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. 😈😍😂

@Fillybuster i got spots on my jawline after using the boots box shiseido. I have used it on arms hands and neck and it’s been fine there.

To be fair i was trying various new face products at the time so it might have been something else!

My Ilia orders are arriving today so I’ll know if they honoured the GWP. I’m excited to try the Thru Liners.

I’ve been using the Decree AM/PM from the edits for about a week now. Not seeing a dramatic difference in my skin (yet) but my skin looks good, I like using it, and no breakouts/ reactions, so I’m glad I got a couple of backups.

I always really rated the Dr Hauschka Translucent Bronzing Tint but Dr Hauschka doesn’t seem to get much love on MN.

I loved the Boots box too! Bought one for my daughter to use in Mexico this summer and she loved it too.

One thing that I rediscovered recently (somehow forgotten from when I lived in Bondi) is that not all sunscreen is reef / ocean friendly.

This is quite useful.
https://lifejacketskin.com/blogs/lifejournal/coral?

Ooh I don’t think I’ve used Dr H since my teens!

Thank you @Sminty2 , the article makes a good point about unregulated terms used for marketing. The beauty industry is rife for that. If anyone wants a quick scan for the ingredients that have been identified as unsafe for coral, here’s the extract

SO ARE LIFEJACKET PRODUCTS REEF-SAFE?
None of our products contain oxybenzone or octinoxate, the two most commonly referenced ingredients when it comes to this subject.
Our Mineral Sun Stick uses 100% mineral filters and does not contain oxybenzone, octinoxate or octocrylene.
Our Sun Gels and Sun Protection Spray both contain octocrylene. We use it because it is an incredibly effective UV filter and we use it in a dose prescribed as being safe by European guidelines. But we recognise there are a few areas where it is banned.
We keep a close eye on scientific reviews, peer-reviewed research and, of course, the regulators when it comes to the use of octocrylene. If anything changes, we will adapt but for now, we see no clear reason to re-formulate given our overarching priority for human safety and protective performance.

There's a pretty cherry print GWP bag (with minis) for a £55 spend on Clinique at boots.

That is a cute bag! Plus 20% off lots of Clinique products...

I do like the smart clinical repair serums, but have morrrrrre than enough other sérums at the minute, so will resist 😅

I'm contemplating adding another couple of Black Honey Almost Lipsticks to the stash, esp with the % off!

TIL that Clinique does a bottom lash mascara! Has anyone tried such a thing??

My Ilia orders arrived with the Eye Stylus GWP ☺️

Thanks @Hicupping - I will try again with bronzing drops at some point.

My Ilia order is supposed to be arriving today but hasn’t so far.

I almost bought a Foreo last night but got scared of LEDs - the UFO Plus MINI 2 also looked a bit complicated 🙈Does anyone have one and can recommend?

Thanks

I managed to drop and spoil one of the Ilia Eye Stylus, might be karma for taking advantage of a loophole 😅 Forced my hand to keep it anyway as it’s still usable, I just snapped the top off. I was right, it’s not the right shade for me, maybe as a brow highlight or in the inner corner of my eye, but otherwise all wrong (much like any champagne colour, just not my shade). Seems a nice texture though.

@Fillybuster the Boots box was one of my best buys of the summer, loved the Shiseido, it's heavily scented, but I like the scent and it felt lovely to use, easily absorbed, not greasy or sticky, will definitely buy more at some point, when I've drained the spf lake

My LiB Japanese and Korean box has arrived - swift service from the TikTok shop 👏

That is quick. Mine is on the way.

My very tiny pencil sharpener and pencil from Ilia have arrived. I don’t really feel that I have got £10.80 worth of product, and I definitely don’t need another sharpener, but I have added both to my DIY calendar and it’s a good opportunity to try an Ilia eye pencil.

The colour will be ok for me, I think, so I am looking forward to trying it.

Tbf, I think I deserve congratulations for not spending more just to get the free postage 😹😹😹

There’s a good bit of product in the Eye Stylus at least, 0.9g when the full size is 1.5g and £32. I discovered this when I dropped one of mine and lost 1/3rd of it 🤣

That was unlucky @user593 - I hope you can still make use of the rest.

It does look cute.

Edited to say: £32!!!! I shall look more favourably on my mini!

I was going to sell it as I knew it wouldn’t be my colour but I think it might make a handy corner eye highlight so all’s well that ends well ☺️

Mine came today as well - super-chuffed at the speed of despatch!

It’s going to be my sister’s birthday present and I’ll add a couple of other things too. Maybe a nice make-bag.

Really pleased!

@BakeOffRewatch That Revolve Case we were both interested in earlier in the year is down to £201
https://www.revolve.com/revolve-beauty-ultimate-beauty-vault/dp/RBEA-WU63/

They appear to have removed the Vintner's Daughter Cleanser from it. If it still had that in it I would have bought it for that price. The AoS peptide cream is still there.

I suspect the VD cleanser was removed due to being out of date last month. The one I got in my Beautylish box was short dated the same.

Still kind of tempting but it's half stuff I would really enjoy and half what on earth am I going to do with this? 😂

Thanks for the new thread 😊 I’m very behind !

Wow your memory is amazing! I bet you were always winning that game of spot the missing item off the tray. Here’s the original contents https://beautycalendar.com/revolve-ultimate-beauty-vault-2025/ £319. Yup just that one item Vintner’s Daughter cleanser missing.

sunscreen season is over and I bought the Ouai deodorant. I went through my stash (a modest one drawer in one of those 3 drawer plastic storage things) and I have so many mascaras, sunscreen and mini cleansers. Still interested in AoS and the box though. Cult Beauty works better for me with the points system I think. I couldn’t get past them trying to sell a discontinued electrical item as part of the high RRP.

CONTENTS (December 2025)

• Augustinus Bader The Hydrogel Face Mask Single 1oz
• 111SKIN Black Diamond Lifting And Firming Neck Mask x2
• SWEED Eyelash Serum 3ml
• LILIS Instant Peel Fragrance-Free 10.82fl oz / 320ml
• Macrene Actives High Performance Eye Mask Single 10ml
• BeautyBio GLOFacial Device
• Revolve Etoile Collective Duo Vanity Case Espresso Croc
• Kopari Sunglaze Sheer Setting Mist Sunscreen SPF 50 2.53oz
• Nest New York Birchwood Pine Classic Candle 8.1oz
• Prakti Cocoa Kiss Lip Oil 0.17oz
• Salt & Stone Neroli & Basil Natural Deodorant 2.6oz
• Sleepy Tie The Sleepy Tie Medium
• The Laundress Classic Signature Detergent
• Vacation Classic Lotion SPF 50 3.4oz
• Vintner’s Daughter Active Renewal Cleanser 115ml
• Allies of Skin Peptides & Antioxidants Advanced Firming Daily Treatment 48ml

@BakeOffRewatch ha ha. It was one of those edits that I didn't buy but stuck in my head so I'd go back and check every so often. The VD cleanser is £100 so I would have bought it at £200 if that was there, despite the crappy electrical thingy, hair ruffle etc.

It's still not a bad deal, I like the box, the masks, AoS and the candle. Not enough appeal without VD though.