[Advent Calendar] Spoils

Welcome dear lovelies! I am back with much to share with you in the next few weeks. I am delighted to bring to you a few advent calendars, but first things first; can you believe it’s mid-October (one of my favourite months) and the festive season has actually already begun? It may seem like every brand in the world is doing a version of an advent calendar this year, but to be honest, advent calendars are nothing new. Traditional advent calendars in my family are actually really special, handmade as well, and my parents go all out for the season of Advent even before the bakes and concept menus are started. 
In fact, I love that loads of brands are embracing the advent calendars, however, don’t get sucked into buying all of them unless you are independently wealthy. Instead, figure out what you want and need most. What’s more, there is also health and wellness advent calendars out there for the holiday season, and I am excited to gift some myself this year to friends and family, along with charities that we are helping. 

Thinking Outside The Box  If you have friends and loved ones who adore diverse types of beauty and skincare brands, then gifting advent calendars may be helpful this year. Another idea is to create custom gift bags from calendars. Last year, I ended up making several miniature holiday hampers out of various items and advent calendar products for women’s charities that we worked with at work (these are also great gift ideas for traveller friends, those that look to you for guidance in the top products to buy).  
Although a little mystery can be fun and exciting, here is a guide to what’s in selected beauty advent calendars below so that you don’t have to wonder. I won’t spoil it entirely for you with the exact day the item corresponds with — I will be sharing more details of other advent calendars that I receive on my Instagram Stories. Some of you may have already seen snippets in the past two weeks. 
Overall, I really loved these boxes but like any box, there are some things that I will use and other items that I won’t use at all. Fortunately, the former was (in one particular box unrelenting in top quality) more suitable for my needs. There is more positive than not and since I don’t subscribe to many boxes, I did not have many repeat items to be upset about.  
I did think that Lookfantastic gave more full-size and specialty size products in theirs; again, deciding on which one of these to buy completely will depend on your preferences and budget. There’s variety in each one, from full-size, travel-size samples, and deluxe samples. As for price guides, most brands are seemingly listing the price(s) for full-size products, not all of the sizes that you actually receive. I have even compared this with some fellow co-workers who have purchased holiday boxes elsewhere, this is just a personal quibble. 
Are advent calendars for you? Well, here’s the thing … If you don’t spend too much money on massive amounts of product throughout the year, I think that buying a specific advent calendar is a treat. However, be smart, choose wisely and most importantly, remember, it’s okay to indulge a bit now and again. 

Glossybox (UK) - 370+ GBP - *Buy it here.* 
MUA Makeup Academy – Pro/Base Primer Oil w/Gold Flakes  Dermalogica – Daily Superfoliant  LASplash Cosmetics – Wickedly Divine Eyeliner  Kat Von D Beauty – Tattoo Liner Liquid Eyeliner  Steve Laurent – Lip Tint  GLOSSYBOX – Blending Sponge  Nudestix – Cream Lip + Cheek Pencil  Sleek Makeup – Matte Me Birthday Suit  Rituals – Ritual of Sakura Body Cream  Curaprox – BE YOU Candy Lover Toothpaste  The Body Shop – Hand & Nail Cream (4 fragrances, 1 per calendar)  Luxie Inc. – Medium Angled Shading Rose Gold Brush  Chloé – Nomade Eau de Parfum  PAWPAW – Original Clear Balm  NYX Professional Makeup – Ultimate Shadow Palette Warm Neutrals  Living proof. – Perfect hair Day In-Shower Styler  Nails Inc – Nail Polish Golden Days Ahead  Tarte Cosmetics – Parce Ave Princess Chisel Palette (Limited Edition)  Mitchell & Peach – Flora No.1 Bath Oil  Winky Lux – Uni-brow  Dennis Gross Skincare – Professional Grade IPL Dark Spot Concentrated Serum  3INA Makeup – The Cream Eyeshadow 313 Light Brown  Nude By Nature – Touch of Glow Highlight Stick  Avant Skincare – Pro-Intense Hyaluronic Acid Illuminating Day Cream  Barry M Cosmetics – Blusher Quad 
 
