I have written previously about getting the best out of Christmas beauty sets and advent calendars. I never buy them especially for Christmas. I buy them for general use if I already use at least 75% of the contents, and if it is good value. After Christmas you can find even bigger bargains on the sales.
I am not into beauty advent calendars for the surprise factor, or to open a window every day. I have found that if you check the contents beforehand, you can find products you actually like and use for much cheaper than if you buy them individually. If I use and like at least 75% of a calender’s contents, then it is great value. And in the run-up to Christmas, there are often discounts offered on these calendars, in addition to the original saving. After Christmas, any that have not sold are usually offered at 50% off. The trick is – as with other sale purchases – to ask yourself ‘does this suit me?’ ‘will I use it?’ You can use these types of sales to try things you have been interested in for a while, or to stock up on old faithfuls.
This years I found a super-bargainous advent calendar from Clinique at a 50% and bought a couple.
Christmas beauty sets are also a good deal, IF you use the products inside. On Sephora’s sale this year I bought a set of a 200ml and a 150ml of Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturiser at a deep discount. The original price is about €60 for the 200ml bottle. I paid €30 for 200ml + 150ml. This moisturiser is something I always use. My 200ml bottle from last year is almost finished.
Another bargain I found is from Benefit. I have previously written about their Total Moisture Facial Cream, which I really like. It retails for €40. In the Sephora Christmas Sale this year you can buy a set of a full sized Total Moisture Facial Cream + fun sized eye cream (also really really good), plus a face primer (mini) and a brow primer (full size, worth €29) – €29 for everything! Once the little eye cream tub is finished it is always good for holding pills, tiny earrings, or to decant eye cream into when travelling. The tin itself could hold knitting needles or spaghetti.
