Daily Advent Reveal

[Minx In Space]

Look Fantastic Day 21 - Dermologica Daily Microfoliant

Have the hump with today's gift, as broke one of my nails trying to wrest it from it's very tight fitting plastic moulded packaging. It's such a trivial thing, but I'm not feeling at my best at the moment, and my nails were the one thing I thought I'd have looking really nice for Christmas!

Now I love the heady scent.

Looking forward to trying the primer and seeing how it compares to Laura Geller

I would love to try the Spackle, do you like it? I got one in (I think) one of the Tili beauty boxes, but it was a bronze one and I had visions of me looking like a terracotta warrior in it! I've recently been using the Benefit Porefessional one, which smells lovely and goes on like silk, and the Stila One Step Correct primer, which - I confess - I purchased entirely on the strength of the coloured spirals in the tube. Again, I like it, though.

http://www.asos.com/stila/stila-one...currencyid=1&gclid=CPnR9sHNhtECFYcK0wodvawF1w

As we always say on here, each to his/her own. I know I'm unusual (well, Minx is too) in not liking the Elemis Frangipani. I also think I'm the only person in the UK who doesn't like Liz Earle's original Botanical Body Wash (blue bottle) as it smells like hospitals to me. Let's celebrate our differences!

Sorry, just remembered it was the Sweet Orchid that I sent back. I got sent a sample sachet of the Frangipani before the last TSV, but -after reading on here that it was a migraine in a bottle - just chucked it away! I had that Liz Earle body wash ages ago (is it the orangey one?), and quite liked it, but I do know what you mean. I visited a close relative in a hospice for some months (a long time ago now) and will never forget that sweet orange smell on the wards. The sense of smell is so evocative of our individual experiences, it's no wonder we all like different things. The world would be a very boring place if we were all the same.

 

[AndiK]

Have the hump with today's gift, as broke one of my nails trying to wrest it from it's very tight fitting plastic moulded packaging. It's such a trivial thing, but I'm not feeling at my best at the moment, and my nails were the one thing I thought I'd have looking really nice for Christmas!
...

Sorry, just remembered it was the Sweet Orchid that I sent back. I got sent a sample sachet of the Frangipani before the last TSV, but -after reading on here that it was a migraine in a bottle - just chucked it away! I had that Liz Earle body wash ages ago (is it the orangey one?), and quite liked it, but I do know what you mean. I visited a close relative in a hospice for some months (a long time ago now) and will never forget that sweet orange smell on the wards. The sense of smell is so evocative of our individual experiences, it's no wonder we all like different things. The world would be a very boring place if we were all the same.

Yes, the Liz Earle body wash is the orange flower one. I actually don't smell orange as much as a chemical floral. I avoid anything that mentions orange flower as an ingredient now.

You have my sympathy re the broken nail! I cracked off a nail trying to get something out of the freezer a couple of weeks ago. I was getting them all nice and a bit longer for Christmas too. Although it's grown up quite a bit, the break was not clean - it was one of those that takes layers off unevenly 1-2mm from the top and looks like that little graphic that Leighton Denny used to use in his demos of the Renovate cream and buffer (remember that??)! As it grows up, it's all flaky so it will be a while till it's normal.

Speaking of Leighton Denny, the M&S Day 22 box contains a mini LD crystal file. Soooo cute! I've got a collection of all the sizes now and (will) use them all.

 

[sharonk]

I smelt the sweet orchid elemis at the weekend and really disliked it, they had another scent, English flowers of something, that was even worse!

I like spakle either under a foundation of just with B&B

Today's surprise in the M&S advent was a mini Leighton Denny Crystal nail file. I have had glass nail files before so will be interested to see how this compares. It came in a little box which I will keep to protect input in my handbag, it will probably be bashed about a bit though.

 

[AndiK]

I smelt the sweet orchid elemis at the weekend and really disliked it, they had another scent, English flowers of something, that was even worse!

I like spakle either under a foundation of just with B&B

Today's surprise in the M&S advent was a mini Leighton Denny Crystal nail file. I have had glass nail files before so will be interested to see how this compares. It came in a little box which I will keep to protect input in my handbag, it will probably be bashed about a bit though.

