L'Occitane En Provence Beauty Advent Calendar Christmas 2015

Last week I treated myself to the L'Occitane En Provence beauty advent calendar and now that it's here, I thought I'd give you a sneak peek, and my first impressions of it.

L'Occitane is one of my favourite beauty brands, so I was ridiculously excited when I heard they were releasing their first 24 day advent calendar this year. The thought of counting down the days 'til Christmas with a different L'Occitane product every day was so tempting that I stalked their website until it became available, and quickly snapped one up when it did. 

A few days later it arrived on my doorstep, so carefully wrapped in yellow tissue paper. It was so beautifully wrapped that just opening the box was a treat itself. I'm still really impressed with the care and effort that went in to shipping it.

As soon as I unboxed the advent calendar, it was love at first sight. The design is gorgeous- but I didn't expect anything less because L'Occitane products always have the prettiest packaging.

The illustration on the front of the box is of a French street decorated for Christmas, with a lady heading towards a cheerful yellow L'Occitane shop.

The calendar comes tied with a festive red ribbon, and the sides are illustrated with Christmas garlands.

Once you untie the ribbon, the calendar opens up like a book, and reveals twenty-four cardboard windows and a beautifully illustrated Christmas scene. The colourful illustration has clearly been designed to look like a French street, with shutters over the windows, and a stylish lady coming out of a L'Occitane boutique with arms full of bags. The building is adorned with Christmas decorations, and if you look in the windows, you'll see people celebrating Christmas, and other little festive scenes. It's so pretty, and it will look lovely when it's on display with the rest of the Christmas decorations in December. (Apologies for the crap quality of these photos; I can't get the colours to look good, no matter what settings I try).

On the back of the packaging is a full list of everything included in the advent calendar. Inside you'll find 24 irresistible surprises, including 17 of L'Occitane's lovely beauty products, and a further 7 Provencal festive treats to help you pamper your way through 'til Christmas.

I'm sure some beauty fans will be disappointed that this calendar doesn't feature 24 beauty products, but I'm keeping an open mind because the other 7 treats, including gift tags, stickers, and place cards, could be just as lovely. I have a weakness for pretty stationery and gift wrapping supplies, so it's a possibility. We'll just have to wait and see.

For now, here's a full list of the products included in the calendar.

♥ Almond shower oil 35ml.

♥ Almond delicious hands 10ml.

♥ Pivoine Flora eau de toilette 5ml.

♥ Delightful rose hand cream 10ml.

♥ Nail file.

♥ Set of 5 gift tags.

♥ Jasmin & Bergamote soap 50g.

♥ Shea butter hand cream 10ml.

♥ Star shaped pastry cutter.

♥ Milk extra-gentle soap 50g.

♥ Pivoine flora hand cream 10ml.

♥ Set of 10 stickers.

♥ Ultra rich face cream 10ml.

♥ Ultra rich body lotion 30ml.

♥ Set of place cards.

♥ Repairing shampoo 35ml.

♥ Repairing conditioner 35ml.

♥ Bow tree hanging decoration.

♥ Verbena shower gel 30ml.

♥ Verbena body lotion 30ml.

♥ Cherry blossom hand cream 10ml.

♥ Moisturising lip balm 3ml.

♥ Shea butter foot cream 10ml.

♥ Sachet of stars.

I think there's a great variety of products included in the calendar, and a good selection of fragrances, too. It includes a few of my old favourites, and also quite a few items I've never tried before, which I can't wait to sample next month. I'm particularly excited for the cherry blossom and verbena goodies, because they're my two favourite L'Occitane fragrances, and it's been ages since I last treated myself to some. Both fragrances are to die for! If you've never tried anything from L'Occitane before, I'd recommend giving products from either collection a try.

I'm not going to open the windows to show you each item today because I want to enjoy the surprise every day in the run up to Christmas. You'll just have to wait until next month to see them! I'm planning to share what I find behind each window every day on Instagram in December, and I'll also blog about each product here, too. (Although, I haven't decided how often I'll do that yet).

If you really want to spoil yourself or a loved one in the run up to Christmas, I can't recommend this calendar enough. It will either make you feel like a pampered princess, or put you in the good books with the lucky lady you give it to. Just imagine how lovely it would be to wake up to a different beauty product or little gift every day for three and a half weeks! Counting down to Christmas this way is so much fun, and far more exciting than counting down with boring novelty chocolates or illustrations. It's also a great way to sample lots of different L'Occitane goodies if you want to give their products a try, but don't know where to start.

The advent calendar is priced at just £39, which I think is really reasonable, particularly because its contents are worth £52! It's one of the lowest priced beauty advent calendars around this year, which is amazing from a high quality, high-end brand.

It's available to buy online on their website here, and you might still be able to find it in store, too.

December can't come quickly enough!

How will you be counting down to Christmas this year?

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My beauty advent calendar round up 2015