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!!)

Luxury calendar round up here:

https://beauty-detective.com/best-luxury-beauty-advent-calendars-2026/

DIOR La Malle des Rêves Exceptional Advent Calendar 2026 is a mere £6,500...

Brain freeze moment…a week ago someone said they were interested in the New Notes Cherry & Mind Games Queening that I was planning to sell from the SFAC. I cannot for the life of me remember who it was 🤦‍♀️😂 So if you’re still there, whoever you are, please DM me if you’re still interested 🫣

That was me @Fillybuster , I will message you!

Hi everyone, I'm new to the BAC club, and only found this thread earlier this week. I've had a great few days reading through the thread archives, it's been like a thriller, so much drama! Huge respect for everybody's tenacity and endurance of the SFAC ordeal!

This is only my second year when I've been in a position to invest in BACs, last year I treated myself to the Elemis one and now I am hooked! I have bought the Clinique one this year, it was a great deal with multiple GWP when I nabbed it. But reading all your hauls has made me very jealous and I am now really wanting to get another one with a variety of brands so I can try some new things.

I would love your suggestions please for which one to go with? I'd like one which is more fragrance and skincare, as I don't wear too much makeup. My fragrance palate isn't very sophisticated, I'm more into light fruity fragrances, and love vanilla bases, but I'm keen to expand this and get a bit more sophisticated! 😆 I've been mulling over SpaceNK and Fenwicks, but it's a new world and I'd love some pointers!

Oh, forgot to say a big thank you to the poster who flagged the Elemis products that were available at TKMaxx! I managed to get great deals on some of my favourites from last year's calendar 😊

Hi @KittenBiscuit as there are several fragrance only calendars, sometimes they are separate from skincare. What about Jo Malone, which has perfumes, candles and lotions (and the loveliest blue tartan packaging )

Or Molton Brown, 20% off Molton Brown Advent Calendar 2026 at Cult Beauty with code BDCB

If I were you, I'd look at Space NK and Cult Beauty (signature edition as unfortunately special edition just sold out, but tbh it may suit you better anyway). They are great intro mixed brand BACs and have a nice mix of classic and trending brands, and the fragrances are quite light crowd pleasers. They've not had too much love on here this year, but I think it's probably because people have had them before. I've had Space NK twice, and this year it's a bit similar so I didn't get it. This is my first year of Cult Beauty and I love it.

Welcome. Harvey Nicks is quite nice this year and doesn't have a lot of make up. I believe there's still a code for 20% off.

Welcome. 😊 Fenwick is a good one and still has the free gwp (it did yesterday anyway) for loyalty club members. It has lots of fragrances including a full sized Thameen fragrance, plus some nice skin care including a full sized Elemis moisturiser

Had an email from Lookfantatsic, code XMAS10 takes £10 off the BAC and vault in case anyone has been tempted and was waiting for some money off

Does Fenwick BAC include a GWP? And is there any discount for it?

There is a beauty gwp if you spend more than £150 on beauty. It says you have to add 2 beauty products but it seems to work with just the advent calendar. You have to be a member of their loyalty programme I think. You just add the gift set after adding the calendar and if you are a loyalty member it should discount the price of the gift set. You can also add 2 beauty or fragrance samples to your order

Last year I bought my first calendars and got john lewis beauty advent and harvey nicks 12 days fragrance. I loved both and have bought john lewis again this year! I have also bought CB special edition and glossybox this year too 😄

I was just trying not to order the Fenwick BAC but it looks as though the GWP is no longer available, or is it just me?

Oh that’s a shame. I checked yesterday and it was still available so they must have just sold out of the gwp’s 😞

It’s gone for me now too.

Code via ReallyRee (hope it’s ok to post this one)

15% off code PLUS free gift for ESPA Moments of Wellness advent calendar:
ESPAADVENT - saves you £28.50 - AND you get the Bestsellers Collection Gift worth £60 free.

https://tidd.ly/4xz2Hft

Thanks so much!! Ive been holding out for a code on this one. Ive just ordered ut ❤️

Oooh. I've been hoping for a body/bath type BAC. I haven't used Espa before. I like the look of this.