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Beauty For Normals

Review – LookFantastic Beauty Advent Calendar

This year, I was indoctrinated into the world of beauty advent calendars, and man I am hooked. They are so much better than chocolate/food advent calendars. Why? Well, with a beauty calendar you’re getting 25 beauty products that you can experiment with and try out over weeks and weeks, versus some crappy chocolate that will be gone in 3 bites @_@. Nevermore.

Anyway, this year I received a lookfantastic advent calendar, and first up, I want to spotlight the beautiful box design. The thing is a work of art and I was so happy with it, it had pride of place in my living room 🥰

So, through the month of December, I studiously opened my advent calendar every evening to see what was inside 🤗 The advertising for this product says that the contents are worth around £420 and after opening everything, I can believe it! There were some genuinely expensive, luxe products inside and I’m really happy with the overall quality of the products inside.

But this post is not about price! It’s about my personal ranking of how much I like the products inside. So, I won’t be referencing price again, but I will talk about the efficacy of the product, its size, and whether I personally vibe with it.

Let’s go.

From ‘least good’ to best

#25Emma Hardie, Moisture Boost Cream

Well this is awkward. I have to start with Emma Hardie’s moisture boost cream because… I didn’t actually receive it in my advent calendar 😢 It was meant to be Day 17, but instead on Day 17, I got a duplicate of another day’s product, due to a packing error I guess.

The 2 duplicate products with the Emma Hardie card showing the product I was meant to get

So let’s start this ranking from 24…

#24 – Bubble T limited edition Bath Bomb

These mini bath bombs are salted caramel flavour and even with a sealed packet, I can smell that caramel flavour. So, if luxuriating in baths smelling of candy is your vibe, you’re absolutely gonna love these.

Unfortunately, I like my baths smelling a little less… food-like, which is why these are at the back of the pack. I also would have loved to have seen something a bit more premium than this plastic packaging from this box that overall had a very luxe vibe.

#23 – Eyeko Lash Alert Mascara

This travel-sized mascara will do the trick but is nothing particularly revolutionary. It has gone straight into my box of travel-size cosmetics that I fish out when I’m going on short trips, and is definitely a welcome addition to round out my holiday cosmetics collection.

#22 – First Aid Beauty, Facial Radiance pads

These pads are going straight into my aeroplane backpack, the bag that I always take with me on flights, and that is filled with all those important flying essentials. At 28 pads, this counts as travel-sized for me, and I can imagine using these to brighten up my face at the end of a flight.

#21 – Illamasqua, Nude Collection lip liner

Confession time, I never really use lip liners because I’m not entirely sure how they work 😳 This one has gone into my make-up drawer with the vague ambition that I really need to watch some youtube videos and figure out lip liners lol.

#20 – Molton Brown, Fiery Pink Pepper Bath and Shower Gel

I like Molton Brown a lot, and this bath + shower gel with notes of fiery pink pepper, tangerine and ginger is only this low down for me because the fragrance doesn’t quite do it for me. But next time, I have a guest to stay (or when I finally get a place big enough for that guest bathroom), you best believe I’ll be getting this out to look fancy 🤣

#19 – Lord & Berry Eye Liner

This eye-liner promises to be ultra-long wearing and easy to smudge to create that smoky finish. Again, its pretty mini so I’m adding it to the holiday cosmetics bag again.

#18 – Omorovicza, Queen of Hungary Mist Limited Edition

Fun fact, this was actually inside the compartment for the last day of the advent calendar. I was expecting something INCREDIBLE which may have contributed to the feeling of slight disappointment in this product. I’ve personally never heard of this brand and whilst I’m excited to try out something new, a complexion rejuvenating mist is not something I imagine I’m gonna use. I’m more a ‘splash some cold water on my face’ kinda girl.

On the converse, a product like this is exactly why I love the idea of beauty advent calendars. Its not something I would traditionally buy myself, but I might actually love it when I start using it! Also, it makes me feel like maybe I could be a women who spritzes herself on the daily with a fine orange blossom mist 🤣

#17 – Morphe Eyeshadow palette

Another fun fact! This was actually day 1 of the advent calendar, and when I opened it and saw it, it made me even more excited for the advent calendar. This is a full-size product, and you can really never have too many eyeshadow palettes 😍

#16 – Neal’s Yard Remedies, Wild Rose Hand Cream

I looove hand cream and have a hand cream on my desk at work at all times. This exact fragrance isn’t one that I necessarily would have picked out for myself, but I can tell you it feels divine. Neal’s Yard always has a high bar of quality to the products and this hand cream really doesn’t disappoint on that front. Your hands will feel instantly moisturised 🥰

#15 – Oskia, Renaissance Cleansing Gel

This promises to purify the skin with a non-foaming cleanser, restoring radiance and leaving skin feeling soft. It’s also suitable for all skin types which is handy when you’ve not picked it out yourself. I used it the day after a particularly hectic New Years celebration and I was impressed at how it made my hungover skin glow ✨

#14 – Sleek Makeup, Highlighting palette

This was one of those serendipitous moments when my advent calendar delivered what I was looking for. It contains two baked powders, one silky shimmer powder and one cream highlighter, and I found they blended well. Another full-sized make-up offering was also definitely appreciated!

#13 – Living Proof, Perfect hair day 5-in-1 styling treatment

I haven’t used this yet, but I’m excited to try it, as I’m always on the hunt for products that will make my hair pop. I always struggle finding the exact right hair products for my hair (curly girls, you know what I’m saying) so my expectations are pretty low, especially because this isn’t a product that is explicitly targeting curly hair. But hey, imagine if this turns out to be the one! That excitement is why this has ranked highly.

