Essence Advent Calendar 2017

Today I'm happy to be sharing yet another advent calendar that I did. Today is Essence's offering. It's 24 days and allegedly all full-sized products. I purchased mine from the Essence website, but when it was offered for 50% off the $39.99 retail price.

This had a cute interior design.

Each of the doors has an adorable saying in the inside.

Here's the breakdown by day:

Day One: Nail Buffer Block
Day Two: I Heart Trends Mini Nail Polish-Me & My Snowflake
Day Three: Longlasting Lipstick in 16 I Am Yours!
Day Four: Gift Bags
Day Five: Concealer & Makeup Sponges
Day Six: I Heart Extreme Mascara
Day Seven: I Heart Trends Mini Nail Polish- hohoho my love
Day Eight: Kajal Pencil in 01 Black
Day Nine: Pencil Sharpener
Day Ten: Gift Tags
Day Eleven: Balmy Kiss Moisturizing Lip Care
Day Twelve: Tweezers
Day Thirteen: Eyebrow Designer Pencil in 02 Brown
Day Fourteen: Nail Stickers
Day Fifteen: I Heart Trends Mini Nail Polish-the xmas nail story
Day Sixteen: All About Matt!  Fixing Setting Powder
Day Seventeen: Hand Cream (0.8 fl oz)
Day Eighteen: I Heart Trends Mini Nail Polish- Santa Clause's Surprise
Day Nineteen: Invisible Kiss Transparent Lipliner
Day Twenty:Matt Matt Matt lipstick in 05 Red-y or Not?
Day Twenty-One: Hair Ties
Day Twenty-Two: I Heart Trends Mini Nail Polish- Hello Nice to Glitter You
Day Twenty-Three: Hand tattoos
Day Twenty-Four: Mini hair brush

Here's a look at the nail polish:

And the makeup:

The holiday items:

The hair items:

And the other items:

Essence is a brand that I'm interested in diving deeper into, so this seemed like a good opportunity. I'll be honest, $40 seemed steep but I'm thrilled to have it at the $20 price point. I'd purchase in 2018 if I could get it at a similar price.

Target 12 Days of Beauty

Happy Boxing Day to those who celebrate- or, Day After Christmas to some of you, or December 26th to others. I'm going to continue with the rest of my Advent Calendars.  Next up, Target's 12 Days of Beauty- which retailed for $15.

I'll admit that this was a bit flimsy- see how the doors all wanted to rip off? This was an assortment of makeup, skincare and haircare.

Here's a closer look at the doors:

They each come with some info on the product, and some tips from Target's Beauty Advisers. I thought this was a nice touch.

Just as a warning, they made it quite clear what's inside on the back:

To make it easier on you...

Day One: Maybelline Great Lash Mascara
Day Two: elf Lip Exfoliator in Mint
Day Three: Hask Argan Oil Cream
Day Five: Pixi Glow Tonic
Day Six: Vichy Mineral 89 Face Moisturizer
Day Seven: NYX Bright Idea Illuminating Strip in Lavender Lust
Day Eight: Nexxus New York Humectress Intensely Hydrating Masque
Day Nine: Honest Beauty Everything Organic Facial Oil
Day Ten: Real Techniques Beauty Sponge
Day Eleven: Eyelure No. 31 Eyelashes
Day Twelve: Pacifica Sea Foam Complete Face Wash

I thought the products were really nicely sized

This is the only calendar that gave me a full-sized sponge and lashes, so that made it different from the rest- and somehow quite the value.

I like this calendar, and I may repurchase next year. I've always wanted to try the Pixi without investing, and between the Eyelure lashes and RT sponge you've almost got the value back. It's nice to see a range of Target brands.

These are also very generous samples- well, done Target!

Ciate London Mini Mani Month

I thought for the second Advent Calendar of this Christmas Day, I'd feature the Ciate London Mini Mani Month ($59, Sephora). This 24-day kit was all about nails- there's only one product that wasn't a mini polish. In total, there were 22 minis (2 topcoats), 1 full sized polish, and one mini nail file.

I'll be nabbing this (if the formula works on my hands) and the makeup advent calendar next year. It's clear that these UK brands get beauty advent calendars.

This is adorable- there were 24 mini boxes, each with a different saying on the back.

I'll be keeping a couple of them.

Yes, this is my motto.

Of course, I LOVE this one:

Now, if you're wondering, this is how the kit broke down:

Day One: Midnight  in Paris
Day Two: Cabaret
Day Three: Gelology Top Coat
Day Four:Part Time Mermaid
Day Five: Locket
Day Six: Moonlit Whispers
Day Seven: Beach Please!
Day Eight: Desert Lights
Day Nine: The Naked Truth
Day Ten: What the Shell?
Day Eleven:Cosmic Love
Day Twelve: Big Top
Day Thirteen: Moondust
Day Fourteen: Nail File
Day Fifteen: Palm Springs
Day Sixteen: Reign Supreme
Day Seventeen: Nail Superhero
Day Eighteen: Maybe Baby
Day Nineteen: After Party
Day Twenty: House of Mirrors
Day Twenty-One: Champagne Kisses
Day Twenty-Two: Roll Up, Roll Up
Day Twenty-Three: Mostly a Minx
Day Twenty-Four: Showtime (full size)

Here's the cremes:

The shimmers:

The glitters:

And the other products:

All in all, this is going to be a great way to get to know the brand.  Two thumbs up!

Yes, it's expensive but everything about this makes me interested in next year's version. And the makeup version.

NYX Lippie Countdown Advent Calendar 2017

Merry Christmas to those who celebrate! I'm happy to be sharing another of my advent calendars for Holiday 2017. Let's go drugstore with this one- this year's advent calendar from NYX Cosmetics.

