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!!)

Mary’s review of the ill-fated SFAC - unfortunately she had a broken bottle!

beauty-detective.com/selfridges-fragrance-advent-calendar-2026-review/

I've used uk lash serum for about 6 months this year (the black one which does have prostaglandins in). Peptide ones do nothing for me but this one worked really well, my eyelashes were so sparse before and this made them really thick & long.

It definitely caused my eyelids to darken. It was so gradual it took me ages to realise, but it affected how eyeshadow looked and it was even darker on the eyelid I tended to swipe it into first.

I've also got hollowing under my eyes now. It's really hard to tell if the lash serum caused it because I've also lost 8 stone which definitely affects your eyes! I haven't had any of the other side effects.

Either way I've stopped using the lash serum now and my eyelids are going back to their normal colour pretty quickly. It may sound crazy but I'm still planning to use it again if my eyelashes revert to their old state! For me the trade off is worth it, I think.

Worth noting that the black uk lash serum is in the Harrods BAC this year, and one other cheaper one too although I can't remember which.

I think there is only one lash serum in the Harrods BAC this year and it is the U.K. Lash in the travel size. Think that is the only eyelash item in the calendar this year as there is no mascara.

Wow. I guess I will just continue with the sparse eyelashes then.

The Kosas Soulgazer mascara included the SNK calendar also contains a serum. If the GWP stacks with the BAC i think I'll adding that one to my haul, I watched MissBoux's unboxing last night and it looks quite good.

https://www.spacenk.com/uk/makeup/eyes/mascara/soulgazer-mascara-MUK200057909.html

I got an email yesterday from Look fantastic £10 off their calendars with code Calendar10 if anyone not got the Requisite double figure advents yet😂

@MaryBD 'The Tragedy of Mary' made me laugh, I'm sorry it was smashed though. Great review!

I logged in to Vinted earlier and they are doing a survey on the liklihood of members recommending Vinted to others. I gave them a 3 /10 liklihood. There was a free text box to explain scoring so I mentioned their arbitrary bot led decision making processes, the many fake listings, the numerous "banned" complete AC listings and the lack of human intervention when things go wrong. I also mentioned that people are moving back to Ebay both for buying and selling. I did say that I have had many Vinted bargains and the basic premise is great, but the lack of CS is a major problem.

I don't know if they'll take note of my lone voice, but if lots of people complete the survey they might up their game a bit and get a 5/10 score from me next time.

I meant the black uk lash serum is also in another BAC, I just can't remember which one. I remember it was a cheap one and finding it ironic that the same item was in two BACs at either end of the scale!

I bought the lookfantastic calendar yesterday with the £10 off code. Also had £10 credit bringing it to £100, so I was pleased with that, it was the price level I was looking for. They were also doing double points, so i'll get a new £10 credit to replace the one i spent.

This is just one i will open straight away. I'm hoping my DH has bought the vogue one for proper advent.

@MathsFiendwhat is the £10 LF code plse? I’ve been eyeing this calendar up hoping for a discount. I checked my account yesterday and it had given me 1p off!

code for £10 off on LF calendars CALENDAR10...if anyone needs it. Seems generic so hopefully works

@hby9628 it's the one @PunnyCyanBear mentioned CALENDAR10.

Interestingly, it still gave me the 1p off, so the calendar was down to £109.99!

I echo this. The JL Home Fragrance / Candle AC is a bit of a shocker this year, with mostly votive sized offerings. The mini Lily Flame tins can be bought for £3.50 each when on offer (£7.00 for a 2 tin gift pack) in JL and Waitrose in November. They are owt but high end.

Thank you so much! ❤️

UK Lash serum is also in the YOU Beauty calendar

I had one so think it was in Look Fantastic? I don't use them though so have been trying to offload!

also in the LF bac which is only £102 for subscriber

The one in Harrods Bac definitely has the risky ingredient- isopropyl cloprostenate, so glad I found out because I would have used it without knowing.

I've had an email offering 15% cashback on the SNK advent for new SNK customers - not sure if it stacks with the 15% off?

I'm another who wouldn't use the uklash serum. It was in 3 calendars I purchased last year and I sold them on vinted for around £18. They sold within hours. You've reminded me to list the one from the Harrods advent so will price to sell.

xx

ETA I am a doofus who misread

Glossybox advent is no longer showing for me on tiktok for some reason...any ideas why?