Benefit Advent Calendar

Hello! I can't believe it's nearly Christmas, where has the time gone?

 A product that has made my countdown to Christmas very enjoyable this year is my Benefit Advent Calendar which was an amazing surprise present from the husband. 

So here are the details about the products that I found behind the doors of my candy coated countdown...

A Few Favourites

I've been really pleased with the make up samples that I have received as they are quite decent sizes that will last a few applications. Some old favourites that I've found hiding behind the doors are Benetint, Posie Tint, That Gal brightening primer, Ooh La Lift eye brighter, They're Real Mascara, It's Potent eye cream, Total Moisture face cream and The Porefessional primer.

New Discoveries 

I understand that part of the reason for Benefit bringing out an advent calendar is so that customers can try new products and hopefully go on to buy the full sized versions. I'm a make up sucker so will probably be doing just that! Some new discoveries for me are Stay Don't Stray eyeshadow primer, Stay Flawless 15 hour primer, Watt's Up highlighter, and the Ultra Plush lipglosses which I have in Dandelion, A-Lister and Fauxmance I'm particularly loving Dandelion and Fauxmance.

Random Other Bits

As well as beauty and skincare my calendar had also gifted me hair ties, post it notes, paper clips and a note book. The hair ties are quite cute but as I have short hair now I have no personal use for them. The stationary to me is a bit naff. You don't go to Benefit for stationary so I don't understand why it's in the calendar (apart from to keep costs down). Whenever I've opened a door that has some sort of stationary behind it I can't help but feel a bit disappointed. 

That said, overall I love this calendar and the variety of beauty samples I've received is fabulous so if you're thinking of treating yourself or a loved one next year you should go for it! - Hopefully they won't include so much naff stationary next year! 

Happy Christmas Everyone xx

New Products!

Hello! 

Well I'm not technically sure if these are new, new products but they are new for me so I thought I'd do some little reviews for you. 

1. Indeed Facial Powdered Exfoliator

My face was getting a little bit flakey and I'm not a huge fan of the exfoliant scrubs so I was on the hunt for either a chemical toner/exfoliator in one or something a little different. I found this in Boots and wow, wow, wow I love it! Basically it's a powdered exfoliator so you just wash your face as usual, then pour some of the powder into your hand, add a spot of water and foam up. You then massage it all over your face for about a minute before rinsing off. I use this about twice a week as part of my evening routine and my skin feels so much smoother and brighter since I've been using it. I bought this on offer at I think about £12 and I think it'll last me a good few months. 

2. Aveda Beautifying Set

I recently went for the best massage I've ever had- a chakra balancing massage. It isn't the type of massage I'd usually go for but my local spa was offering a massive 50% off so I went for it. Anyway, to cut a long story short they used some Aveda products on me and I found them to be really relaxing and luxurious with the most amazing scents. I decided to buy this set in my relaxed state but I'm so glad that I did! The set contains a creme cleansing oil which I use as a normal face wash with a muslin cloth. It's gentler than my favourite La Roche Posay cleanser but it's also very effective at cleaning off ALL make up. It also smells of lavender which is one of my favourite scents. 

The other large tube is a body moisturiser which again has a lavender scent and is the perfect texture for me. It's not too greasy yet soaks into the skin quickly leaving a beautiful scent and super soft skin. 

The third product is the beautifying composition which is an oil. You can use this in the bath but I don't often have baths so I've mainly added a few drops to the body moisturiser for an extra boost. Even though it's an oil, it's still not greasy. This set was a little pricey at just under £50 but you do get full sized, luxury products. I will definitely be trying Aveda products again. 

3. Soap and Glory Archery Brow Pencil

You may have read my recent eyebrow blog post and noticed that I have a difficult relationship with my eyebrows. Because of this, I'm always on the hunt for new products that are going to make my life easier when it comes to taming them. I picked up this brow pencil from Boots and I haven't used anything else in the last few weeks. It's a really thin brown pencil that allows you to build up your eyebrows bit by bit resulting in a very natural look. There is a brush on the other end to shape the brows and it's I nice sturdy plastic packaging. I also prefer this to my No7 brow pencil because it doesn't require sharpening so it's always ready to use. This was relatively inexpensive too so if you're on the hunt for a new brow pencil you won't go wrong with this one. 

4. Bobbi Brown Long Wear Cream Shadow Stick

I've been eyeing up eye shadow sticks for a while and decided to go with this Bobbi Brown version because I love the colour which is Golden Pink. I tend to put a primer underneath and then apply the eyeshadow straight onto my eyelid before blending with a soft brush. This is blummin fab! It doesn't crease, lasts all day and is a fabulous colour. It's also great for a quick daytime look or you can apply with a crease colour to make it more dramatic for the evening. I shall be purchasing some more of these! 

5. Benefit Advent Calender

My lovely husband bought this Advent Calender for me and I've been blown away by the wonderful products that it contains. I'm planning to write a separate post on this Calender but if you get the chance to pick one of these up next year is recommend that you do!

Thanks for reading my post. Feel free to leave any comments! 

Becky xx