Estée Lauder Limited Edition Beauty Advent Calendar 2017 – Unboxing and Product Reviews

Merry Christmas everyone! Hope you are having a lovely time off!

The advent calendars are officially done today and so it is time to have a look at what was inside them! I’ve previously done a general review on beauty advent calendars, going through my reasoning on why I chose certain ones and why I rejected others. If you missed that post check out: Let’s Talk Beauty Advent Calendars. Look Fantastic vs Estée Lauder And others.

However, in that post I kept the products a secret as I didn’t want to spoil it for anyone. Now that the advent calendars are all done and dusted, it’s time to have a look at what products were contained and how they fared.

Without further ado, here’s what was inside the Estée Lauder 2017 beauty advent calendar, day by day, and some short, to the point reviews.

 

1^st December 2017 – Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair Serum

I’ve been using this product for ages and it is one of my absolute must haves. This is a serum that you put on your skin before moisturising to give it some extra nutritious ingredients.

It has hyaluronic acid, amongst a lot of other lovely ingredients, and you can even use it to help the skin heal faster after a small cooking burn or rash.  Its also the only product that seems to reduce the size of my pores. It is a miracle worker, it truly transformed my skin and I highly recommend it.

 

2^nd of December 2017 – Michael Kors Wonderlust

This is a travel size, roll-on perfume from Michael Kors. The scent is really famine but at the same time not sweet and it also has a slight floral aspect to it.

It’s absolutely lovely, lasts a few hours and is easily wearable for both day and night.

 

3^rd December 2017 – Clinique Chubby Stick Intense Moisturising Lip Balm in 07 Broadest Berry

This is a lovely coloured lip balm. The colour is gorgeous and it lasts for hours, although it does fade when eating of drinking. It gives the lips a nice moisturised feeling which is absolutely great for the winter months.

 

4^th December 2017 – Bobbi Brown Hydrating Eye Cream

This cute little eye cream definitely gives the skin a hydrated feeling. It is absorbed by the skin quickly and it doesn’t leave any oily residues behind. The skin is left feeling soft and deeply moisturised. The cream has a faint cosmetic smell and it contains some interesting ingredients. I haven’t been using this for a while, so I cannot comment on whether it worked for me or not but it definitely shows potential.

 

5^th of December 2017 – Aveda Thickening Hair Tonic

I must admit I wasn’t sure what this product is for and it doesn’t offer much information on it so I had to look it up. It is apparently a tonic for hair that is meant to instantly, after one use, thicken the appearance of hair by expanding strands from roots to ends.

It has a botanicals meet hair spray scent, wasn’t bad but neither the nicely cosmetic type of smell. It did indeed make my already thick hair, look thicker instantly, although I’m not sure if it makes the hair thicker or if it just adds volume. Either way, the end result is similar and it works!

It’s cruelty free, not tested on animals and is 97% plant derived.

 

6^th of December 2017 – Glamglow Mud Mask

This mud mask is meant to be used as a firming treatment. It has a coconut meets cosmetics type of scent which is actually fairly pleasant. You are meant to apply an even layer on the skin, while avoiding eyes, eyebrows and hairline, leave for 20-30 minutes and then peel off.

The mask is a silver cream, looks like a gorgeous liquid highlighter, which doesn’t really give you a mud mask feeling. It says at the back of the tube that “treatment will change colour as it dries”. I didn’t notice any colour change in mine but anyhow. It peels off really easily but make sure you create a thick layer though.

It was very pleasant and my skin felt slightly tighter, although sometimes you get that feeling even after using normal masks. It was really lovely and girly and I’d definitely have it again. You can repeat this mask twice a week.

I almost want to use this as a highlighter…it’s so silver shiny!

 

7^th December 2017 – DayWear Sheer Tint Moisturiser

This is a great tinted moisturiser for all those moments where you want to even out your skin tone and blur our some imperfections but at the same time you don’t want a full face of makeup.

It smells very similar to the actual DayWear moisturiser (doh!) and it is an off-white coloured cream that picks up your skin colour by rubbing. It gets absorbed quickly and doesn’t transfer, feel sticky or unnatural. It even has SPF 15!

