Remember Black Friday? ( I bet all the retail workers will!) I succumbed to the sales and bought something; that I’m actually pretty still chuffed with – a rare thing for impulse buy. I’d wanted a beauty advent calendar since the magical day I’d learned of their existence, however with Christmas around the corner I could never justify treating myself to one.
On Black Friday however, Cosmopolitan tweeted that this Tesco Beauty Advent Calendar was half price… How is a girl to resist?
I bought it that night and opted for click and collect, so I didn’t have to pay postage. The grand total came to £25, total bargain. I got it on the 2nd December which meant I got to open two doors at once (Yay!)
The first day revealed Eyelure fake eyelashes; I haven’t worn them yet but with them being Eyelur I think it’s pretty safe to assume they are going to be great. On the second day of Christmas, I open the door to find a Tanya Burr nail polish. It looked like a sparkly dark Cadbury purple in the bottle, however on application it is a very dark purple – almost black, and the glitter particles (is that what they are called? You know, the individual glitter bits) are so small it looks more like a high shine finish rather than full on glitter.
I’ve also received soap (lemony and a bit like traditional school soap, from the good ol’ days) and a light up lip-gloss – an item highly coveted by my nine year old niece. I was pleasantly surprised that Tesco hadn’t gone down the route I presumed with this one. I thought most lip-glosses or lipsticks in here would be a soft ‘suits all’ pink, but this is bright and punchy – just how I like them.
I’ve also received four perfumes; 3 liquid and 1 solid.
Although I’m more of a one-signature-scent kinda gal, the perfumes are fast become my favourite things. THEY ARE SO CUTE! Like caps lock inducing cute. Unlike most perfume testers, that admittedly look a bit rubbish, these perfumes are all tiny replicas of the full size bottle.
The variety of perfumes are all quite ‘safe’ but all nice. There has been Paul Smith Extreme, Elizabeth Ardent Red Door, Candy Kitten and Meow by Katy Perry.
Katy Perry’s Meow is the solid perfume and as you can see from the photo does look a bit childlike but it still smells lovely – sort of a sweet girly smell with tones of vanilla. If you have any young girls around the house – this may be the one to let them ‘borrow’ (ie borrow, use and loose)
The packaging of the advent calendar itself is also worth noting. Firstly, the calendar is huge. On the night I came home with it, I took a photo of it next to the dog (a rather scruffy miniature schnauzer) for scale and as you can see he’s terrified by it.
It came in pretty gift bag that matched the theme of the calendar itself, both a stylish mix of white and silver. The subtle tree print blends into the white sky in a way that makes it look a lot more expensive than its original price of £50. Tesco have also (thankfully) stayed away from any obvious/strong branding so it would be perfect for treating somebody else.
The calendar has proved such a hit, it has become a sort of daily event. Every evening everyone who happens to be in the living room gathers round to find out what will be behind the next door.
If you’re after a beauty advent calendar next year, I can thoroughly recommend this one.