Lovely, isn't it? I was just saying that I have the LD file in various sizes and all are useful. I swear by his crystal files.

 

[miss molly]

Sorry forgot to post the last few days here is Liberty contents list - Aveda Hand Relief 40ml | Laura Mercier Hydrating Primer 30ml | Votary Facial Oil 30ml | Davines Oi All in One Milk 50ml | Kiehl's Amino Acid Shampoo 30ml | Byredo Bal d'Afrique Hand Cream 30ml | Le Labo Santal 33 or The Noir 29 15ml | NARS Mini Laguna Bronzer or Mini Lip gloss babydoll | Marvis 2 x 10ml Toothpaste | Surratt Blush | Diptyque Mini Candle 70g | Espa Overnight Hydration Therapy 30ml | Jin Soon Coquette Nail Varnish | Dr Sebagh Serum Repair 20ml | Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge in Powder Pink | Aurelia Refine & Polish Miracle Balm 20ml | Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant 13g | Malin + Goetz Vit E Moisturiser 30ml | Bigelow Rose Salve in a Tube | Trish McEvoy Lip Colour in Pink Nude | Skin Laundry Gentle Foaming Face Wash 50ml | Blink Brow Night Balm | Eve Lom 30ml Cleanser and Cloth | Kai Body Lotion 60ml | ODeJo 50ml EDT .
I am looking forward to using the Diptique candle on Christmas Day.

 

[Minx In Space]

Look Fantastic Day 22 - Molton Brown Pink Pepperpod Body Wash. :happy:

It's 100ml, so quite a good size. I have a tiny bit of the scrub left, so will layer it after that. I also really loved the Sensual Hanaleni that was in the last TSV, which my Mum gave me for my birthday. I'm gutted it's been discontinued. You can still get hold of it, but I wonder if the stock might be a bit old now?

Yes, the Liz Earle body wash is the orange flower one. I actually don't smell orange as much as a chemical floral. I avoid anything that mentions orange flower as an ingredient now.

You have my sympathy re the broken nail! I cracked off a nail trying to get something out of the freezer a couple of weeks ago. I was getting them all nice and a bit longer for Christmas too. Although it's grown up quite a bit, the break was not clean - it was one of those that takes layers off unevenly 1-2mm from the top and looks like that little graphic that Leighton Denny used to use in his demos of the Renovate cream and buffer (remember that??)! As it grows up, it's all flaky so it will be a while till it's normal.

Speaking of Leighton Denny, the M&S Day 22 box contains a mini LD crystal file. Soooo cute! I've got a collection of all the sizes now and (will) use them all.

I had a nail appointment at Nails Inc yesterday, so was hoping they'd be able to fix it, but couldn't go as I had a migraine. I have since broken another one, so I've given up now! I've been using Leighton Denny Renovate for ages, and it's been brilliant, but I wanted to try something for the ridges. The lady on the Nails Inc counter advised me to use the Nail Kale base coat, adding another coat each day, then take it off after a week and start again, plus the oil twice a week, so have been doing that, but this isn't the best start. I agree Leighton's nail files are fantastic, as are his clippers.

Sorry forgot to post the last few days here is Liberty contents list - Aveda Hand Relief 40ml | Laura Mercier Hydrating Primer 30ml | Votary Facial Oil 30ml | Davines Oi All in One Milk 50ml | Kiehl's Amino Acid Shampoo 30ml | Byredo Bal d'Afrique Hand Cream 30ml | Le Labo Santal 33 or The Noir 29 15ml | NARS Mini Laguna Bronzer or Mini Lip gloss babydoll | Marvis 2 x 10ml Toothpaste | Surratt Blush | Diptyque Mini Candle 70g | Espa Overnight Hydration Therapy 30ml | Jin Soon Coquette Nail Varnish | Dr Sebagh Serum Repair 20ml | Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge in Powder Pink | Aurelia Refine & Polish Miracle Balm 20ml | Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant 13g | Malin + Goetz Vit E Moisturiser 30ml | Bigelow Rose Salve in a Tube | Trish McEvoy Lip Colour in Pink Nude | Skin Laundry Gentle Foaming Face Wash 50ml | Blink Brow Night Balm | Eve Lom 30ml Cleanser and Cloth | Kai Body Lotion 60ml | ODeJo 50ml EDT .
I am looking forward to using the Diptique candle on Christmas Day.

