Advent Calendar Obsession....

So this year was the first year that i've had my blog and this has been my first full year where i have been really interested in makeup. Therefore, i knew i'd be mad not to get a beauty advent calendar this year as it just would give me so much to talk about and i'm sure it'd be somewhat interesting. I was also considering doing like a mini vlog series, or a Xmas series of posts where i'd focus on my beauty products from my calendars and gift guides etc. And me being me thought i'd cover all bases when i bought not one, not two, but three beauty advent calendars this year and i am really happy with them. I also didn't pay full price for any of them and two of them were paid for by others as gifts so i don't feel as bad, and which makes it even more exciting! So i thought i'd give my first impressions prior to doing full reviews when i open them up. 

I thought i'd also mention the fact that last year i had the body shop advent calendar, and i thought it was amazing, i know it is pricey but after seeing what is in it this year, i know i would have really loved this one too, especially that it has a bit more of a variety in it as last year, it was very bath and body based, and didn't have much makeup where i believe this one is a little better on that front. So i'd recommend that one if  you were a fan of the body shop like me and fancied trying some new products from them. 

This year i passed on that calendar as i couldn't justify it as i've still got lots of minis from last year that i'm still using up and still loving, so i've not gone off the body shop, i just wanted to try something new. The first calendar that caught my eye this year was the Makeup Revolution one as it was a brand that i classically love and there was so much in it, with 25 full size exclusive products, i couldn't refuse. Especially as i got my 30% discount from it also, bringing it down to about £30 in total. It was too good of an opportunity to pass up. I picked that one up a few weeks ago and am really excited to get into it! 

Benefit is a brand that i've heard a lot about and my friends all love, but it's not something that i've really tried myself, or is it something that i felt i could justify the price of. For the money, there was nothing really that took my eye enough to splash the cash on. However, knowing that the infamous Benefit advent calendar was hot property this year, i dared to have a look at how much it was, in curiosity about trying out something new. And i was pretty gob smacked to see that it was still in stock in the only place that i have a £20 gift voucher for, Debenhams! So after my discounts and their promotional offer on on that day, i managed to get my hands on the Benefit advent calendar for £11, yes you heard right! And then my dad offered to pay for me, even damn better! I'm super excited to try out some Benefit products as like i said it's not a brand i've ever really tried and i'm excited to see whether it lives up to the hype. A little sneaky preview though, the little tune it plays when you open it is SUPER SUPER SUPER irritating :) 

Finally, the last calendar i've got my hands on this year is by some minor miracle, the M&S beauty advent calendar. I was dying to get my hands on this for weeks, as it had some really interesting brands in it and was the only one with a mixture of skincare and makeup in which appealed to me. So when it went out of stock super quickly online yesterday i was pretty upset to be completely honest. However, one way or another my boyfriend managed to hunt one down and pick it up for me instore today, alongside a couple of beauty products to get the £25 calendar if you spend £25, which is worth it when full price, the calendar is priced at £200. I'm overjoyed with this and i'm really excited to try out some new funky brands from this calendar and i've also got a couple of products i have wanted to try for ages to make up my £25, which i'm sure will be reviewed soon. If your interested in the advent calendar like i was, i'd 100% head down to your local M&S ASAP to try and get your hands on one because i believe they are really flying off the shelves currently and are pretty awesome from what i have seen on first impressions. 

If your interested in seeing mini reviews, first impressions and like a twelve days of Christmas blog, keep with me because that is all coming up in the next couple of weeks and i've got loads of reviews coming soon on bits and pieces i've picked up around recently including the MAC XMAS COLLECTION!!!! Again my brilliant boyfriend outdid himself with an early Xmas present and these tend to fly off the shelves at this time of the year and i can tell you they make excellent gifts so i'd snap one of these up if you were after one or are just a collector like me.(For the record, i have the red lipstick collection which has a lip glass, lip pencil and lipstick all with a little clutch). All in all, i'm so damn excited for Christmas and i'm loving all the gift sets and makeup collections this time of year, so i'll try and give you some reviews and i pick things up. 

Thanks so much for reading guys and make sure you pick up your advent calendars soon as they'll be snapped up quickly this year and i don't want anyone missing out!
Jo x