Honestly, I was unsure whether to write this review now since it is already pretty late in the game or wait until the official unboxing. I decided to go ahead anyway, as you can see. So shall we?
Delivery
The delivery for the Net a Porter beauty advent calendar was pretty smooth. In full honesty, I did select express shipping, usually priced at 10 EUR at checkout due to a series of national holidays in my county which would have delayed the arrival of the calendar post-December 1st had I stayed with regular shipping.
However, while I was expecting to pay the extra 10 EUR as indicated by the shipping tab of the checkout process, I was not charged anything extra for the express delivery service. Cannot say that I mind!
The calendar was delivered in about 2.5 working days after a delay at my nearest (international delivery accepting) hub. It was pretty weird as I got a lousy weather excuse for the delay and the skies were pretty clear. It was one of the best days we had in a while. No matter, the calendar was delivered the following day when it was foggy and raining… They perhaps did not want to make the 100km trip due to the lack of packages to bring to my area. As myself hate making said trip and am terrified of having to make it on a regular basis again, I truly do not blame them but would have loved a bit more honesy fromthe the courier.
On the other hand, the courier did not compel in at all about the large box and brought it up without asking me to take it up myself. That is progress as the previous year they tried to fool me by saying the box was like 2kg when it was more than 10kg…. the large size makes it difficult to carry or more like impossible for me.
The shipment came from Milano and was delivered by DHL.
Shipping Boxes
Okay, this is where things get interesting or weird. So the calendar arrived in a huge shipping box. Nothing strange so far.
Inside that box, I found a huge gift box or the signature Net-a-Porter box. I had selected it, but I was certain that they would not include the advent calendar in a gift box. They haven’t before, but they did this time. I felt a bit guilty about not unselecting this option during the checkout when I saw it, but it turns out that I actually needed a box of such a size and was unable to find one to purchase. That definitely made me feel a bit less guilty.
So two boxes, plus the expected calendar box. Not bad, right? Well, that is not how things turned out.
Inside the gift box, there was another box surrounded by paper to hold it still. Inside that cardboard box, there was another cardboard box which housed the actual calendar box. Now, this seems like a huge waste.
Has I not added the gift box to the order perhaps I would have received just the calendar inside two boxes. Sadly, I am not so sure about that. However, I do feel bad and I truly do not get the reason why there were so many boxes. I do appreciate that my order arrived in one pieces, but it seems like too much of a waste.
As for my order arriving in one pieces, that is a bit debatable.
Calendar Box
The actual calendar box is identical to the one from last year on the outside, but the drawers are not identical and rather have different shapes and sizes which makes it a change from last year. One thing I could not but notice though and what irked me quite a bit is that even though the calendar looked untouched and intact, the box was a bit dirtier than before and than what I expected from a luxury retailer.
On the other hand, the box is super sturdy and ensured that all the contents reached me in one piece.
Contents
- 11SKIN Rose Gold Radiance Booster
- Dr. Barbara Sturm Lifting Serum
- Omorovicza Deep Cleansing Mask
- Natura Bissé Diamond Instant Glow Express Mini Lift Ampoules
- Augustinus Bader The Rich Cream 15ml
- Charlotte Tilbury Eyeliner – Walk Of No Shame
- Victoria Beckham Beauty Lipstick in Sway – full size
- Oribe Power Drops Color Preservation Booster
- Susanne Kaufmann Mallow Blossom Bubble Bath
- Claus Porto Banho Citron Verbena – Scented Candle
- This Works Deep Sleep Body Cocoon
- Mauli Rituals Sleep Dharma Pillow Mist
- Macrene Actives High-Performance Neck and Décolletage Treatment
- Leonor Greyl Paris Masque Fleurs de Jasmin
- Tata Harper + Net Sustain Purifying Cleanser
- Hayo’u Rose Quartz Beauty Restorer
- Margaret Dabbs Intensive Hydrating Foot Lotion
- Vapour Beauty Lux Organic Lip Conditioner
- Sacha Juan Ocean Mist Hair Cream
- Sunday Riley Pink Drink Firming Essence
- Grown Alchemist Hand Cream
- Costa Brazil Kaya Jungle Firming Body Oil
- Agent Nateur holi(oil) Ageless Face Serum
Above you can find the list of the products included in the beauty advent calendar from Net-a-Porter. I cannot comment on the products themselves as I have yet to try them. This year unlike previous years, I decided to stay away from the contents until I actually have a need for them and focus on finishing up order products (I wish) or at least opened products. You can still watch the unboxing on my Instagram starting December 1st.
I do have to mention though that even though I have no evidence of the sort, I have a stronger feeling that the Omorovicza mask for example is a left over from last year. I thought about investigating this issue further, but I honestly do not want to ruin my enthusiasm further. The mask I received was in a super dirty jar, it looked like it spilled but the drawer it is in is clean.
The Costa Brazil Oil also looks pretty rough.
Another remark I have is that they at least did not include two super affordable products in two different drawers like they have last year. That was super disappointing. Kudos to NaP.
I do not know whether this is because I was super excited about the calendar as last year I could not put it down and I looked forward to getting it this time around as well, but thought I would not get the chance since it launched so late for the EU market or whether there is something else, but I am not as enthusiastic about this purchase as I thought I would be. I am going as far as to say that if next year the calendar stays at the same level as this year’s calendar, I might not even consider it at all. I will of course go through all the products and see what I think afterwards, but I am just not as happy with my decision right now despite everything going rather well with the delivery and everything else.
Overall, Net-a-Porter did good, but I just do not know why the enthusiasm level is not quite right. I will try my best to enjoy this purchase and make the most of it though.
You can still shop the Net-a-Porter advent calendar here.
What do you think of the Net-a-Porter beauty advent calendar? Which calendars did you pick up this year?
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