 

8^th December 2017 – BB Thickening Dryspun Hair Finish

This is another hair spray that instantly creates fullness and holds airy texture. It smells like a typical hair spray product which is not a bad thing. It definitely did add a little bit of fullness but nowhere near as much as the Aveda Thickening Hair Tonic!

It doesn’t feel strange or sticky on the hair and doesn’t make them look dirty. My hair actually felt slightly softer after using this.

 

9^th of December 2017 – Smashbox Photo Finish Primer

This is a nice travel size makeup primer. It has a very faint cosmetic smell and it is meant to be a colourless gel. The formulation is not the best, it does separate and you get liquid out of it with the gel being left behind. If that happens you have to shake it really well and try to break up the gel inside so that it mixes up.

It otherwise gets absorbed by the skin quickly and it doesn’t leave any residue behind. It is oily free and suitable for oily skin. It’s a good makeup primer but I can’t say that it is the best I’ve ever used. The liquid-gel separation is definitely a big downfall.

 

10^th of December 2017 – Clinique Aromatics In White Perfume

This is now officially one of my favourite perfumes. It smells like baby powder meets clean laundry meets perfume. It’s such a unique perfume scent that is perfect for day wear. It just makes me feel feminine, soft and clean if that makes sense!

 

11^th of December 2017 – Bobbi Brown Art Stick Liquid Lip

This is a cute little lipstick, called art stick, in a gorgeous rouge type colour. All you have to do is push the liquid out by literally pressing on the stick pen and place it on the lips.

It’s nicely pigmented, the colour is gorgeous and the pen is super cute. It lasts for hours but like any lipstick, it fades while eating or drinking.

 

12^th of December 2017 – MAC Strobe Cream

Ok, so I received this a couple of times from different sources and I just can never remember or understand what this is for.

According to the MAC website “this is a moisturizer that boosts the look of dull skin and luminizes with iridescent particles”. It’s an off white cream that appears slightly pink when you rub it in. It reflects light nicely and it feels moisturising to the skin. It gets absorbed quickly and even though it gives the skin a nice natural looking shine, it doesn’t leave any oily or sticky residues behind.

 

13^th of December 2017 – DARPHIN 8-Flower Nectar Oil Cream

This is a thick, yellow cream that feels a little oily on the skin. It is made of 8-flower oils and as expected, it has a floral scent.

It feels really lovely and I can imagine that it must be nutritional for the skin too but as I have an oily type of skin I might be avoiding this one. I might use it under the eyes though or on super dry parts.

 

14^th of December 2017 – Clinique Chubby Stick Highlighter

This is a lovely highlighter stick. The highlighter has a pale pink colour but it reflects light very nicely. It’s very beautiful and it can be layered too. You can use this as a natural highlight or a more blinding one and I even use this sometimes on the brow bone and inner eye corners for that little extra eye highlight.

 

15^th of December 2017 – Origins Clear Improvement Mask

This is a charcoal mask that looks a lot more like a mud mask than the one above. It has a dark green colour and it is meant to clear pores. You are meant to first open up the pores with warm water and then use this mask on top. You then leave it on as long as it takes for the mask to dry and then rinse off.

I thoroughly enjoyed it, it felt really nice but like many charcoal-pore type products, I don’t think it reduced how many blackheads I have or created later in the week. It was nevertheless lovely.

 

16^th of December 2017 – Aveda Shampure Hand and Body wash

This is pretty much a shower gel and it has a pale white, silky type, creamy-gel appearance. It works well, cleans the skin but it smells a little too natural for me. It’s not a refreshing or nicely cosmetic scent, it’s almost like what a product would smell without any added fragrances. If you like that type of natural scent then you will like this one.

 

17^th of December 2017 – Estée Lauder Revitalising Supreme Plus

Right, if you haven’t tried this go out now and get it. I’ve been using this for a while now and it is one of the best face masks I’ve ever tried. It makes a huge difference on my skin the day after using it. I usually put it on clean skin, leave it for 5-10 minutes or until I remember (whops) and then I wipe whatever is left and not absorbed by the skin (which is not much because my skin loves this) with a clean tissue. No need to wash your face afterwards. I do this at night before going to bed and by the time I wake up the next day, my skin is transformed.

Here’s what Estée Lauder says on their website about this and I completely agree.

“This high-performance exfoliating treatment sweeps away dry, dulling surface cells so skin looks brighter, smoother, softer and more radiant.

