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Liverpool Echo

Entertainment

Harriet Morphy-Morris

'I opened the Soap and Glory advent calendar worth £80 to see if it's worth the money'

Boots Black Friday (Topic)

The Soap and Glory 'Treat Yule-Self' advent calendar has landed and it's filled with the brands iconic scented products for shoppers to pamper themselves during the countdown to Christmas.

In recent weeks we've seen a whole range of beauty calendars, from Look Fantastic to the sell-out M&S box, and now this perfectly pink calendar from Soap and Glory. Ahead of Black Friday, Boots has reduced the price from £45 down to £40.50, making it one of the more affordable calendars on the market. Shoppers can also get extra discounts on the Soap and Glory range at Boots, using the code BEAUTY20 in the lead up to Black Friday.

If this was delivered to your doorstep on December 1 it certainly would make a perfect gift, but is it worth shoppers spending the money on themselves? As a first time Soap and Glory user I got my hands on it to see what's inside, how big the products are, and if the 'clean on me' scent really does smell as glorious as people say.

Packaged within the four sleeves of windows is a mixture of body butters, face wash, plumping masks and roll-on perfume, with a total worth of £80. As well as some of the brands much-loved products there's also five new ones in the mix including the 50ml Scrub of Your Life Body Scrub, Speed Plump Hydrating cream (primer) and the original pink Rollerball Fragrance.

Beauty advent calendars have never been on my wish list, as I always assumed you only got mini sized products but after opening this Soap and Glory one, I was definitely wrong in thinking that.

Unboxing and first impressions

As soon as I folded out the calendar the first thing I noticed was the 'home spa' details printed onto the side of the box. It's one of my favourite features, instead of just listing the products it suggests how you can use them to have a spa night at home.

From the 'Wheels of Feels' fragrance spinner to the 'treat list' which is a guide to give you a 'spa -like' treatment at home with the products inside. The calendar is bright and vibrant, which got me excited for the burst of flavour and scent inside.

I have to say I was slightly disappointed with the packaging, not looks wise as colours and attention to detail is intriguing, but the cardboard is quite flimsy, and it did tear quite a bit when unboxing it. This may be down to the sheer weight of the products inside, as soon as I lifted it up it was clear Soap and Glory have definitely been generous with sizes.

Let's dive into the products

Even though I've never used Soap and Glory products before I've heard people rave about its scents, not only roll-on perfume but it's refreshing lotions too. Opening up the lid of 'The Righteous Butter' you're immediately hit with the strong floral scent. Not only do I think it smells amazing but it's a massive tub of it too - 300ml.

Another stand-out product for me was the 'Scrub of Your Life' smoothing Body Scrub - it's also one of the bigger sizes at 200ml. I tried both products out and the body scrub was a winner for me, and does exactly what it says on the bottle. I love the smell of the Righteous Body Butter but it did leave my legs feeling sticky for a while - which is a no from me.

Both the scrub and butter come in smaller mini sizes too. At first I didn't really see the point as I would've preferred to test out another item, but now I've realised this will be great for weekends away and popping in my toiletry bag.

One that I will continue to use everyday, and probably top up myself once this has finished, is the Speed Plump Day Lotion. After figuring out that this was in-fact a face primer (it's not very clear) I put it straight to the test (can never go wrong with an affordable primer). Again it has a distinct sweet smell to it, and it left my face feeling incredibly soft.

I've used it under my make-up twice now and I've not had to touch-up at all when working from home. This is a win for me, especially considering I've paid a lot more in the past for a high-end primer that doesn't do the job as well as this.

There's also a handful of minis inside, but nothing is smaller than 50ml, which is definitely worth the money. Of all the products there were only two that I thought were underwhelming - the nail file and the bath fizzer. I think it would have been better to see Soap and Glory's One Calm All Bubble Bath instead (even in a mini size).

Overall I think the Soap and Glory Advent Calendar should be on a lot of shoppers lists if you're looking for a well-rounded, 'luxury' feeling pamper at home. The selling-point for Soap and Glory is that all the products inside fit with the same spa theme.

There's a great mix of products which are not only great for trying each day in the lead up to Christmas, but they will last for a long time.