LookFantastic 2020 Beauty Chest – better than any beauty advent calendar

I don’t need excuses to buy beauty products, but it’s nice to have them. I’m new to the beauty advent calendar mania (I know, it’s surprising, but they didn’t use to come by easily in Portugal), so this year I’ve been paying more attention. I was already down for the LookFantastic Advent Calendar when this thing dropped – 11 full size products for 85 pounds. Yes, want, mine.

It was a rush between adding up the price of the products I know I like and will use and making sure the value surpassed that – and between the Natasha Denona palette, the Kevyn Aucoin blush and the Color WOW hair spray, I was already saving money.

I know this sold out fast and is no longer available, but every individual product is, so I’ll give my opinion on each one in case anyone is looking into buying one of the individual items.

The Skincare

LookFantastic 2020 Beauty Chest

Pai Rosehip Oil – one of Pai Skincare’s best selling products, I was so glad to get it. I haven’t tested it for long enough – but so far no adverse reaction. The oil is very dense – looks liquid-y, but it’s actually a challenge to spread on the skin.

ESPA Optimal Skin Pro-Cleanser – wow, did this surprise me. It’s a gentle physical exfoliator (it contains pumpkin enzymes) that can be used as a mask. It has a thick translucid base with some white beads (jojoba spheres) that actually melt it you press firmly enough. It’s a highly hydrating cleanser/mask, great for very dry skin.

Origins Ginzing Refreshing Eye Cream – according to the ingredients, this seems to be a good one. The problem for me: it comes in jar packaging. That means that the air and light sensitive components will degrade really fast. I haven’t worn it yet – I plan on using it as full face cream (not just eyes) so as to use it up before the ingredients loose their efficacy.

Elemis Pro Collagen Marine Cream SPF 30 – a cult favourite, but not a personal one. I’m not that into it because of the goddamn jar packaging. The ingredients list is nice though, but those antioxidants will deteriorate quickly every time the jar is open and the product gets exposed to air.

Aurelia Probiotic Skincare Cell Repair Night Oil – although this does have some nice ingredients, it contains fragrance – and when I smelt it the lavender punched me in the nose hard enough to bring tears to my eyes. No way I’m putting that amount of perfume on my face. I’ll use it on my body.

Eve Lom Rescue Mask – this is a clay mask. It tends to separate in the jar (the water from the actual clay), but it does come with a spatula so I’d recommend mixing the product before using. It’s not the best I’ve tried, but it’s not bad. I’ll keep using to form a better opinion.

The Makeup

Kevin Aucoin The Neo Blush in shade Rose Cliff – love this shade and the brand overall. Their face powders tend to be amazing, but this blush specifically is a bit patchy. The culprit seems to be the darkest shade – if you focus the brush on the lighter part, the texture seems to be a lot more blendable.

Natasha Denona Eyeshadow Palette 5 – there’s not much to say except yes, great, love it. Natasha Denona eyeshadows have yet to disappoint me.

Iconic London Plumping Lipgloss in Lovestruck – a nice surprise. I rarely wear gloss, and I haven’t bought any for years now, but it’s still nice from time to time and the colour and (faintly tingly) feel of this one was great.

The other two

NEOM Organics Real Luxury Candle, Scent to De-Stress – okay, for the perfume and beauty industry, “lavender” equals “calming”. To me, it equals something you use in the bathroom to cloud other smells. I could smell this thing two meters away from the closed mail package – not the closed beauty chest, the actual brown, cardboard, closed mail package, before I opened it to check what it was. After a while (meaning, weeks) the pungent lavender scent faded and the fragrance became a bit more sophisticated and bearable – but still, I wouldn’t purchase it myself.

Colour WOW Dream Coat Supernatural Spray – I always got along well with heat protecting sprays – this is no different. It says it lasts through 3-4 washes – meh, I don’t know if I agree with that. Would I spend the 25 pounds it costs to get it? Probably not, but still, it’s nice to have.

Have you fallen into the spending rabbit hole this Christmas season?

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