Glossybox (USA) - 500+ USD - *Buy it here.* 
Eyeko – Black Magic Mascara  Christophe Robin – Cleansing Purifying Scrub w/Sea Salt  Morgan Taylor Professional Nail Lacquer – Copper Dream  furr. - Lash Curler  Alterna – Caviar Anti-Aging Leave-in Overnight Serum  Doucce Fierce & Fine Graphic Eyeliner/or Iconic Freematic System Eyeshadow  Ciaté & Luxie – Christmas Special Eyeshadow Palette and Eyeshadow Brush   First Aid Beauty – Ultra Repair Cream Intense Hydration – Honeysuckle  Oribe – The Lacquer High Shine Nail Polish  GLOSSY Makeup – Blending Sponge  L.O.V. - Blurring Blush  Nudestix – Lip + Cheek Pencil  APTO Skincare – Healing Mask –Turmeric  invisibobble – Got to Glow - Holiday  CONTEXT - Micro-Derm Regenerator  Patchology – Moodpatch Eye Gels  Viktor&Rolf – Flowerbomb Eau De Parfum  Winky Lux -Uni-Brow Universal Eyebrow Pencil  Dr. Botanicals – Pomegranate Superfood Regenerating Sleeping Mask  Giorgio Armani Beauty – Homme Code & Femme Code - Absolu Eau de Parfum  Avant Skincare – Pro-Intense Hyaluronic Acid Illuminating Day Cream  3INA - The Cream Eyeshadow - 313  Steve Laurant - Lip gloss- eggplant  Philip Kingsley - Elasticizer  Absolute New York – Matte Made in Heaven Lipstick 

*Discount Code:  Fortunately, I do have a promo code for Glossybox, for both UK & USA followers. For any 1-month or more subscription (instead of 3, 6, or 12 mo.) you can grab 20% off + (an additional 10 GBP off or 10 USD/ off of an advent calendar. *Canadian followers should be able to use the code as well.  
Use code: MADISON  
 
Lookfantastic (UK) 420 GBP - *Buy it here.* 

Illamasqua Nude Collection Liner – Raw   Rodial Dragon’s Blood Lip Mask  OSKIA Renaissance Cleansing Gel   First Aid Beauty Facial Radiance Pads 20   Sleek MakeUP Highlighting Palette – Solstice  Avant Skincare Moisture Surge Overnight Treatment   Prai Throat & Decolletage Crème   Philip Kingsley Elasticizer  Molton Brown Fiery Pink Pepper Bath and Shower Gel  Bio Effect EGF Serum   Eyeko Lash Alert Mascara   Delilah Cosmetics Eye Brow Pencil   Emma Hardie Moisture Boost Vit + C Cream  Bubble T Limited Edition Bath Bomb   Filorga Meso-Mask   Omorovicza Queen of Hungary Mist Limited Edition   Living Proof Perfect Hair Day (PhD) 5-in-1 Styling Treatment   Rituals The Ritual of Ayurveda Dry Oil  Lord & Berry Black Eye Liner   Mellow Cosmetics Liquid Lip Paint – Tehran  Caudalie Vinopure Clear Skin Purifying Toner  Luxie 121 & 141 (2 brushes)   Elemis Pro-Collagen Marine Cream   Neal’s Yard Remedies Wild Rose Hand Cream  Morphe 9A Palette 
Although this post is NOT sponsored and not required for me to create, I do work with both brands regularly and hope that this post was helpful to anyone looking to purchase makeup, beauty or skincare driven advent calendars this season. 
What are you excited about for the holiday season?

 The goods: Advent calendars via Lookfantastic and Glossybox-c/o. All content and opinions are honestly expressed and are my own. Some affiliate links are within this post. *View privacy policy here.   
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