Pores and skin texture are instantly refined as the dual-action formula physically buffs and micro-refinishes skin’s surface. Gentle yet effective, it brings the pampering of a spa facial to your shower.”

 

18^th of December 2017 – Glam Glow Thirstymud Hydrating Treatment

This is a hydrating treatment that you are meant to apply on clean skin, 2-3 times a week. You leave it on for 20-30 minutes and then wipe off any excess left behind.

It smells sweetly cosmetic with a dash of a slightly fruity scent too and it looks like a pale brown cream. It gets absorbed quickly and I truly leaves the skin moisturised and soft. It leaves a slightly oily feeling behind though so if you have oily skin, don’t use this before makeup, only at night before bed.

 

19^th of December 2017 – Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturising Lotion

This moisturising lotion is for very dry to dry combination skin, so definitely not for oily types like me. However, I do have very dry hands and so I used this as a hand cream. Better than wasting it…

It is a yellow, thin cream that spreads super easily and feels moisturising. It didn’t get absorbed fully and left oily residues behind but that might be because I’m not truly the dry skin type.

It has some interesting ingredients in it and also some that are debatable.

 

20^th of December 2017 – Bobbi Brown Soothing Cleansing Oil

This oil has kukui nut and sunflower oils as well as Yasmin flower. To be honest, it’s an oily cleanser and as I have oily skin type, it wasn’t my favourite. This might be better suited for someone with dry skin who might not mind the oily feeling so much.

 

21^st of December 2017 – Estée Lauder Pure Colour Envy Lipstick in colour Envious

The Estée Lauder lipsticks are all of amazingly high quality and this is no exception. Its great, super cute travel size and it feels and looks expensive. The colour is a nice, clean, blood red, everything that is needed for a month like December.

This lipstick lasts for hours but does fade after eating or drinking. It feels slightly  moisturising to the lips too.

I wish I had all the colours in this tiny little travel size ones…sooo cute!

 

22^nd of December 2017 – BB don’t Blow it

This is a white cream, hair styler that you are meant to put in clean, dry hair to avoid using a blower. It essentially styles the hair for you instead of having to use heat. It’s a nice option for when you want to give your hair a little break for blow drying or straightening. It is recommended for medium to thick coarse hair and it smells really nice.

 

23^rd of December 2017 – Bobbi Brown Rouge in Colour Powder Pink

This is a lovely cream rouge for the cheeks but also for the lips. It is very easy to apply, feels nice and it lasts a while. It’s much more soft coloured than it looks but it is buildable. It feels really nicely hydrating on the lips and I love that even though it is a small travel size, it actually has a mirror inside!

 

24^th of December 2017 – Estée Lauder Modern Muse Perfume

I don’t know what it is with Estée Lauder but they don’t do bad products do they? I highly recommend you smell their Modern Muse perfume range (there’s a few of them), they all smell really lovely. My favourite is the Modern Muse Rouge (the red one) but it is a little on the heavier-night side whereas this one is lighter and can be worn during the day too.

I really don’t know how to describe the scent, it is almost a typical perfume smell and it is blended so well that there isn’t a specific “floral” or “sweet” smell coming through.

And how cute is this travel bottle seriously?

 

25^th of December 2017 – MAC Mascara in Extreme Dimension 3D Black Lash

If I’m honest, I was a little disappointed. Nothing wrong with MAC or mascara but that’s not what I would expect for Christmas! Nevertheless, this is a lovely full size mascara which has a typical mascara smell.

I didn’t really like the wand, it’s one of those plasticky fake feeling and looking wands. I actually really like the shape of the handle and the packaging of it and even though it did give me nice lashes, it’s not in my top 3 mascaras.

 

That’s it for the Estée Lauder Advent Calendar of 2017. I though it was totally worth the cash, the products were all lovely and even though I already know and tried a lot of them before, it was still nice to receive travel sizes of them, especially during the holiday times when there is a lot of travelling to be done!

I especially loved that it was a limited edition advent calendar and that it contained a lot of the Estée Lauder owned brands, not just Estée Lauder products. I absolutely loved it and I will be getting one next year too! I highly recommend it.

 

I am not affiliated with any company or brand. These are my views and experiences.

 

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