Beauty chat - freebies/gifts with purchase/offers THREAD TWENTY

[OvaHere]

New thread and it's welcome to the roaring twenties beauty addicts!

It's been a little quiet on the exciting edit and beauty releases front what with all the advent malarky but summer is drawing to a close and soon those autumn/winter releases and holiday edits will be popping up to tempt us.

If you're new here welcome and hello and for everyone else nice to see you back on Mumsnet's most tempting thread series that you cannot ignore even if you want to. 😈😍😂

My Oh my cream gift has arrived!

Harrods tried to deliver the FAC while I was out so now it won’t come until Monday. Score! 😅

I got the Oh My Cream goodie bag, but the eye cream seal was loose in the bottom of the box and the product looks like it has dried out (unless it's supposed to look like this?!)

Mine had the seal in place - it looks like yours but the jar is full, so if the cream doesn't come to near the top of yours I'd say it's dried out. Colour is the same and the little bump on top

Thanks @MotherofTerriers Is yours like a cream consistency or like a solid balm please?

Oh My Cream have offered me 10% off my next order, but I think that's a bit naff!

That’s dreadful @MrsDahliaTravers - I am losing what little interest I had in OMC.

Ooo tricky - kind of in between. Like a very firm cream, but it melted when it warmed on my finger. Smells slightly medical - bit like dettol! Sorry, that's not very helpful

Oh no, that's really helpful thank you.

It's tricky when you've not had a product before to know what it should be like!

First spoilers for the FtF Winter edit. Still on the fence. Will need to see some more.

https://beauty-detective.com/face-the-future-the-winter-radiance-edit-2026/

Tried the Cle de Peau serum from the LiB box and it’s really nice. I’m not sure if I could pay £165 for 30ml.

I’m less tempted by the ftf edit after seeing the spoilers, and they represent more than half the value.

Is anyone interested in the Boots x Floral Street set? I’m not familiar with their fragrances but it looks like a nice set.

Re the ftf edit, has anyone had success with the AB lash serum?

Also, hyaluronic acid seems to parch my skin. I’m wondering if it’s because I’m a dried out nearly 50 year old who doesn’t drink enough water. Anyone else find it has the opposite effect it claims to have?

I bought the AB lash serum on Vinted last year when it was in the CB Advent. Faffy to apply and did nothing. A much cheaper one from Beauty Pie was better.

I find hyaluronic hit and miss. I had the same issue as you with the Medik8 one but found Cosrx 6 peptide serum to be much better. I also like Summer Fridays Jet Lag serum for extra hydration - this one is glycerin rather than hyaluronic acid which seems to work better for me overall.

I seem to be the exception on here, because I find most Floral Street fragrances smell quite cheap and nasty on me. I bought one of their sample sets (fragrance wardrobe?) last year and was disappointed with almost all of them. Other people seem to like them, so maybe it's just me.

For example, Sunflower Pop smells like lemon washing up liquid on me (DH agreed.)

You're not alone. I haven't really liked any of them and they are in so many edits and AC.

I read somewhere that if you put it on damp skin, it’ll pull that hydration deeper into your skin, but if you put it onto dry skin it’ll kind of suck out whatever moisture is within, and you’ll end up more dehydrated. I know that sounds a little simplistic! but for that reason, I’ve always misted before applying hyaluronic serums and I feel like they work pretty well 🤷‍♀️ (ETA I’m 50+ btw!)

I’ve never tried them, but they do always look to me a bit like someone had the marketing idea first and the actual fragrances might be a bit of an afterthought; you know? Just that vibe of ‘hey this is a great packaging concept and we really see it having mainstream appeal! Call the lab and get them to do us a range’

I'm another who really doesn't like Floral Street! Every time I see one of their fragrances in an edit/advent calendar, which seems to be quite often, my heart sinks just a little bit.

I agree on Floral Street, I've tried a few but they're nothing special and give me Avon vibes for some reason 🤷‍♀️

I had a thing for the coffee one a few years back, ylang ylang espresso. And the almond blossom. Since then ive got into high end brands and they seem terribly weak in comparison.

I like some floral street but they are very definitely everyday fragrances and not ones that excite me. Focus is on basic top note crowd pleasing. They have cheapened themselves by being in every edit going.

I would add, fragrance is very subjective, so if you love one, wear it and enjoy it regardless of what a stranger on the internet says! . I hate some really popular niche fragrances (Amouage Guidance is unpleasant to me and ouds generally- not my bag but I smell them everywhere) and love others (PDM, pretty much everything the new one is lush). I also still love high street perfumes like JPG classique, Lancôme la vie est belle and Mont Blanc (any) / Davidoff cool water for men.
I wouldn’t know about most of my favourite fragrances if I hadn’t bought Harrods FAC or loads of edits. So if you fancy trying a few out, buy the edit. It helps you know your preferences so much.

@OvaHereThanks for this. I've really wanted to try the summer Fridays mask when I’ve seen it in the past, so will pick one up and give it a try. Yes, the AB lash serum has done nothing for me, but then uklash does nothing for me either. I’ve had great results with one that came in a LF edit or advent calendar (gold and pink box), so much so friends and family asked if I’d had extensions! (For context I naturally have very short eyelashes).

I understand it’s good to change things up so might treat myself to the beauty pie one next! Are their products generally good? I’ve only tried the one that came in the Liberty BD, and i liked it.

That makes sense. @LemonJuiceFromConcentrateI have been getting a bit lazy with steps and forgetting the toner / spritzy part or letting it dry before applying serum / treatment. I’ll experiment with my different prods and see what works!