Christmas Beauty Advent Calendars 2015 *Updated*

The words Beauty Advent Calendar have been in my inbox and timeline for weeks and we are only in September! Ive been lucky enough to see a few Calendars up close and I thought I would share with you the ones I have had some information about!

Ive put the advent calendars into the following groups - Luxury, mid-price and affordable to show them to you, plus one for Teens because some calendars are too cute to miss. Those in the luxury section cost more than £100, those mid-priced are between £50 and £99 and affordable is anything below £50 and then we have Bargains which is below £35 - although all of these prices could change!

**UPDATED**

Lancome - It is already out of stock, but this Lancome Advent Calendar is a thing of beauty. It contains 24 amazing products such as Advanced Génifique Serum 50ml, Multi-Use Face Brush and Hypnôse Classic Mascara Full Size. Priced at £85 in Debenhams.

FeelUnique - 12 days of beauty surprises from skincare, haircare to make-up. Behind each door one of your favourite brands is waiting to be discovered, from NUXE and Philip Kingsley to Grown Alchemist and this works, the beauty elves have put together a treasure trove of full-size and travel-size luxuries to be enjoyed. It costs just £30.

Dr Hauschka -  Behind the windows is a carefully selected collection of Dr. Hauschka Body and Skin Care products, which makes the perfect treat to experience well-being and calmness during the busy festive season. The Advent Calendar contains 23 trial sizes and one special full size surprise for Christmas Eve. This is an online exclusive. 

Kérastase launch first ever Christmas Advent Calendar £79. Housed within the golden gift set are 25 days' worth of Kérastase hair saviours. Behind each door you will discover a luxurious hair care treat; ranging from a selection of mini, travel size and full size products!

Starting in the luxury section we have:

Jo Malone £260

I am a huge Jo Malone fan and this advent calendar is one I am sure every fan want to have, I mean look at it!  An amazing Georgian Townhouse design which contains both mini perfumes and scented body creams for 24 days - what utter bliss!  Again I haven't found a release date but it is rumoured to be available at Harrods from October and nationwide from November.

Charlotte Tilbury £150

Now I do not own a single item from Charlotte Tilbury, though I do have a wishlist as long as my arm of items I would like.  As Beauty Advent Calendars go, this one is really quite exciting because 'The Book of Make Up Magic' as it is called includes mainly Charlotte Tilbury best-selling hero products and there is a mix of both travel size and full sized products over 12 days. There is no release date as yet, but it will be exclusively available at CharlotteTilbury.com, Selfridges, Selfridges.com and Brown Thomas

Liberty £149

There is no denying that the Liberty Advent Calendar is beautiful.  Last year I went into the store more times than I care to admit to simply look at it and admire it, knowing full well that it was right out of my price range.  However it may cost a lot of money at £149 but it does have some amazing brands included which, this year are rumoured to include Decleor, Kiehl's and the amazing Trish McEvoy!  If I have persuaded you that you need it, then it is available at Liberty from 29th October!

Mid-priced

Selfridges £95

Last year this was the calendar I wanted to buy but in the end didn't and I still regret it a little bit because the contents were fab.  This year the Selfridges Advent Calendar, called Cosmic Delights, is rumoured to include delights from brands such as Kiehl's, Lancome, YSL, and Victor and Rolf. Available exclusively at Selfridges, and Selfridges.com from Mid-October

LookFantastic £70

Now if the beauty boxes are anything to go by, then this is one to watch. Said to include many luxurious surprises throughout the month of December from some of the LookFantastic Team's favourite brands.  It is released on 1st November online with LookFantastic.

The Body shop £60/£80

Interestingly, The Body Shop has catered for two different budgets with two versions of its calendar this year. There is a standard version which is priced at £60 and is said to save you more than £30 on products and the luxury version which is priced at £80 will save you a whopping £47 compared to if you brought the products individually. Naturally, the products included are from their skincare, bath & body, fragrance and makeup ranges.  These calendars will be available at The Body Shop from late October.

Clarins £60.00

Open the door to an enchanted forest, infinitely precious, and discover 24 treasures hidden behind golden leaves. Day by day, open a window and be spoiled with a special Clarins treat. A perfect opportunity to discover Clarins best-selling and iconic products. Cleanse, moisturise, illuminate. Available right now.

You Beauty Discovery £59.95

This is a Limited Edition YOU Beauty Advent Calendar 2015. Worth a staggering £330 but costs just £59.95* and it is available right.

Affordable

Makeup Revolution £50

This is one advent calendar I have seen in all its glory and unsurprisingly it is brilliant.  It features 25 FULL SIZE Makeup Revolution essentials which includes a special gift on Christmas Day.

Ciate £49.99

The Ciaté Advent Calendar not only includes 18 different coloured nail polishes but the collection will also include treatments to keep nails in ship shape. 

Available at Selfridges, ASOS, Boots, Look Fantastic and Very from September

Lush £49.95

This year Lush has created an amazing calendar which is filled with its famously fragrant shower and bath treats to lather up in the lead to Christmas. Called the 12 days of Christmas and designed in a book format, it looks amazing and the contents are just as fab as you would expect them to be. Available at Lush shops and at Lush.co.uk nationwide from 2nd October.

