Days 19-24 of the M&S Beauty Advent Calendar

And we're back! Sorry for the unscheduled break on Friday - I was going to do a post on the good stuff in the Boxing Day Sales but I decided that, actually, the sales this year were a bit pants and not worthy of a post and so I had a day off, but we're back. Today brings the final instalment of my Mark's and Spencer's Beauty Advent Calendar! I know that Christmas is over, but I figure you'd be interested to see what the final 5 things were, so here they all:

On day 19 I got an Autograph Ultra Shine Twist-Up Colour in the shade "Nude". This is a glossy lip pencil in a shimmery brown-neutral colour. It's a bit thin and sheer in colour but there's a nice amount of shine on the lips with this and it's comfortable to wear.

As mentioned in my Stocking Stuffers Gift Guide Post (clicky link here), I love the  L'Occitane Verbena scent, so I really excited to see that there was a nicely sized Verbena Shower Gel behind door number 20. It's not the most lather-y shower gel ever but the scent is lovely and refreshing and it isn't at all stripping on the skin.

Day 21 brought the wonderful Pixi Glow Tonic. This has been a favourite of mine since I picked one up in the Caroline Hirons Beauty Box 2 (clicky link here). It's a lovely acid toner that you use with cotton pads after cleansing and it's gentle enough to use morning and night.

On day 22 I opened a mini size of the REN Flash Rinse 1 Minute Facial, which is one of my favourite face masks. It comes out of the tube a little bit like toothpaste but it leaves your skin feeling amazing and it's a really quick fix.

I'd heard a lot about the Stila Lip Glaze and day 23 brought me shade "18 - Sugar Plum", a dusty plum-pink colour. These come off quite sheer on the lips and they're a little sticky on the lips. The click-up applicator is cool but personally I prefer the formulas of the Lipstick Queen Big Bang Gloss or the NYX Butter Gloss.

And finally, on day 24, we have a Morgan Taylor Professional Nail Lacquer in the shade "Pretty Woman" (a bright pillar box red). I must be honest, I haven't even bothered trying it, it will be given straight to a sibling, I really just don't do red nail polish :( - a really good week of picks there until that last one!

Days 12-18 of the M&S Beauty Advent Calendar

So today we have days 12-18 of the M&S beauty advent calendar. I can't believe how close Christmas is now. I've spent 2 whole days wrapping presents (more because I'm a perfectionist about wrapping than there being a lot of them), I've listened to "Merry Xmas Everyone" and "The Fairytale of New York" (mr two favourite Christmas songs) a few hundred times and I'm counting down the hours until my Christmas holiday begins at 4pm on Tuesday. But back to the advent calendar:

I was actually really surprised with day 12. The Diego Dalla Palma The Lipstick in shade "46" looked a bit bland when I first opened it, but after applying it for the first time and actually wearing it, I love it. The colour is a nice wearable everyday shade and the formula is so unbelievably moisturising. I've pretty much worn this constantly since I got it - and it seems to be a full size?

My sunday treat came on day 13 in the form of the Mio Liquid Yoga Restorative Bath Soak, it's like M&S knew what would happen because I had an epic handover last Sunday (thanks works Christmas do) and this was amazing for it. I've made a pretty hefty dent in the 58ml sample size with just one use but its great. Not many bubbles but a really calming, relaxing scent that just eases stress.

On day 14 I got a  Roger & Gallet Hand and Nail Balm With Shea Butter and Fig Extract. So this smells quite nice but for me the formula is a bit heavy - I don;t have particularly dry skin on my hands so for me this was a tad greasy and it lingered a bit too long for me.

Day 15 brought us something I already have: the Percy & Reed Smoothed, Sealed & Sensational Volumising No Oil Oil. I did a full review on this product (here) and while it's a like, it's not quite a love and I've barely made a dent in the original bottle I had.

My day 16 treat was the Rodial Dragons Blood Sculpting Gel, which I actually used on my trip to Amsterdam and loved - I had some little sample sachets. Really pleased to have a bigger bottle to play with as it's a really nice face cream.

I was a bit confused by the Swell Ultimate Volume Masque that I got on day 17 of my advent calendar. I'm sure the full size must give you some information but this sample came with no hint as to what it was supposed to do - nor did it come with an inci list on the bottle. I tried it and it seems to be a hydrating treatment as my hair felt super soft after use but it also felt a bit greasy (after having just been washed), so maybe one for those with super brittle hair (mine is colour treated and heat styled regularly).

Finally? On day 18 we have a Crabtree & Evelyn La Source Moisturising Soap. Which I can't bring myself to use for the overpowering smell of awful. It smells like one of those old fashioned soaps that your gran might have used back in the early 90's. Definitely the worst addition to the calendar so far.