Last year's calendar was also 24 days but was 12 eyeshadows and 12 lipsticks. I honestly didn't get much use out of any of it- but I was ready to try this year's version.

Welcome to the NYX Lippie Countdown, which originally retailed for $65- but was again an Ulta Black Friday deal for $29.99. NYX's lip line is so diverse that it was awesome to sample a bit of all of them.


Here's the contents of the calendar:

Now, here's a closer look at them, by day:

Day One: Matte Lipstick in Eden
Day Two: Liquid Suede in Soft Spoken
Day Three: Simply Vamp Lip Creme in She Devil
Day Four: Lip Lingerie in Push Up
Day Five: Soft Matte Lip Cream in Paris
Day Six: Butter Lipstick in Seashell
Day Seven: Intense Butter Gloss in Berry Strudel
Day Eight: Butter Gloss in Creme Brulee
Day Nine: Matte Lipstick in Up the Bass
Day Ten: Lip Lingerie in Corset
Day Eleven: Soft Matte Lip Cream in Sao Paolo
Day Twelve: Matte Lipstick in Indie Flick
Day Thirteen: Liquid Suede in Vintage
Day Fourteen: Butter Lipstick in Root Beer Float
Day Fifteen: Butter Gloss in Raspberry Tart
Day Sixteen: Lip Lingerie in Embellishment
Day Seventeen: Simply Red Lip Cream in Russian Roulette
Day Eighteen: Liquid Suede in Stone Fox
Day Nineteen: Soft Matte Lip Cream in Copenhagen
Day Twenty: Matte Lipstick in Shocking Pink
Day Twenty-One: Lip Lingerie in Exotic
Day Twenty-Two: Intense Butter Gloss in Tres Leches
Day Twenty-Three: Butter Gloss in Sugar Cookie
Day Twenty-Four: Butter Lipstick in Ripe Berry


Now, let's look at the contents a bit closer.

There are four matte lipsticks:

I've tried two of these so far- Eden and Up the Bass. Believe it or not, I've never tried the formula before.

The three Butter Lipsticks are a bit more mellow- and more my speed.

I keep reaching for Root Beer Float over and over- I have a feeling I'll be purchasing a full size before the year's up!

There are three Butter Glosses. I already love this formula.

Creme Brulee is my favorite by far.

The two Intense Butter Glosses couldn't be more different.

I think you all know which one I favor.

I wasn't impressed by these Lip Lingeries. Look how they swatch.

The Soft Matte Lip Creams were uneven as well.

Two of the three perform well.

Luckily my full size Paris performs better than this- and I didn't own the others before now.

The Liquid Suedes performed better.... but these aren't my colors.

Although the formula worked better, these are unique shades.

Lastly, there were two stick lipsticks.

They're nice, but they do move around.

Pros: Unlike last year, these are all lip products- and these are all generously sized.
Cons: Box spoils the surprise on the back (they're in order) and on the panels- you know the color family and finish just by looking at that day's door; I found the liquid lips to be really hard to swatch.

Would I buy this at full price ($69)? Nope. But did I find it a value at $29.99? Yes, unequivocally so.

I've already worn a number of the items in this set and look forward to pulling them into my lip wardrobe in 2018. I've counted at least five I'm pretty sure I can use to completion.

NYX Beyond Basics Holiday Kit 17

Confession: I was trolling for a new palette at Ulta recently during the 5X point multiplier (I have something in mind for my 20% off coupon and I want to combine with as many points as possible to lower the price.). I was literally frustrated, and this attacked me in the leg.

So, I brought it home.

Say hello to the NYX Beyond Basic Holiday Kit- Version 17 ($20, in-store only at Ulta but online here at NYX Cosmetics). According to the brand's website, there are two versions of this kit.

For your $20, you receive three items- a six pan eyeshadow palette (same size as the Lingerie palette if you're curious), a black Matte liquid liner, and a Matte Liquid Lipstick in Nude Rose.

I'll be honest, I haven't had much time to play and test this because I got it 48 hours before the allergic reaction on my eye. So this is more of a swatch overview in case you'd like to pick this up as a last-minute gift.

For me, the six-pan shadow palette is the star. There are five mattes and a lone shimmer.

The six 0.04 pans are only numbered. It's worth noting that the brilliant magenta is marked as a pressed pigment that's not eye safe.  This usually means that there's a non-FDA approved dye involved. It's also worth noting that there's an explicit waterline warning because this contains carmine. So, don't use this on the waterline.

These shades just look like this time of year, don't they? Here's how they look swatched:

That creme is almost the same as my NW15 skin, that's why you can't see it. I'll get a lot of use out of this and will be sure to report back once I've thoroughly tested it.

To pair with the palette, you receive a Matte Liquid Liner. This looks to be close to full size, if not equal.

It's got a brush tip, and will be pulling this into my rotation in 2018.

Lastly, there's a Matte Liquid Lipstick in Nude Rose in the kit. I've not seen this formula on their site, or in a NYX store before. It's close to a full size though.

Admittedly, I didn't let this dry down before taking the photo, but it's representative to the color. With my furnace now running all the time, I have to be careful with drying items on my hands. Nude rose is a nice warm nude that I'll be happy to try once it gets a little warmer and my lips a little less chapped.

This is a fun little stocking stuffer- I know we're up on it in terms of holiday shopping, but there were plenty of years where I worked until the 21st, shopped for 14 hours on the 22nd, drove home to my parents' home on the 23rd, and wrapped the 24th. So I know there are still people shopping. These kits appear to be in-store at Ulta but online from NYX. I think it's a nice little value for sure.