One of my favourite things about Christmas are Advent Calendars.
I was doing a lot of research before deciding to invest into the one from Look Fantastic, just like I had last year.
Look Fantastic offered a huge advent calendar for "only" 98€, considering that the products hidden inside were worth around 300€, it´s a total bargain.
Another point why I liked to go for a LF Calendar was, that it´s a total secret which products were selected for it and just look at the packaging!
It was a huge box, with 4 drawers that held individual little boxes where the products were inside.
Now let me just tell you a little something about this year´s products...
Day 1: Illamasqua Vixen Lava Lipstick
The month started really good! I was really suprised to find an Illamasqua lipstick in the first package, even more such a beautiful shade. I´ve worn it for christmas, and it´s a gorgeous bright red with a glossy finish, even though the lipstick itself looks matte. It feels moisturizing and comfortable on the lips, so I´m sure I´ll wear it really often, maybe even to work.
Day 2: Ciaté Fierce Flicks Eyeliner
This is the eyeliner I´ve been waiting for. First try and I got to perfect flicks, and from then on I decided I´ll never ever use an other eyeliner again! The tip is really slim and pointy, but also stiff so it´s really easy to make a really fine line. So worth every penny!
Day 3: Grow Gorgeous Scalp Exfoliator
Because of the dry air, I got a really dry and flaky scalp, which looked horrible as I had white skin flakes in my hair sometimes. So this scalp exfoliator came just perfectly in time! I tried it immediately and it was a bit hard to really work in, but once you get the hang of it, it´s a dream! My hair looked so healthy after blow drying, and since then I don´t have that problem with white skin flakes anymore!
Day 4: First Aid Ultra Repair Cream
My lifesaver for the winter months! It says you can use this cream from head to toe, which I´m not too sure about haha, but I use it as a hand cream and I don´t think my hands ever felt that soft! It´s quite a thick cream, that smells not really spectacular but does definitely a good job, so I´m more than happy it came in such a big tube, haha.
Day 5: BalanceMe Flash Cleanse Micellar Water
I´m all in for trying new cleansers/micellar water. This one does it´s job quite well, I had better ones before though. It´s not as drying as some others but I also don´t feel like it cleans my skin enough. Nice to try out but I´m not getting the full size...
Day 6: ThisWorks In Transit Camera Close-Up Primer
I´m just as open to trying new primers, so I was sooo excited to try this multi-tasking primer! It´s also a face mask and moisturizer, which means it´s got a heavy texture, but has a really moisturizing effect. When it´s sunk in, it makes my skin a bit sticky so my foundation definitely stays in place. Just one thing that doesn´t make me use it as often is, that it doesn´t hide my pores that good.
Day 7: James Read Illuminating Tan Mist Body
I didn´t give this one a try yet, and I´m also not really sure if I´ll like it. As I understood the description, you spray it on and it´ll give you a slight shimmery tan? If you know this products, please let me know how to use it, haha.
Day 8: Redken No Blow Dry Airy Cream
At first this product sounded too good to be true. You simply work this cream into your hair and it´ll dry faster, and on top make your hair soft and easy to style. I did as it said and left my hair to air dry. Well, I was left with quite dry frizzy hair, and so a bit dissapointed of the product. Maybe my hair is just too thick? I might give it another try as I really want it to work for me, but we´ll see...
Day 9: BellaPierre Loose Banana Setting Powder
I really like using loose powder, but never tried a banana powder. Simply because I always thought I was too pale, and I´d be left with yellow spots on my face, haha. Now that I got to try it, I´ll never use anything else again. This powder sets my foundation and concealer just perfectly, all while still looking really natural!
Day 10: Oskia Renaissance Mask
This mask is pure luxus! From the moment you open it, you are overwhelmed with a heavenly smell, almost like when you enter a spa. You simply apply this mask after you cleaned your face and leave it on for up to 20 minutes. It feels cooling and fresh, and you can definitely feel that it´s doing something. I´m just sooo sad that the full size costs around 60€, so I´ll definitely have to write this on my wishlists for the next few years, haha.
Day 11: Molton Brown Gingerlily Body Wash
Last year´s calendar also had a molton brown body wash and so I was really happy to find another one in this year´s. The smell of it is really fresh, christmassy and a lot like ginger. I always search for body washes that are moisturizing and this one totally is.
Day 12: Caudalie Moisturising Sorbet
I heard lots of good things about Caudalie and so it´s finally my turn to try it out! I use this cream in the morning, and I have to say it is good for "normal dry" to oily skin but since my skin is as dry as the Sahara right now, it only does a little. The texture is kinda funny to, really jelly sorbet like, and also smells kinda flowery.
Day 13: MorrocanOil Treatment
This hair oil was also included in last year´s calendar, and I´m soo happy it´s again in this one! I love it so so much, as it´s pretty much the only oil that makes my thick, heavy hair feel soft and light. It smells really lovely, and you only need a pea-size amount for your whole hair. I already purchased a full bottle of this one, and so I´ll definitely keep this little version for when I´m traveling.
