The Body Shop Advent Calendar 2014 In Review

Hey guys,

How are you all? I'm sorry I've not blogged in a few days. I didn't mean to go AWOL but my laptop has completely stopped working now, and my Mum's old Dell is almost as slow as old dial-up Internet. I lose patience with it within five minutes of turning it on. I must phone up the repair man today!

On top of laptop problems, I've been feeling physically drained of life these last few days, and keep drifting in and out of naps for some reason. I've felt all the more fatigued after another session of acupuncture on Tuesday. The treatment itself doesn't generally cause me any pain or discomfort (two needles have out of five or six sessions), but this week my back ceased up the second I stood up after the treatment, and the pain has been raging ever since. I don't know why my body reacted so badly this week, but I guess the fatigue is my body's way of cushioning the blow and helping itself recover. If only it worked the same way every night so I could get proper sleep.



Anyway, the main reason I'm here today is to write a little review of The Body Shop's Advent calendar "24 Days of Joy", which I counted down to Christmas with in December.



In case you were living under a rock this Christmas, 24 Days of Joy was a beauty Advent calendar filled with twenty-four of The Body Shop's lovely products. The set included a great selection of make up, skin care, and bath and body items, and featured a good balance of old favourites and latest additions, with a few seasonal products thrown in for good measure. Of the twenty-four items, ten different fragrance flavours made up the set, including Strawberry, Shea, Wild Argan Oil, and Vitamin E. It all combined to make a pretty tempting calendar, and with so many new products to try inside, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to try them all; so I seized it!

Just look at all those amazing beauty products! Waking up to one of these a day in the lead up to Christmas was so exciting and enjoyable. I felt like a kid on Christmas morning every time I opened a cardboard window and allowed myself a moment to play with my new toy. (Maybe that's a sign I love The Body Shop lotions and potions a little bit too much??) I was only disappointed by what was waiting for me on a couple of December mornings, but as a whole the contents were pretty damn great!

Here's a list of everything that was included in the calendar, in order by date:

1.  Almond hand and nail cream 30ml. 

2.  Almond nail file.

3.  Frosted Cranberry soap 25g. 

4.  Frosted Cranberry shower gel 60ml. 

5.  Frosted Cranberry shimmer lotion 60ml. 

6.  Eye definer pencil in "smokey black" 1g. 

7.  Strawberry heart-shaped soap 25g. 

8.  Strawberry lip butter 10ml. 

9.  Strawberry hand cream 30ml. 

10. White Musk eau de toilette 10ml.
11. Glazed Apple soap 25g. 

12. Glazed Apple Shimmer lotion 60ml.
13. Vitamin E Moisture Lotion 15ml. 

14. Vitamin E sink in moisture mask 5ml sachet. 

15. Vitamin E night cream 15ml. 

16. Moringa shower gel 60ml. 

17. Moringa body milk 60ml.
18. Bath lily. 

19. Honeymania lip balm 10ml.

20. Wild Argan Oil body lotion 60ml.

21. Eyeshadow brush.

22. Shea shower cream 60ml.

23. Shea body butter 50ml. 

24. Colour Crush Nail colour in "Relish the Moment" 6.8ml.

The most expensive products included in the set were the eye definer pencil, and the eyeshadow brush which each retail for £9, and are both fantastic products. There were also a number of items with an RRP of £5, including the Almond hand and nail cream, the White Musk eau de toilette, the Shea body butter, and the Colour Crush nail colour. Those six products alone total at £38- which is pretty great considering the calendar retailed for just £50, and was said to contain £83 worth of products! Amazing value!

So, the question is, "was it worth the purchase?"



And... I can say whole-heartedly that it was!

It was the first beauty Advent calendar I'd ever had, and it was such a treat to indulge in a different Body Shop beauty product every day during Advent, instead of a boring novelty chocolate. I looked forward to opening a new window every day to see what was waiting for me inside; and I loved the vast majority of what I found.

Out of twenty-four products there were only three that didn't wow me over- the bath lily, nail file, and the White Musk eau de toilette- although if I'd liked the scent, it would've been a great treat. I was able to pass it on to somebody who liked the fragrance, so it was still worth it because it made someone else's day.

The calendar made my December all the more enjoyable, and I personally think it was great value for money. I've been a big fan of The Body Shop for two decades, so I didn't need much convincing- I knew it would be a good purchase! The bonus is, the brand doesn't test on animals, so I was able to indulge on all these lovely things without feeling guilty that animals had come to harm for the sake of 24 Days of Joy.

If the contents are different next Christmas, or I've used all of this loot up, I'll definitely buy a Body Shop advent calendar again! In fact, I'll probably start squirrelling some money away for one over the coming months so I'm able to afford one when Christmas rolls around!

How did you count down to Christmas last month? Have you ever used a beauty Advent calendar?