🎄 2025 Style and Beauty Advent Calendar Discussion ***SPOILERS*** THREAD 5

[BakeOffRewatch]

IF YOU ARE NEW TO BEAUTY ADVENT CALENDARS AND WOULD LIKE IDEAS PLEASE READ THE THREAD FIRST

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

Thread 4: https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/style_and_beauty/5403558-2025-style-and-beauty-advent-calendar-discussion-spoilers-thread-4

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

After my inital Wow at Diptyque I have reviewed the contents and decided it would be far better to spend £400 on a couple of larger candles and a fragrance I really want. I don't like overly fragranced body lotions and hand creams and I don't want Diptyque christmas decorations so I am happy to admire and not have it!

Same. And not a bad thing at all I think.

The Diptyque is pretty but really doesn’t feel worth the price tag.

The single brand one I keep looking at is the Jo Loves - I like that the candles are all 70g not 35g, lots of different 10ml perfumes and 7ml paintbrushes, and that the day 25 drawer is a voucher to buy a full fragrance. So you’re paying £255 for the rest of the calendar plus buying a full size of your choice, having tested everything in the calendar.

www.joloves.com/products/paint-the-town-red-an-advent-calendar-2025?

Oh having a voucher for a full sized fragrance is clever!! Really nice idea

M&S really need to redeem themselves with me so a decent calendar would be good. Twice they’ve sent me the wrong clothing item then failed to apply the Sparks discount on travel money.

The Jo Loves packaging is so pretty!

Agreed. After last year’s so-so effort and then the massive online hack this year, M&S would be wise to pull out the stops with their advent/Xmas range. I’m not expecting massive discounts but a nod to the fact that they have a loyal customer base would be nice. Time will tell.

There you all are! Still undecided here as usual!

I completely agree re m&s BAC -
although mum got me last year‘s as a gift and honestly it was still excellent value and used nearly all of it. They’ve unfortunately been the trail blazers for awful cyber security attacks that could really have happened to any firm.

my firm sent us about 20 training videos off the back of this..

Has anybody had a L'Occitane calendar before?

They're doing a mini one at £87 that I'm thinking of buying for my Mum; I looked at the Nuxe one too but she likes L'Occitane and it looks good as she wouldn't want makeup.

I had it last year. It was ok but all the bottles etc were tiny.

I had Jo Loves a couple of years ago, and was really pleased with it. When I ordered my full size bottle of fragrance it arrived within a couple of days. I preferred it to Jo Malone.

Joining this thread, I love a beauty advent calendar!

@Twinsandsome Harrods replied with below. At this point I am hoping for the best but preparing for the worst 🙈

I too got that response @HolaLolla! I’m still hopeful for it as there’s so many nice skincare bits in there but now you have me also looking at brown Thomas which I have no idea why I’ve never went for before last years looked really good x

I only discovered BT through here last year and I must say it was very good. My plan is to blind buy it this year and keep it till December so I can do it properly for once lol

Joining this thread, I love a beauty advent calendar!

They usually reduce them quite a bit before December, if you want one I’d wait a bit. I had it on an offer last year, not really worth it imo. The bottles are very small and it’s hard to get much out of some of them. I think there are better value BACs out there.

I had L'Occitane a couple of years ago and I did like it overall but as the month went on it felt a bit samey but I guess that's the same with any single brand bath&body calendar. As a positive, as a L'Occitane fan I knew I would use all the products and no DoD.

Anyone know who stocks Jo Loves? I’m quite tempted by it over Diptyque, if I’m contemplating spending that much (eek) but the massive plus point for D is that I know I love almost all their fragrances. A lesson I learned from last year’s Penhaligons where there were quite a few I was less keen on, including the big bottle.

So if I can get a sense of generally how much I like Jo Loves fragrances it would help my decision making! There are quite a few Jo Malones I’m not a big fan of and obviously there’s a lot of connection between the two brands.

Space NK stock Jo Loves - not many of them but will give you a sense of 3 or 4 of them

I think John Lewis sell Jo Loves too. If you’re anywhere near London, thwir Elizabeth Street store is lovely, with such friendly and helpful staff.

Sadly not near a JL or a Space NK often. I was in Space NK yesterday annoyingly!

@SocksAndTheCity ive had the nuxe before - it is lovely but although this is only my view,
loccitaine is higher quality especially for those of us who aren’t 20. my dc would go for nuxe, I’d use everything in loccitaine as would my mum.

in fact - her birthday is coming up….

I’m still waiting to find out what’s in the Shiseido calendar - all I know so far is that one exists!

I was annoyed by the teeny sizes last year, but it is really good stuff, so I’m interested to see what’s on offer.

It’s so weird that there aren’t any spoilers at all!