Days 5-11 of the M&S Beauty Advent Calendar

Part 2 of the Marks and Sparks Beauty Advent Calendar begins! (please forgive the probable spelling mistakes, this post was brought to you by post-works-Christmas-do Jodie and I'm feeling pretty fragile right now, but less of that). We've got days 5-11 today so lets get started.

On Day 5 M&S gifted me a Leighton Denny Renovate Nail Repair Cream, now while I've mentioned on here before that I'm just not that into nails - I can get behind this. I don't like painting my finger nails as I work on computers and chipping is a big issue for me so this is great. You file the ridges out, apply the cream and then buff your nails to shiny perfection. The result? Nice, neat nails that are super low maintenance.

Day 6 brought me the Rosie For Autograph Nuit Parfum, now if we're being real, this would normally be a bit heavy for me. I like my light, sweet, fruity type scents. This is a little more sophisticated than that. It's still pretty sweet but the base is quite musk-y and it's like the light-floral lovers more evening appropriate scent. I do like it and I will wear it, it's just not the light spritz on all day type scent I'd normally go for.

Now Day 7 is probably my favourite so far: the Rituals Zensation Foaming Shower Gel Sensation. This stuff smells ah-may-zing. It's a light floral and it's lovely and calming and refreshing. The texture is lovely too, lots of lather and not too drying on the skin. Will definitely repurchase once the trial size is up.

On Day 8 I opened up a Pure Super Grape Day Cream. Now unfortunately, I've been having a major skin woe this week, and my advent calendar had 3 face creams in a row so I've not been able to give any of them a fair test, but this one smells lovely (not that you'd buy a face cream for the smell) and the texture feels nice and light from a back-of-the-hand test. Will have to report back when I've had more time to play with this one.

Day 9 housed a Filorga Time-Filler Absolute Wrinkles Correction Cream, which isn't something I really need yet at 23. Again, I've tested on my hand and it's quite silicone-y in texture, like a thin gel that sinks into the skin. I'll be passing this to the mother to test (not that she needs it either of course).

And our 3rd day cream of week 2 came on Day 10 with the Neals Yard Frankincense Nourishing Cream. Another one that I'll have to check back with. On first impressions the smell is very herbal and exactly what you'd expect if you've tried anything from Neal's Yard before. This seems a little heavier than the Pure offering so possibly a good one for those with a drier skin - I'll get back to you on this though.

So I hate to end a post on a downer, but Day 11 brought a Josh Wood Full Bodied Shampoo, which smells and looks lovely, but unfortunately contains Sodium Laureth Sulphate (SLS). SLS is an ingredient I stay away from as my skin doesn't get on with it at all, but I'm sure my sister will love this so I'm donating it to her beauty stash, 'tis the season and all.

The M&S Beauty Advent Calendar (Days 1-4)

So to kick of another little festive series on here (don't worry, the last two installements of the gift guides are coming!) I've decided to share what I got in my Beauty advent calendar. Every Monday until Christmas Day I'm going to be revealing my weeks worth of beauty goodies, so lets get going.

So day 1 of the M&S beauty advent calendar was the Philip Kingsley Elasticizer Geranium and Neroli. This actually featured in my Stocking Stuffers Gift Guide (clicky link here) and it's a nicely scented version of the original Elasticizer hair mask which is a pre-shampoo treatment. It's meant to treat damaged hair and is suitable for coloured hair but I personally have always found pre-shampoo treatments to be a bit of a faff so this wasn't my favourite.

Day 2 brought me the Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream, now this is something I can get behind. As a nail biter I really struggle with the skin around my nails, especially in winter, and this has been nice to keep on my desk at work and rub into my fingers every now and again. The product is a solid balm that melts into an oily texture that isn't sticky on application and I have no trouble typing whilst using it. It's nicely moisturising and the smell is also lovely.

I've been a fan of Cowshed body creams since my first experience with their "Blissful" scent so I was excited to see that door number 3 housed a generously sized bottle of their Grumpy Cow Uplifting Body Lotion. The texture is light and absorbs quickly but is still nicely hydrating and the scent is really nice as well.

And finally for this post, day 4 brought me the Pür Volume Vixen Mascara, which I'm sad to say I'm really not a fan of. The brush is massive, the formula is just too dry, it does nothing for my lashes. I've come to enjoy a worn-out damp mascara these days because they have enough about them to build on themselves without taking ages to set, and I prefer a smaller bristle or a rubber wand. So this ticked none of the boxes for me which is a shame. Check in next Monday to see what days 5-11 bring.