Beauty Advent Calendars Thread 13 - lucky for us, unlucky for Ryan the Bot

[SheilaFentiman]

Welcome to Thread 13 and happy unboxing to all who sail (sale??) in her as we swap tips, tricks, frustrations and joys of the BAC/FAC journey.

Not too long until Black Friday discounts so keep your fingers crossed and some room on your credit card

Key link for all the calendars via the very lovely MaryBD of the calendars https://beauty-detective.com/category/beauty-advent-calendars/

Though lots of ACs are out of stock already, so beware (and extra double beware of anything Selfridges Fragrance related!!)

Now feeling extra bad for bringing that code on here on Sunday 😂😭I'm sorry @IlovePond.

Agree about the complete lack of decent candle sizes , that’s why I Didn’t buy Diptique. All the others are small even Penhaligons . I’ve bought the Harrods HF calendar to compensate . I’m a candle addict .

Not your fault @DidILeaveTheGasOn! I should never have bought it 😿

Im with you on the brooding front @IlovePond, 2 years ago my DP mistook my burger for his, took a huge bite and ate my gherkin (I know they're divisive but I love them). I still haven't forgiven him 😂

I'm just catching up with your situation with Shiseido. I'm appalled for you - awful, awful CS.

My calendar/GWP hasn't been dispatched yet. It's a small thing, but I'm going to close my account as soon as they're here and checked. Partly in solidarity and partly because I now know that I will never be able to trust their CS if there's an issue. Online shopping requires trust.

Really sorry it's been a rubbish experience for you.

Same, same. I should have ordered the HHFC. I hope it brings joy to those who did 😍

Thats why I didnt go for Penhaligons in the end, the candles are just so tiny. I like a nice big three wick with a huge scent throw. A one wick standard size is fine in a calendar. But a tiny travel size is never going to be exciting is it. Also, does anyone actually travel with a candle?

I did buy Penhaligons because of the scents but I agree I’m not expecting much from the candles although they are 65mg as opposed to 35mg
from Diptique. You’re right I’ve never traveled with a candle .

Other end of the scale - stocking filler/secret santa type tealight AC.

https://beauty-detective.com/john-lewis-scented-tealight-advent-calendar-2026/

oh yes …Siobhan …I annoyed the hell out of her too …I’ll pm you 😉

Thanks @Botanique - I appreciate your kind words and thanks also to everyone else who has commented.

I know it’s a small thing and very much a first world problem and extremely unimportant in the scale of things, but it’s the unfairness/pettiness of it all that gets me.

I’m going to wait until the a/c arrives before deciding, but I am leaning towards sticking it in a cupboard for next year as I have so much stuff already. I genuinely don’t trust Shiseido to refund me.

Meanwhile, I have been having a bit of a tidy up of the horde/hoard this morning and every time I found a Shiseido product I felt a surge of annoyance 🙀

In other news: My Twinings a/c has arrived -I am very pleased with it!

Hi @IlovePond sorry if I’ve missed this but why would they not refund you? Surely if you return using Royal Mail tracked they would have to refund? X

@IlovePond I so sympathise as I have had terrible CS from various companies and it's infuriating and so stressful 😣 Can you give the BAC to someone as a Christmas/birthday gift or sell it? That way you won't be reminded of the whole unpleasant saga

You say this, but I've had companies refuse to refund for various reasons and then just ignore all communication or make you pay huge postage fees to get the product back

@Twinsandsome - I have been reading the 1 star TP reviews and Shiseido seem to have form for not refunding returns/losing them and doubling down in their responses.

Given what I now know about their terrible CS I don’t know if I want to risk sending it back.

BTW: Reading the TP reviews the same issues come up over and over again - no GWP included with order/lost orders/lack of refunds.

Most reviews are good, but clearly Shiseido aren’t interested if anything goes ‘wrong’.

Sadly @XelaM I have no one who would appreciate such a gift 😿

Meanwhile, DH thinks I am silly for caring/for buying the a/c in the first place and DS1 just laughed when he overheard me moaning earlier 😹

Edited to add: Not a bad idea to try selling it, but given my track record on eBay it would end up going to a scammer who would claim I had sold fake products after paying me only £50 for it 🙀

I'm wondering whether I should cancel my order right now. The payment is actually still pending. I just cannot be doing with companies like this. I should done my due diligence and seen beyond a discount and a GWP, but that's obviously not how I rolled that day 😬

No due diligence here either, just, y'know, wine...

Mmm @Botanique - my payment is still pending as well. But when I said via email yesterday I wanted to cancel, CS said it was too late.

I am going to log on and see if cancellation is an option available online.

I'm sure my personal Venn diagram of drinking wine/purchasing BAC has looked like a total eclipse on one or two occasions

My order isn't even showing on my account at Shiseido. I'd have to cancel the pending payment out. I might have a go.

My HHFAC has just been delivered. I could hardly carry it, it’s soo heavy and so big compared with the two FACs I have. Just had a quick check and all is present and correct. Having seen it now in person, this is the one I’m most excited to open. Hope all who receive theirs are equally as pleased.

Oh, that's so exciting... I'm envious! I'm think the HHFC is the real star this year. I WISH I'd ordered it!!

Hope it's fabulous 😍

@Botanique - just had a look on the Shiseido site - no option to cancel and buried in the T&C is that they don’t allow cancellations.

I don’t know how I would go about trying to communicate with my CC company with a view to cancelling the payment. Unfortunately it’s impossible to talk to a real person and the AI bot will just refer me to Shiseido. I usually use my Amex but didn’t on this occasion for some reason 🙀