CHEEKY Advent Calendar, £49

With 24 on-trend tones, the CHEEKY Christmas Advent Calendar is another nail junkie's dream. Available at Cheeky Holborn, Cheeky at Barber & Parlour, Cowshed Spas and urcheeky.com. 

Arran Aromatics Cherish Advent Calendar £40

This limited edition, Arran Aromatics Cherish Advent Calendar and it is filled with 24 luxurious treats from candles to shower gels and much more .

L'Occitane £39

Last year the L'Occitane Advent Calendar had '12 days of Christmas' offering which looked amazing.  This year there are 24 mini versions of their luxurious skincare, hair, and body products to be surprised with and I assure you, they will be amazing.  Available at L'Occitane boutiques and online from 21st October

Boots £38

This have-it-all advent calendar has a selection of beauties from skincare to cosmetics, bathing bits and accessories – and six products are full-sized. Worth a whopping £148, it's only £38. Bargain. On sale 28th October at Boots and boots.com

Bargain Beauty Advent Calendars

Salon Services £35.00 - Advent calendar containing 24 hair and beauty treats. Containing surprises from some of your favourite brands such as OPI, TIGI, Lord and Berry and many more. 

Benefit Party Poppers £34.50 (currently sold out)

Available from October Benefit’s advent calendar is back for 2015 but with a slight twist to last years! The Party Popper calendar contains 12 mini benefit favourites to mark the Twelve Days of Christmas . 

M&S Beauty, £25

Filled with 24 festive treats worth over £200, you can buy the M&S Beauty Advent Calendar for £25 *when you spend more than £25 in M&S Beauty. It includes treats from some amazing brands such as Rodial, Neal's Yard, REN, Stila and Cowshed.

W7 Cosmetics £25

W7 make up is one of the brands that I really like.  For a highstreet brand the quality is fantastic and they do some amazing dupes which are well worth looking out for.  

Essence £24.99

Essence has announced the launch of its limited edition Christmas Advent Calendar for 2015 and it will contain 24 exclusive products. Each door also offers a 'quote of the day'. All of the products are limited and not available to purchase in-stores. The essence Advent Calendar will be available from Wilko stores in November.

House of Fraser £20

The House of Fraser Calendar is said to feature its own-brand 'Colour Couture' and it is said that every item within the calendar gives you something to literally build a make-up kit from scratch. I think this is really reasonably priced from what I have seen so far and it is available at House of Fraser from September.

Bomb Cosmetics £19.99

The news of the Bomb Cosmetics dropped into my inbox a few days ago and I think it is so reasonably priced.  Inside you have 24 whole days of Bomb love with this Bomb Advent Calendar and it is filled to the brim with a mix of our favourite soaps and blasters.  If you have never tried Bomb Cosmetics products before, then this would be a great introduction.

Advent Calendars for the Teens

Tanya Burr Deck the Hauls 12 Days Calendar £25 - I saw this at a recent Superdrug Press Day and was quite impressed with how it is decorated.  Not for me personally but I know it will call out to those younger teens. 

Flutter by Superdrug £8 - Heavenly beauty for gorgeous girls. Create pretty perfection with the flutter collection of fashionable colours and must have accessories. A collection of mini cosmetics for eye, lip and nails, and a cute little mirror .

Kissmas by Wilko £5 - This is the cheapest Calendar I have yet to come across and it is quite cure for those little girls who dream of being a princess and it can also be a fab Secret Santa. The calendar contains a mixture of nail products, tools, wraps and stencils.

Of course it doesn't end there! If Beauty isn't your thing and candles are... then here are your choices:

Dipytique 

A luxury candle advent calendar of dreams! It will cost £250 and for that money you get 25 mini candles! Now I have only ever had one mini Diptyique candle which I absolutely loved and would happily love more, but is £250 for 25 mini candles worth a spluge?

Yankee Candle

Once again this year there are two different Yankee Candle Advent Calendars on offer. The first is a House which contains 23 tealights and 1 Votive Candle and the second is a Carousel type advent calendar which contains 20 tealights and 4 Votive candles. Prices range from £24-£30 depending on where you shop and they are available right now!

Busy Bee Candles £19.95
A fabulous Advent Calendar from Busy Bee Candles. Featuring 24 different very high strength wax melts in our most popular Christmas fragrances, one for every evening of Advent. 

So there you have.  For now at least.  I am sure in coming weeks there will be more news, more calendar releases and more pictures available.  I have hopes for Calendars from Tesco which I had last year.  But as there is much choice already, I have no idea which one I would want!  Do you?

BIKINI BODIES: STYLES THAT BEST SUIT PEAR SHAPES

When someone utters the word 'Bikini' to me I almost break out into a sweat. There is absolutely no way that I was ever created to wear a bikini, not with my generous share of bosoms anyway! So when Blossom Lingerie sent me their interactive guide to finding the best bikini style for pear shaped body shapes, I thought nothing to lose, lets have a look. Take a look at the Blossom Lingerie website to see the full interactive guide.