Lovely posh selection of bits, you'll have a great time using all of them. :happy:

 

[Minx In Space]

Look Fantastic Day 23 - Ole Henriksen Clean Truth Cleansing Cloths

 

[sharonk]

So...who is keeping their box for next year and gave you looked in the sales yet?

I'm refilling mine. every Christmas Eve I go onto JL website, look for things I like and think will be in the sale and hit add to basket as soon as the sale goes live.
This year it's really really disappointing.
I have looked at boots as soon as the holding page cleared but it's so busy I can't add anything to my basket.
There are lots of nice treats to refill your box if you want to / can do it and far cheaper than paying £75 or maybe more for another one next year

 

[sharonk]

The holding page is back on, I wonder if their site crashed and that's why you couldn't put anything in your basket and they've had to put it back up?

 

[Minx In Space]

Look Fantastic Day 24 - Look Good, Feel Better Eye Shadow blending brush; Day 25 - Illamasqua Eye Shadow Palette and £10 Look Fantastic Gift Voucher.

Really enjoyed the advent calendar, would definitely get it again. Quite a few of the bits are already in use, in fact the Rituals Sakura body cream has gone already!

The holding page is back on, I wonder if their site crashed and that's why you couldn't put anything in your basket and they've had to put it back up?

It's so annoying when that happens. I had a nightmare trying to get my sister some Cath Kidston Mickey & Minnie Mouse bits for Christmas. Got on the website as soon as the pre-sale opened and it wasn't accepting the code they'd emailed me, just kept reloading the holding page. Every time I went to check out, half the stuff in my basket had sold out, but you couldn't just cancel it off your order and check out with the remaining items, you had to start again. The stock wasn't updating properly, so it wasn't letting you know which items had gone until checkout, the site just couldn't cope with the demand at all. Managed to get hold of a reasonable selection in the end, but it took me an hour and three quarters!

 

[sharonk]

I gave up! I'm going to get things through the year and get my son to collect a load of samples from work and his mates who work at harrods, selfridges etc. I will get him to refill my tree and I won't know what's in it

 

[Judith]

I have kept my M&S tree. DH said he will fill it for me next year. There probably won't be any beauty products involved,more likely one Malteser or chocolate button etc.

 

[AndiK]

The holding page is back on, I wonder if their site crashed and that's why you couldn't put anything in your basket and they've had to put it back up?

The Boots website has a reputation for being crash-prone and also, I don't know if you find the same, but the search function is hopeless. It's a shame as I am quite a fan of Boots and have spent thousands over the years. My Advantage card points total is very healthy at the moment thanks to all the extra points offers too.

My local Boots had shelves absolutely crammed with the green parcel sticker items which are all half price now, of course - either they've shipped in a load of new stock to shift especially, or their pre-Xmas sales levels were appalling. I know a lot of people wait until mid-January when they further reduce a lot of things so it's a 70% discount. The last few years, I've bought quite a bit in the Boots sale but I really don't need any more toiletries, make-up etc for myself at the moment and, lovely as some of the sets are, I can't really get them for friends' birthdays because they are all much later in the year so the stuff won't be "fresh" and they'll all know exactly where and when I got it!

 

[AndiK]

I gave up! I'm going to get things through the year and get my son to collect a load of samples from work and his mates who work at harrods, selfridges etc. I will get him to refill my tree and I won't know what's in it

I'm going to refill mine for my niece - unfortunately she knows about this and is dropping hints already!

 

[sharonk]

Oh, Andi, I might keep an eye out then. Our local branch was stripped bare of anything half decent on Saturday but maybe they will get more in.
Thanks for the info

 

[AndiK]

If anyone has a Sparks card, you can opt in to an offer of 20% off any of the items which were in the advent calendar (it says in full sizes). My local store doesn't stock many of them but you can buy online, of course.