Day 14: Korres Wild Rose Sleeping Facial
Coming back to my not normal dry skin, I switched to using this sleeping facial for the nights, as it´s really thick but sinks in really fast. I feel like it does help me a bit to stop my skin for getting worse. I´m not too sure if I´ll purchase a full size, but it´s definitely nice to try out.
Day 15: Look Fantastic Contour Brush
I´m so in for trying new brushes as often as possible, and it was a really pleasing suprise to find this golden brush. The bristle are really soft but still stiff and since I didn´t think it should be used as a contour brush, I started to apply my foundation with it. It works really well! Because it´s so big, it blends my foundation in really well and fast and gives me a beautiful even look. I´ll give it a try as a contour brush, but I´m sure I´ll stick to it as my foundation brush.
Day 16: ModelCo Retractable Brow Pencil
Brow Pencils are something I found myself always reaching for, more often than powders or pomade. Before I always went for my smashbox brow pencil, which is basically the same as this one from ModelCo shape-wise. The difference though is that this pencil´s texture is a lot more waxy and more pigmented. It takes me like 2 minutes per brow and because it´s so waxy it even keeps my brow in place the whole day. It´s perfect for traveling as you also got a little spooly brush on the other end.
Day 17: Omorovicza Queen of Hungary Mist
I´m the most unsure about this little gift. The smell is something completely unique, not flowery nor fresh or anything like that. It´s quite hard to describe and so I´m not sure if I like it. My sister and mum think it smells good, but I guess I´ll just have to give it another try. Other than that, the bottle is really pretty. A milk glass bottle with silver details looks really pretty on my dressing table.
Day 18: Dr. Lipp Original Nipple Cream
If you are as curious about this cream as I was, I´m really relieved. I had to take a second look into the description to see if the real purpose was for the nipples haha.
But no, it´s actually for the lips and it´s sooo good! It´s more a wax than a cream, but gets soft really fast after I start rubbing it into my lips. After that my lips feel so moisturized and soft, and look so shiny. I really like to apply it before using lipsticks, as it makes it more long lasting and the finish is a lot better.
Day 19: Crabtree La Source Hand Therapy
I gave this hand cream to my mum, because I already have the First Aid Cream and she loves it. I tried it out today and it´s quite nice. It´s more a gel than a heavy cream, but because of that sinks in really fast and has a really strong scent. Again a unique scent but kinda lovely, haha.
Day 20: Elemis Pro-Collagen Marine Cream
Another facial cream, that is texture-wise nothing like the other one. It´s more a watery gel, that is especially for anti-aging. Well, I don´t think I need that yet, so I might give it to one of my female family members, but who? Haha.
Day 21: Magnitone Cleansing Cloth
I finally get to try a cleansing/ makeup removing cloth, eeek! I´ve been curious about one of these ever since they first came out. I couldn´t really imagine them to really remove all of my makeup just with water, but it actually does work! I first tried it with a full face makeup, with foundation, eyeshadow, contour, etc. and it was all removed so easily. The only thing that I´m having trouble with is mascara. I just don´t have that patience to rub my mascara away with water, haha. I really prefer it over micellar water, as my skin isn´t left with that tight dry feeling afterwards.
Day 22: High Definition Foxy Palette
I can´t have too many eyeshado palettes, especially ones with natural browns, champagne and nude shades. Right after unpacking the palette, I tried it out and I was totally suprised by how pigmented, soft and easy to blend the shadows are. I´ll definitely use this palette a lot on a daily basis, maybe even take it with me when I´m traveling as it´s so handy and includes everything you need!
Day 23: Doucce Max Lash Mascara
I´m always unsure about trying new mascaras as I´m soo picky with mine, haha. Sometimes I like one that is more wet and makes my lashes long and sometimes I prefer drier ones that give me more volume. This one does both, it has a really wet formula and gives me like spider lashes, but also the effect as if I have 10 times more lashes than I actually do. I´ll get so much use out of it, and definitely need to do some research on where to get the full size!
Day 24: Dr. Botanicals Moroccan Rose Facial Oil
Lately I´ve been searching for a serum or facial oil, as I never really had one before, but heard really good things about them. This one is really watery more than oily and smells really flowery. It sinks in quite fast and so I like to use it right after cleansing and before I apply my night moisturizer. Next thing I´ll have to try it on one of my dry cream eyeshadows, if it works to bring it back to life, haha.
Day 25: Pixi Hello Glow! Kit
The "main" present this year was this Glow Kit from Pixi, how lovely as I´m all about a glowy look! This kit contains three products, a liquid illuminator, a blush & highlighter duo and a glossy lip plumper. I´m planning to post a full review soon so I´ll keep myself short. This kit comes just perfectly in time to bring some life back to my skin, haha.
