And so it ends...

Here are the final products and they were absolutely worth the wait! Excited to try them all!

I'm now going through advent calendar withdrawals but am already looking towards next years'!

Please stand by...

I wrapped up days 21-25 of my advent calendar to have something to open on Christmas Day, given this was my Christmas present from Mark. Cannot wait to report back tomorrow! 

Merry Christmas Eve and Happy Chanukah!

Laura Mercier x2

The lovely Laura Mercier is making a double cameo in this beauty advent calendar (lucky us!)! Today I found a lip glacé in Bare Baby, a lovely light pink. I always say, one can never have too many lip glacés...

Lucky Lady!

Liberty of London and Sisley want me to get my face did! And I need it! THANK YOU!

Getting Lippy

Omorovicza Perfecting Lip Balm made an appearance on day 18! How luxurious!

On the 17th day of Christmas...

Dermalogica's Precleanse arrived in my mitts today. It's a cleansing oil that turns milky when applied with wet hands, to wash away impurities. It smells like having a relaxing facial at a spa. Lovely!

Smokey Eye Goodness

I wish I could get a good photo of today's gift from the amazing Liberty advent calendar but it's not going to happen... It's a Surratt Smokey Eye Baton in Cendres and the packaging is a lovely black pencil but it's just not super photogenic. Hopefully I will be after use!

Skin Food

Yesterday, I opened the box marked "15" to find Weleda Skin Food. Made with organic sunflower seed oil, and extracts of wild pansy, chamomile, calendula and revitalising rosemary extract, it is a luxuriously thick cream that absorbs instantly into the skin. You need quite a bit to cover larger parts of the body because it literally sinks into the skin as soon as you apply it but I actually think that's a good thing! You know it's going straight to work...

Head, shoulders, knees and toes

I was excited to reveal C.O. Bigelow Rose Salve this morning! But I didn't realise just how many body parts it helps to save from dry skin. Aside from the lips, it's list also includes:

Knees

Face

Cuticles

Elbows

"Anything that needs a fix"

Emulsified with rose extract, it's also a treat for the nose!

No, THIS smells bloody gorgeous

I wish you could smell this Liberty product: Malin+Goetz rum body wash. It's indescribably delicious. This wash claims to "reduce epidermal stress". Score!

This smells bloody gorgeous

Day 12 brought Decleor Aroma Confort moisturising body milk. The smell is quite intense but would be perfect after a hot bath.

Nailed It!

Day 11 and today is... Nail polish! Deborah Lippmann nail polish in "Do the Mermaid". Free from Formaldehyde and other bad chemicals, it makes me wonder what terrible things I've been putting on my nails all these years! 

Purple glitter nails at the ready for the company holiday party tonight!

Triple Threat

Today I opened the December 10th box to reveal a product that claims to be a cleanser, exfoliator AND mask! ESPA Optimal Skin ProCleanser uses moringa seed extract to cleanse, jojoba "spheres" to exfoliate and pumpkin enzymes to remove dull cells when used as a mask. Rinse away with water and a cloth or leave on for 15 minutes twice a week as a mask. 

It's a gel-like, oily substance with tiny little beads (and smells amazing!). After a first cleanse, it washes off nicely and has left my skin incredibly soft! Off to try it as a mask now...

Day 9 - Hourglass

Today I received a mini Hourglass lipstick in "Grace" and I've been wearing it ever since. It's a pale pink shade, almost nude, and is slightly paler than my natural lip colour. It "felt" and tasted like a traditional lipstick, nothing fancy there, but the colour is very understated and matte so something I can wear everyday. And I love that this product, like so many of the others so far, is paraben and sulphate free!

The Ren Express

I love opening those little Liberty boxes and finding full size products poking out from beneath the gold ribbon filling. And I'm ecstatic when they're product lines I actually use regularly! Today, Ren Express Make-Up Remover made an appearance in its full glory and while I've never used this product, I use Ren moisturiser and serum daily. It's a really great British line with no parabens or sulphates.

This is a cleansing milk to be removed with a cotton pad which I'm not usually crazy about because I find most leave a residue behind but this is such a soft, silky consistency and it definitely does the trick! 

Refined Lines

Trish McEvoy's Line Refiner is something I've heard about quite a bit and it gets great reviews online. I opened this surprise yesterday on Day 7 and thought I'd give it a try before posting about it. I applied the product with the wand to my eyes and lines around my mouth and I do like the constistancy of the product. I didn't see instant results as a couple of online reviewers did but I'm going to introduce it into my daily skincare routine and report back. It sounds like a miracle product so I'm willing to give it a fair go!

Day 6 - A Classic!

Today, the wonder box produced Kiehl's Creme de Corps rich nourishing cream. I love this moisturiser and it's great getting smaller versions of products that can fit in my purse (1 fl. oz)!

Oops!

So I got my days mixed up already... This is what happens when an excited adult-child can't wait long enough to turn on the lights in the morning before opening her advent calendar. I opened day five accidentally on day three and vice-versa... Correct, no one cares.

Anyway, today I got a lovely "hydrating rose cleanser" by Aromatherapy Associates. Never heard of this company but it's a nice travel size to take on trips and promises "glowing skin". And its paraben-free so I'm down!

Oh what will tomorrow bring???

Day Four - Footcare

Today, inside my advent calendar was Margaret Dabbs Footcare nourishing nail and cuticle serum for toes (and fingers). It's rich, creamy white and smells like a spa. I used it this morning and I have to admit, it made the skin around my nails surprisingly soft! Will save this for when my feet see a bit more action than the inside of a wool sock and winter boot...

One Golden (Key)ring!

December 3rd saw a golden keyring with a gift voucher attached to Josh Wood Atelier HairLab at Liberty. Rad.

On the second day of Christmas...

Day two didn't disappoint! My Liberty of London Beauty Advent calendar produced a Nars blush that I've been dying to try...and I am now hooked on this new shade (Deep Throat). A Nars blush fan for years, this has made me want to switch things up!

On the first day of Christmas, my husband gave to me...

Mark surprised me massively last month by bringing home the coveted (by me, anyway!) Liberty of London Beauty Advent Calendar! I've been waiting for 2 weeks like an overexcited chimp for December 1st to roll up! It's one of the greatest gifts conceptually... products I've been looking to try or didn't know I needed, beautifully presented in 25 peacock-print little boxes to open everyday.  I thought I'd use my blog to share my daily excitement with anyone who has the attention span. So here goes...

December 1st - Liberty of London lavender & wild chamomile soap (full size!). Lavender is one of my favourite scents and this smells so gorgeous.  Great starting off point!

Let There Be Light!

Happy to be winding down the major works in the Rae household!

We just had the old/damaged window in the back room replaced with a double glazed, UPVC sash window from The Shoreditch Window Company.  Really impressed with the installation experience and the window lets in so much more light than the old one. It even has a subtle wood grain pattern in the UPVC to mimic wood!  Genius.

I'm contemplating putting the curtains back up! 

See below for the before and after...

Old window

Voila!

Stairway Heaven

We finally have carpet on our stairs!  After over 3 years, we finally have carpet on our stairs!  It's the little things...  : )