🎄 2025 Style and Beauty Advent Calendar Discussion ***SPOILERS*** THREAD 8

[BakeOffRewatch]

New thread!

I'll give them a call in the morning then 😊 I usually like having an audit log, and then I can see everything that's been agreed but I also don't want to miss out on the glam kit

Don’t worry @JoRaRaRa last year these kits were available up until the week before Christmas and the men’s one was discounted heavily

Oh wow! Really?! I thought I had to buy fast 🤣 I hope they do reduce the men's one. I was tempted to get it for my husband but then decided that I'll probably appreciate the glam one more than he'll appreciate the men's one 🤣

I got the Aldi BAC today. I was surprised there was any left to be honest as it was later in the day.
I saw the candle AC as well which I was very interested in but I did a sniff test from an open box and I only liked approx half of them, so I left it.
I bought a single giant candle instead.

I also bought some skincare dupes to try

The AC was in my Aldi this morning, and it looked like noone had bought one. I like some Aldi dupes but some of the bits in it i wouldnt use so just left it. The candle one seemed more popular as only 1 left.

I’m going for the Next crackers! The gent’s ones will be good for the Christmas stockings.

I'd have liked an Aldi candle calendar but we're away this week so I expect I'll miss them.

Hopefully there will be some individual candles left.

Currently using up the last of the minis from last year. I had a set of L’occitane body lotions. Used the almond one straight away because I love it, cherry blossom was lovely. Started the verveine yesterday; unfortunately when it dries on my skin it smells like weed. To the extent that ds1 walked in the room yesterday and asked if I’d been smoking 🤣. Thank goodness it was only a mini so not using it doesn’t feel like too much of a waste

I ordered the Korean skincare Sylvan Glow advent calendar. Apparently this is shipped from the Netherlands and I’ve just received a message from DPD stating that I have to pay £35 import tax before it can be delivered. I didn’t even give this a thought. So just a heads up, if your AC comes from overseas you will end up paying more than the cost of the calendar. It takes the shine off it a bit but heigh-ho. 😟

Crikey that's a bit alarming. I wonder if it's worth trying to get in touch with them as it says they use Royal Mail so it's all a bit misleading really.

RLV has an unboxing of F&M if anyone is interested

I’ve e-mailed Korean Skincare to get clarification.

It says on there "Free delivery from £35" 😵‍💫 so which is it? It can't be free AND £35 😡

Link to BD's list of advent calendar discount codes. Most on this list have 10% off but if you're planning on buying one today, make sure you check this list first 😊
https://beauty-detective.com/beauty-advent-calendars-discount-codes-2025/?fbclid=PAQ0xDSwNsAItleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABp2XVLHOj8FwGyhpswSYtmEDL9W3sJdSNRRpnSvl6qyF5RKKTwH_n2V1lPCjy_aem_zk6VFbqMO442gufEx_RtLA

Anything you receive over the value of 135 quid will incur customs tax. Even if its a gift sent from abroad. My parents wrote down how much my birthday presents costs and totally ignored my warning, conversion rate wise value became 140 quid ish.Then I got hit by customs bill. No more presents malarchy now.

There is something like Import Duty on goods arriving from EU but I can't remember the details. Either over on under for goods valued at £135 or Euro135 (or maybe a different value? I really can't remember the details).
This is separate from delivery (postage) charges and it's some sort if government levy.
Similar fee on goods imported from some other countries.
Years ago I had to pay this on orders from Strawberry website which was a website based in Korea possibly, I don't even know if they exist anymore, they used to sell amazing skincare at brilliant prices.

@AppleDumplingWithCustard - that’s so annoying. But yes Import Duty is definitely a thing. I was hit twice last year with gifts. A pair of earrings from a friend in Australia and a rugby shirt for my son from my sister in Ireland.

It does still look like a great calendar but definitely takes the shine off having to pay import duty.

Ive been caught out by this before and its always a hefty charge. Wary now. 😪

Managed to get hold of the Space NK Beauty Luxuries kit that I've been lusting after but was sold out online. I discovered a few of their shops have it in stock. Worth checking if you're interested. I'm really happy with it and have started using the make up elements immediately!
https://www.spacenk.com/uk/gifts/gift-sets/beauty-luxuries-MUK200060024.html

I have the AB lip balm from that set in another colour and it's the best tinted lip balm I've tried.

What colour do you have? I like the look of the others, the one in the set is shade 2 red, which I didn't think would suit me but it does because it's subtle. I love it.

Shade 1 which is pinky.

Oh wow, what site did you order it from as that's one of the few I'm now looking hard at. it's so pretty and the products look like things I'd like to try or pass on to my teen daughter

This one is pretty for a teen, reasonable, think there are codes to get it down, and you could add to it or swap in a few items like make up, fragrances etc you pick up elsewhere?

www.youbeautyshop.co.uk/products/advent-calendar-2025

I ordered from Korean Skincare which is linked on the Beauty Detective site. However there is a happy outcome. KS customer service has been incredibly prompt and helpful. Apparently there was a fault on their system which caused the charge to be demanded and they have offered me a voucher for the full amount. I’m happy with this as I’ll be ordering from them again in the future.