#12 – Luxie makeup brushes

These brushes got used straight away, applying me some eyeshadow. I really enjoyed the fact that I received two different brushes on one day as each brush does something different. These are some solid brushes to receive if you don’t necessarily have a brush collection yet as they are hella useful. However, if you already have a comprehensive brush collection, you’ll likely be doubling up (and this is why a holiday cosmetics bag is the thing!)

#11 – Caudalie, Vinopure Clear Skin Purifying Toner

This bottle was exciting to receive as it hits the brief of something that I would probably never buy myself but that I can’t wait to use! It’s a clarifying toner, and its for combination skin (when your skin has some oily patches and some dry patches). This is smart because a product in an advent calendar needs to cater to a wide variety of people.

This product works through its organic essential oils drawing out impurities from within your pores. And most importantly, it smells realllllly good!

#10 – Delilah Cosmetics, Eyebrow pencil

This has two ends. One brush to groom those brows to perfection, and the other is a fine pencil tip that creates natural hair-like strokes to fill sparse gaps and enhance depth. Definitely a cool, low maintenance product if your eyebrows need some love and attention.

#9 – Rituals, Ayurveda Dry Oil

This is a natural dry oil, infused with Indian Rose and Sweet Almond, which can be applied to hair and body to hydrate you. I haven’t used this one yet but I can tell you it smells delicious, which makes me excited to try it! This is the kinda product that for me is perfect for a pamper night, and I like that this calendar has a mix of those daily use products and those that are a bit more special.

#8 – Mellow Cosmetics, Liquid Lip Paint

This liquid lip paint is meant to be long-wearing – it promises to last all day while at the same time avoiding drying out your lips. This was an intriguing promise because I struggle with lip paints making my lips feel mad dry 😩. This paint delivers a velvet matte finish and feels nice on your lips when you apply it. Not gonna lie, they still felt a bit dry a few hours later but at least they looked good doing it 🤷🏻‍♀️

#7 – Philip Kingsley, Deep Conditioning Treatment

I’ve not used this yet as I’m saving it to use before a big night out. This product provides a deep conditioning treatment that promises to add elasticity and bounce to your hair. Elasticity and bounce are two words that are very important to me so I can’t wait to try this!

#6 – Avant Skincare, Moisture Surge Overnight Treatment

Damn, I really love this product. It smells insane and it made my skin feel super smooth and hydrated. It’s meant to be used 2-3 times a week before bed for a brighter face, and promises to give you a more youthful look. However, it does such madness to my skin that I’m struggling not to use it more than 2-3 times a week, to be honest.

And another fun fact – this is the first product out of the calendar that I put on order.

#5 – Filorga, Meso-mask

Fun fact, I accidentally received two of these in my advent calendar. Not that I’m complaining. This product is a face mask that enhances your skin’s radiance, and can be applied to the face, neck and decolletaaaaaaaage. Even with two bottles, I just wish I had more.

#4 – Elemis, Pro-collagen Marine Cream

When I unboxed this, I couldn’t believe it! Not only do I know that this product is expensive, but I love anything that promises that its ‘clinically proven to reduce fine lines and wrinkles’. I’ve been using this religiously daily and I’m probably going to have to buy more 😩

#3 – Prai, Throat & Decolletage Creme

Sensing a theme? 😅 This cream moisturises and firms your throat + decolletage, which I’m ALL about after noticing a number of older women whose faces seem smooth and wrinkle-free till your eyes slide down to their throat and cleavage and then you realise thats where all their wrinkles have emigrated to 😱

On the downside, this cream comes in a tiny little pot and I wish they would’ve been more generous!

#2 – Bioeffect, EGF Serum

This tiny little bottle was described as ‘groundbreaking’ and is again another product to help reduce wrinkles and fine lines. I thought the bottle was really small until I read the instructions where I saw you’re only meant to be using 2-4 drops of it a day! 😱😱😱 I’m excited to see this one’s effect over time.

#1 – Rodial, Dragon’s Blood Lip Mask

I was so hype for this product, that when I opened it I didn’t even take a picture of it, I just ripped it open and used it right there and then 🤣🤣🤣🤣 I had just been recovering from a cold and my lips were hella dry, so a mask specifically for rehydrating lips was everything I could have dreamt of lol.

But anyway, here’s the packaging and a pic of me with my lip mask on 🙈

This product comes top of the list because it is the product, hands-down, that I will be buying again and again. My lips felt amazing afterwards, like they had their own spa day out 🤣 and I’ve been recommending this mask to all my friends ever since.

So is a beauty advent calendar worth it?

Yes, yes and YES! Not only do you really get the bang for your buck with this calendar, but it was genuinely so much fun to unbox something everyday, knowing that it will last for days/weeks afterwards. as well as potentially introducing me to my new favourite obsession.

The only dilemma now is to figure out which calendars are the best ones. Sounds like in Christmas 2020 I may have to buy multiple ones so I can “test them out” 🤗🤣 Watch this space!

By Yael

Hi, I'm Yael - pronounced Yah-Elle! Born in Brazil, live in North London, but my heart belongs anywhere tropical! I own a tiny stationery company called Little Goat Supplies, and I spend all my spare time dreaming of prints and colours! My other loves include eating good steaks, tasting rum cocktails and finding good skincare products!

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