ASOS | 2017 Beauty Advent Calendar - Was It Worth It?

I thought I would keep with tradition and review the ASOS Beauty Advent Calendar like I did last year. The 2016 offering was very impressive (see it here), and this year they just stepped it up another notch. I was kindly gifted this from my Mum and Dad at the start of December as one of my Christmas presents, so it really did feel like I was getting a present each day leading up til Christmas. In 2016, I had three beauty related advent calendars, and for 2017 I had two, this one from ASOS and an essie one which I will be sharing in a couple of days. For now - here's the ASOS unboxed and reviewed.

Beauty advent calendars have certainly exploded into the market over the past couple of years but it seemed like in 2017 basically every brand and department store had an advent calendar. Some of these were mixed brands, and some were single branded. The main pull towards the ASOS one for me is the huge array of brands inside and many of them that are a bit harder to find in NZ - it makes for a great way to try products out. 

The packaging of the 2017 calendar is so much prettier than the last and I can't bear to throw this away! It was a lot bigger than the last one, and it was super HEAVY! The doors on these ones are very satisfying to open, made with sturdy and thick cardboard. It was a great display piece as well and I think this year I will be able to reuse it and fill it with other treats.

MAKEUP

The makeup goodies this year were from some top quality brands and included; Smashbox Photofinish Primer (7.1ml), Nude by Nature Natural Glow Loose Bronzer (2g), Eyeko Skinny Skinny Deluxe Eyeliner (30ml), Lottie London Arch Rival Volumising Eyebrow Powder (1g), NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in Ibiza (8ml, full size) and a Luxie Beauty 231 Eye Brush.

All of these are products I would actually use and I am especially excited for the Smashbox Primer, Eyeko Eye Liner and the Luxie Brush.

SKINCARE

The 2016 skincare line up was good, and this year it was even better. Inside there was; 111Skin Limited Edition Gold Brightening Treatment Mask (30ml), Starskin Plumping and Hydrating Bio-Cellulose Second Skin Lip Mask, Oskia Renaissance Mask (12ml), Caudalie Vinisource Moisturising Sorbet (10ml), REN Clarimatte T-zone Control Cleansing Gel (25ml), DHC Deep Cleansing Oil (30ml), NIP+FAB Glycolic Fix Serum (15ml), and Codage Scrubbing Cream (15ml).

Out of this lot, I am most excited the Oskia Mask (I always hear UK bloggers raving about this) and the DHC Cleansing Oil.

SKINCARE [CONT.]

There was so much skincare I had to split the photo. The next lot included; Carmex Mint Moisturising Lip Balm (10g), Alpha-H Liquid Gold (50ml), Cowshed Natural Lip Balm (5ml), Rodial Stem Cell Magic Gel (5ml) and The Ordinary Natural Moisturising Factors + HA (30ml).

I was so happy to see that a full size product from the very hyped brand The Ordinary was in there - I can't wait to try it and it will be my very first product from them! Also, I am so happy to have a smaller bottle of the Alpha H Liquid Gold. I have almost finished my full sized bottle and it's a fantastic chemical exfoliant.

BODY, HAIR + MISC.

The category of products is a bit more random but includes; St Tropez Instant Tan Gloss (30ml), Foreo Luna Play, Korres Santorini Vine Shower Gel (40ml), This Works Deep Sleep Pillow Spray (5ml), and Pureology Hydrate Shampoo (50ml).

How amazing is it that they included a Foreo Luna Play in it?! This is a little vibrating silicon brush that is used for cleansing the face daily. This smaller sized can only be used around 200 times and can't be charged up but I have been using it and really loving the deep clean it gives to my skin. These retail for around NZD $62 alone and is an amazing inclusion. 

The final item that was hiding behind door Number 25 was a voucher code for 20% off in the beauty category on ASOS. A very good thing to include especially if you end up really liking one of the sample sizes and want to get the full sized product.

This retailed for NZD $105 (approx.) and in my opinion, was completely worth the money, considering the number of products you get, the amazing brands included and the generous sizes they managed to pack into it. It works out to be roughly NZD $4.73 per item and when you break it down like that, it's seriously good value for money. 

They will definitely be bringing this out again for 2018, and I couldn't recommend it enough!