So, if you have what is described as being a 'pear shaped body', you will carry more weight below the waist, meaning that your hips and thighs are much wider than your torso and possibly your shoulders. By following the right guides, you can accentuate your good bits, hide your not-so-good bits, and will end up looking and feeling absolutely gorgeous.

Apparently, a great way to lengthen your body is to wear what is called a tasselled bikini top that is longer in the middle.  Now I am not one to keep up with fashion, but anything with tassels is going to have my cats swinging from it and in this area no thank you. However, jokes aside, the angles of the tassels on a bikini top like this are said to create vertical curves that will complement your natural body shape. It is also said that this type of design will also draw out your stomach whilst lengthening your body. This boho look is in at the moment, and you have the added bonus of being able to play around with patterns and colours t your hearts content. Choose a clean-skirted brief that rests below the largest part of your thighs to best show off your smaller waist.

What type of Bikini are you comfortable in?

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Benefit Air Patrol BB Cream Eyelid Primer

When it comes to eye make up, I am a nude and natural kind of gal, I am not brave enough to experiment with the lashing of colours and shades that others are and never have been, but show me a palette of nudes, i'm in. In recent years I have succumbed to miracle that is an eyelid primer, using them because the girls on the make up counter tell you that you should and because some bloggers swear by them and in truth, they can and do make a difference, for me anyway.

When I saw that Benefit were to launch their own eyelid primer, I wanted to try it. I can count on one hand the number of products I dislike from the entire range and this one sounded as though it would become a handbag saviour and I jumped at the chance to own a sample. One thing Benefit do exceptionally well in my view is a sample sized product and this one is right up there with my favourites!

Benefit Air Patrol is an innovative little product which actually does three different jobs in one. It is a BB Cream and therefore colour corrects, it has an SPF20 and it is of course a primer which has been designed to extend the wear time of your eye shadow, not to mention that I have also found to be quite hydrating.

This little 1.5ml tube is the perfect make up bag addition and it is incredibly easy to use. I squeeze the tube slightly onto my index finger and apply to my eyelids with a patting motion to ensure I have even coverage and then wait a few minutes before applying my eye shadow. The cream itself has a slight yellow tone to it which Benefit say is to balance out redness and any uneven colouring, so much so that this is a product that can be worn alone.

I am hugely impressed with having an SPF20 in a primer for my eyes and more so that it isn't drying. It does everything it claims to do when it comes to extending the wear time of your eyes hadow and I find that I can go out of an evening after work and not have to re-do my eye make up if I have applied this first thing in a morning. For me this is a handbag keeper and if you want to read more about it, then more information can be found right here on the Benefit website.

Have you tried Air Patrol?

The Urban Retreat Moroccan Hammam Spa

I have a few owed days off work coming up in a few weeks time and I could either spend them at home catching up on housework or I could do something for me and by that I mean indulging in some well deserved me time. In the past that has meant going shopping, spending endless hours wandering around London, which is actually pretty stressful, more so at this time of the year when the word 'Christmas' has appeared in every shop window. So, instead of shopping, i'm thinking pampering and what could be better than a day at the spa.

Here in London there is an abundance of spas to choose from, whether you want a quick massage, a facial, a head massage or something that combines the lot. For me, going to a spa brings about that instant feeling of calmness. Walking into a quiet spa with an ambient setting, away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life is definitely not something to take for granted. So when someone tells you that actually you can wonder through a busy London Store whilst working your way to a Spa, all under one roof, that has to be perfection right?

The Urban Retreat Moroccan Hammam Spa isn't somewhere I have been - Yet - but having read all about it, I am quite unsure as to why not. It can be found inside Harrods, that popular store in Knightsbridge. Slightly different to any other spa I have been into, it is a female only space which encourages you to relax and unwind in a beautifully handcrafted environment that resembles regal Morocco.

Upon arrival, at The Moroccan Hammam your experience will involve three different rooms. It starts with a warm room which helps you to acclimatize your body to the heat. The second room is the main hot Hammam area where you are treated to a luxury cleansing and bathing ritual and finally the third room which is described as being a decadent lounge area to fully relax and enjoy some Moroccan tea which, aims to restore and balance your fluid levels. I already want my own Kessala and I want to try the black soap not to mention the Ceremonial Massage, which is a hydrating full body massage using Onguent d’Argan, a nourishing Argan oil balm. 

Alongside The Moroccan Hamman packages there are also other treatments to treat yourself too such as wraps, exfoliation wraps, facials, massages and the one which sounds absolutely divine is the half day Moroccan Hammam experience which includes a manicure, pedicure, blow dry, makeup application, massage and Indulgent Hammam plus afternoon tea or lunch! 

If you fancy a trip to the Urban Retreat Moroccan Hamman Spa at Harrods you will find everything you need to know right here on their website*  and all I ask is that when you book, you don't forget to take me with you!

What is your favourite way to pamper?