No7 12 Days of Beauty Advent Calendar

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD

I was really excited when I spotted the No7 12 Days of Beauty Advent Calendar at a local Walgreens. The $40 price tag made me a bit nervous, so I was psyched to use $30 in Wellness rewards to take my out-of-pocket down to $10 on this bad boy.  It claims to have a value of $94.

This is a beautiful calendar. I'm not sure if the camera truly picked up on the detailing, but this is just lovely. I wanted to try more No7 products and basically consider this part of my larger haul. I've loved the OG Boots brand in the past (they made the best Sensitive Skin sunscreen ever), so it's time to explore No7.

This kit promised a mix between skincare and beauty. I've only ever tried two No7 makeup products, and wasn't impressed, but feel the need to give the brand a full test.

This was the tallest of the advent calendars, and tended to fall over the most. Hence, it's up in my first-12 day rotation.

Here are the full contents:

Day One: Total Renewal Microdermabrasion Exfoliator (0.84fl oz)
Day Two: Stay Perfect Eye Shadow in Wheatsheaf (0.06oz- poss full size)
Day Three: Stay Perfect Amazing Eyes Pencil in Black (0.04oz)
Day Four: Protect & Perfect Intense Advanced Day Cream (0.84fl oz)
Day Five: Beautiful Skin Micellar Water (1 fl oz)
Day Six: Lash & Brow Perfector (7ml- full size)
Day Seven: Protect & Perfect Intense Advanced Serum (0.16 fl oz)
Day Eight: Airbrush Away Primer (0.33 fl oz)
Day Nine: Protect & Perfect Intense Advanced Night Cream (0.84 fl oz)
Day Ten: Stay Perfect Eye Shadow in Mink (0.06oz- poss full size)
Day Eleven: Exceptional Definition Mascara (7ml- full size)
Day Twelve: High Shine Lip Gloss in Pink Slip (4.5ml)

In sum, this is a bit pricey at $40, especially when I compare it with the other beauty advent calendar I picked up at Walgreens. I'm not mad at it since I used a lot of rewards to lower the purchase price, but I'm not 100% sure about the $40 price tag. I'll definately be using all of these- I've already tested the eyeshadow from day #2- and will be deep-diving into the brand in 2018. It's on my short list of brands I need to get to know better.

Pick Two: Two Holiday 2017 Giftsets from No7

Huge caveat: I haven't had a chance to test out many of these products yet, but I wanted to share two drugstore skincare sets from No7 (or, as I knew it during my stint studying in the UK, Boots No7) that I picked up at Walgreens recently.  I also picked up the 12-day Advent Calendar ($40, but won't be reviewing my advent calendars until after Christmas).

Normally I'd never want to post about a kit I haven't tested, but you'll see why.

First up, the No7 Deluxe Cleanse Collection ($48, but 50% off this week for $24!)

This kit contains three full-size products normally in the No7 line and a limited edition face brush. It's noted as a Walgreens exclusive with overall retail value of $61.

I've tested two of the four items in this kit, and think this is both an amazing value as a gift, or one worth nabbing for your own usage.

No7 Beautiful Skin Oil Free Eye Makeup Remover (Retail: $8.99): I've used this before and like it. It's a nice, light eye makeup remover that doesn't feel oily/icky and cleanly attacks eye makeup. I usually am running low on eye makeup remover, so I'm happy to have this back in my collection

No7 Beautiful Skin Melting Gel Cleanser for Normal/Dry Skin (Retail: $9.99): I honestly haven't tried this before posting this review other than on the back of my hand in the store. This comes with an internal seal that I won't break until I'm ready to use this. I think this will be my next shower cleanser. It starts as a gel that transforms into an oil.

No7 Beautiful Skin Hydration Mask for Dry/Very Dry Skin (Retail $16.99): I picked up a full size of this in the other set we'll be diving into, and it's lovely. I've been attacking my skin because of acne, so it's a fabulous hydrating mask.

No7 Beautiful Skin Cleansing Brush (Retail: Not Provided; LE): I'm going to pass this off to a family member because it's not for sensitive skin. This comes with the brush and an extra brush head. It requires two AA batteries (not included)

Especially at the special sale price at Walgreens this week, this is more than a value at $24- even if you're not going to use the brush like I won't. This is a fantastic skincare gift! I'll pull in the eye makeup remover when I've finished the ones that I have open, and think the cleanser is likely to be my next shower cleanser. I'm loving the results I'm getting from the mask, so it's great to have a backup.


Next up, the No7 Beautiful Skin Kit ($18, claims $35 value)

This was the first kit that I picked up from Walgreens, and unlike the other one it only has one full-sized item. All of these items are aimed towards normal/dry skin. With the exception of the mask, I have only tried these on my hands in-store but will slowly rotate these into my skincare routine. I found it a good value, but wanted to share it with you.

Side note: my new background looks good here!

No7 Beautiful Skin Hydration Mask for Dry/Very Dry Skin (Retail $16.99): We've already been through this- it's the reason why I bought this kit. Since it's only $1.01 above the normal retail for the mask, it was worth picking up the other samples

No7 Beautiful Skin Micellar Cleansing Water Normal/Dry- 1oz (Retail:$9.99/6.7oz ): I was seriously mulling a full-size of this, and will be throwing this into my travel makeup kit. Especially in the winter, having normal/dry products is awesome.

No7 Beautiful Skin Radiance Exfoliator for Normal/Dry Skin- 0.5oz (Retail:$10.99/2.5oz): I have quite a few scrubs open right now, so it'll be awhile before I can comment on this

No7 Beautiful Skin Dry Cream for Normal/Dry Skin- 0.84oz (Retail: $14.99/1.6oz): I like that this has SPF15 in it. Once I've finished my day cream, this is next up.

No7 Beautiful Skin Night Cream for Normal/Dry Skin- 0.84oz (Retail:$14.99/1.6oz): I think this is more of a spring/summer cream, given the weight of it.

All in all, I think this is a nice little set and these four deluxe samples were more than worth $1.01.

It's normally not my M.O. to talk about kits I haven't thoroughly tested, but the rewards this week are so good. I redeemed $35 in rewards and got back $20 with all of the bonus offers. No7 is a very reputable skincare brand and I've never hated a product from the line that I've tried (and I've been trying them off and on since 2002).