when you are going to be outside on a summer evening, not for use when lying down in your pjs!

Fenwick has been in my top 3 for a few weeks. As it's a late release a lot depends on whether I pass on SNK and JL and whether it stacks with the GWP like previous years.

I think VP is a safer blind buy than CM. I do hope you like it.

I've settled so far on A DIY calendar as I have spent around £115 on Vinted on bits I was tempted by from Cult Beauty and Selfridges BAC. Although technically £22 of that is for DD16s Christmas present which I had planned on buying anyway and saved a fortune. My head can't do the math at the moment but I feel I'm winning.

I'm still team SNK and Vogue. But.., I'm not sure Vogue is going to be a big hit this year, so I'm willing to wait a little to see if it reduces, or if Tilly Sveaas have a sale on.

I think I'll see what Vinted does with prices because realistically I'd rather have 24 items I really want than a bunch I dont for the same price

Thanks @OvaHere

If I don’t get like it, it will be an expensive mistake but that’s on me!

I genuinely don’t know what came over me - it wasn’t cheap!

I think I got carried away with the excitement of finding things on eBay from calendars I wanted but wasn’t buying!

I need to be more careful 🙀

(Hence: I am NOT buying GBox because I have spent too much money on random items over the last couple of days already!)