Luxury beauty advent calendars are becoming more popular. Most brands or department stores now create their own calendars. These calendars are pricey so are they worth it?

If you follow me on Instagram you would have seen my daily advent calendar unboxings in December. I got a few different advent calendars this year. Many of my calendars were a single brand advent (Nespresso, Jo Malone, Diptique and Aqua di Parma) but the Holt Renfrew advent calendar I got was a multi brand calendar. This would be comparable to an advent from Cult Beauty, Selfridges. Harrods or Net-A-Porter. In fact many of the products contained in my advent overlapped with contents of these other advents.

December 2020 was the first year Holt Renfrew put out their own beauty advent calendar so I was curious if it would be comparable to these other luxury calendars. The item in the calendar that stood out to me the most initially was the Augustinus Bader rich cream since I have wanted to try this out for a while. I decided not to look into the advents contents before hand since I did want a bit of a suprise.

I have always been hesitant getting a beauty advent since I have set products I like to use. I tend to hoard skin care and makeup samples and often do not use them. I was worried a calendar would contain products that either would not work for my skin type or deep skin tone and I would accumulate a lot of waste.

On first impressions I was impressed by the products I got! Most of the products are a travel size containing a reasonable amount of product. I would say with daily use they would last about a month. A month is usually how long I give a new skincare product to determine if it is making any difference. So I decided, why not do a month of just products from my advent to see if I find any winners.

The calendar did not include all products I use in my skincare routine therefore I did keep some products I usually use. For example it did not include an oil based cleanser, toner, essence, eye serum, face oil or sunscreen.

I wrote down all the steps in my skincare routine for AM and PM. If a product was unchanged it is listed alone. For the products which are changed I wrote down my before and new routines. Hope the format is not confusing!

If you want to read about my old Morning or Evening skincare routines click the links below:

If you do not want to read about each product and just want to see my winners scroll to the bottom!

Morning Skincare

Lets start with the changes I made to my morning skincare.

Cleanse:

Before: AmorePacific Treatment Enzyme Exfoliating Powder Cleanser.

Now: Clé de Peau Beauté Softening Cleansing Foam
- Thoughts: The cleanser is a thick cream that turns into a mousse. A small amount of product has good coverage. Love the texture of this product. The product has a light scent that is not over powering. Love how soft my skin feels after using this cleanser.
- I will be adding this product into my regular routine.
- Key Ingredients: Golden Silk Essence, Japanese Pearl, Theanine, Scutellaria Baicalensis Extract. Formulated with precious diamond, silk and pearl powders that leave skin exquisitely smooth.

Toner:

Saturday Skin Pore Clarifying Toner unchanged from before

Essence:

SK-II Facial Treatment Essence (Pitera Essence) unchanged from before

Serums:

Before
Now:
- SkinCeuticals Phloretin CF The advent calendar did not include a Vitamin C serum so I continued using my SkinCeuticals one
- Amorepacific Time Response Skin Reserve Serum
  - Thoughts: My skin texture looks more even. I did not notice significant brightening from the serum.
  - For the price ($650 CAD) this did not make enough of a change to make it into my routine skincare
  - Key Ingredients: A highly effective serum packed with the world's first green tea flower oil, the potion for visible skin improvement

Eye Serum:

Dermalogica Biolumin-C Eye Serum unchanged from before

Eye Cream

Before
- Was just using the Dermalogica Biolumin-C Eye Serum eye serum
Now
- Amorepacific Time Response Eye Reserve Cream
  - Thoughts: The texture of this eye cream is thick and more like a balm but spreads easily and sinks into the skin. It does a great at moisturizing my under eye area and maybe firming it slightly. I did use this a few days without my eye serum but did not notice much brightening so started to use my eye serum again.
  - Although I enjoyed the feel of the cream for the price ($350 CAD) this did not make enough of a change to make it into my routine skincare
  - Key Ingredients: A nourishing anti-aging eye cream powered by green tea that visibly improves the look of skin’s firmness and delivers intense hydration for younger-looking eyes.

Face cream:

Before:
- La Mer Crème de la Mer Moisturizer (this was also included in the advent)
Now:
- Valmont DETO2X CREAM - Oxygenating And Detoxifying Face Cream
  - Thoughts: This cream is said to capture ambient oxygen which diffuses it into the skin. This cream has an airy texture and forms bubbles that regenerate when in contact with oxygen. The texture is quite unique. You dab the bubbles on the skin and pat them in. Love the scent of the product. It leaves my skin feeling hydrated and glowy. A small amount of product goes a long way.
  - Despite the high price I would add this into my regular routine
  - Key Ingredients: The Triple DNA maintains and stimulates the skin's essential functions, while the O2 complex provides cells with O2 and removes excess CO2 in skin. All signs of dullness disappear for a healthy looking, plumped complexion.

Sunscreen:

Chantecaille Ultra Sun Protection Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 45 Primer unchanged from before

Evening Skincare

Double Cleanse:

Before:
- Erna Laszlo White Marble Cleansing Oil
- AmorePacific Treatment Enzyme Exfoliating Powder Cleanser
Now:
- Erna Laszlo White Marble Cleansing Oil
- Clé de Peau Beauté Softening Cleansing Foam
  - please refer above

Toner:

Saturday Skin Pore Clarifying Toner unchanged from before

Essence:

SK-II Facial Treatment Essence (Pitera Essence) unchanged from before

Serums:

Before:
Now
- Bioeffect EGF Serum
  - Thoughts: I used this serum alone since people mentioned it was best used alone. I used it on my face and would tap some under the eyes. I did not see much change initially but with time noticed my skin brighten and texture even out.
  - I am undecided on this product. I may try it longer to get a better opinion. While it has grown on me I am not sure if it does so much more than my Skinceuticals Glycolic Renew Overnight to justify buying it.
  - Key Ingredients: EGF (Epidermal Growth Factor): Helps thicken skin, Hyaluronic Acid: Provides hydration, Hordeum Vulgare Seed Extract: Natural protection.

Eye Serum:

Dermalogica Biolumin-C Eye Serum unchanged from before

Eye cream

Before:
- Pixi Retinol Eye Cream
Now:
- Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair Eye Supercharged Complex
  - Thoughts: Love the texture of this cream. It does not have much of a scent. My under eye area feels hydrated until the morning. My lines under my eye area are less visible. I did not see much brightening of my dark circles.
  - I would add this eye cream into my skincare routine. Not a new must have product but works nicely.
  - Key Ingredients: This product includes exclusive chronoluxcb™ that helps promote skin’s natural repair process, which is vital for eyes that want to look younger, renewed, and recharged.

Night cream

Before:
- Sisley Night Cream with Collagen and Woodmallow.

Now:
- Augustinus Bader The Rich Cream
  - Thoughts: Although this was the product I was most excited for it took a while for me to start to love the cream. From the start it was very hydrating but I felt like that was it. With time I noticed my skin looked more plump and smoother. My skin felt softer. In the morning my skin still looks hydrated and glowy. While I loved my Sisley night cream I may replace it with the Augustinus Bader mainly because this does not have a strong scent.
  - I would add this into my skincare routine
  - Key Ingredients: The highly concentrated, deeply moisturizing PPC Cellular Renewal Rich Cream With TFC8® stimulates skin’s natural processes of rejuvenation. This revolutionary oil-in-water emulsion revives the complexion and helps heal dryness, for skin that looks and feels smoother, softer and more supple.

Face Oil: