Advent Calendars 2024 - Let the Unboxings Begin!!

[itsfi]

The holiday countdown has begun!! 🎁  Please share your advent calendar unboxings. 😍

Whether you open all the doors to your calendar at once, or whether you open a box one day at time and follow the traditional schedule (e.g., 24 day unboxing beginning on 12/1 and 12-day calendar unboxing beginning 12/25).

For those of us who just can't wait to see what goodies are in our advent calendars and are opening all the doors/boxes at once before the end of the season, please consider hiding your unboxing post behind a spoiler tab so those who want to be surprised day by day can still do so.

Photo from Diptyque site

[danielledanielle]

Better late than never

Maison Margiela Replica Advent Calendar (7 days)

 

 

Day 1, Maison Margiela 'REPLICA' Jazz Club Eau de Toilette with Tobacco Leaf, Pink Pepper, and Rum mini

 

[Samtian]

@danielledanielle Oh that box is stunning!

[CorgiMommy]

Now that is an advent calendar I would love @danielledanielle 

[blackkitty2014]

What? This looks sooo nice 🥰😍 Great pick @danielledanielle 🌹❤️

[danielledanielle]

Thank you!  I'm excited guy the goodies, but also the box/calendar itself! @blackkitty2014 

[itsfi]

Woah!!!! Looooovvveee!!!! I'm so happy someone picked this advent calendar. That is a gorgeous box @danielledanielle‌‌ ❣️ You're right on time with the unboxing - no time like the present. Who doesn't love unboxing?!

[danielledanielle]

I'm happy, too!  It was 20% off and it arrived in time @itsfi 

The Diptyque Advent is something!

[itsfi]

That's a great deal @danielledanielle! 

I'm pretty blown away by the Diptyque advent calendar - on the one hand, it's Diptqyue so I had a certain set of expectations but they've surpassed that. 😍 I have a couple of other calendars I've been meaning to include but didn't get to them on schedule - I'll catch up. I've been mesmerized by the Diptyque and the unboxing treats that my time and attention has been spent mostly on those beauties. 

[itsfi]

Diptyque Day 18

Based on the notes listed in the brand site for this one, it isn’t a scent I’d naturally go for, but I was able to try it out when it launched last year - L'eau Papier was limited edition but it looks like Diptyque has brought it back, at least for the present time - it fits nicely with the brand’s new stationary collection. I’m glad I gave it a try then; it’s not what I expected.

Clean, soft, airy, with just the slightest hint of a fine, delicate, powdery floral. On me, this is just a slight step more than a skin scent. I have a full size of this beauty and look forward to having this travel size for future trips.

[itsfi]

Diptyque Day 17

Diptyque introduced their home cleaning collection, La Droguerie, in spring or summer of 2022. I'm not as familiar with that term in French but I think it means the drugstore? That would be one fancy drugstore to carry the cleaning products from that collection. Just sayin'! 😅

The products from the line are all housed in amber hued glass components. This La Droguerie candle (mini) is marketed as odor removing, with key notes of basil, mint and tomato leaves. When I first smelled the candle out of the advent box, I didn't pick up any scent at all. It wasn't until I lit the candle and let it settle in or about 20 minutes that I started to pick up a hint of the basil every now and again while the candle is burning. It's only after the candle has been extinguished and allowed to cool that the basil and the mildest bit of mint come through, along with just a touch of something earthy and herbaceous (maybe the tomato leaf?), and that's only when I bring the candle to my nose. 

I like the concept behind this candle and I don't mind that the notes are so faint; in fact, I probably prefer a candle with this functionality to have a softer scent - the aim is to absorb or remove odors, not to mask them, after all. My biggest challenge with this candle is cost of the candle - $75. I love candles and have indulged in some but for what it is intended to do, the price seems a bit steep, though to be fair, my sentiments there are likely influenced by the fact that there's a similar candle (with a prominent basil scent) produced by a local home goods brand (well, it started out local before it was acquired by the parent company for Crate and Barrel) for half the price. That said, I will happily put this Diptyque La Drougerie candle to use. 

[peculiarzmakeup]

Such a cute size candle. Interesting how it took 20 minutes but the scent sounds pleasant ❤️ glad you’re enjoying your unboxing! @itsfi 

[itsfi]

@peculiarzmakeup, I wonder if it just took some time for the scent to fill the room? The unboxings have been fun, though some days harder to keep up with - opening isn’t so hard, getting in time to use it and describe it takes a bit more time but it’s fun to experience the scents in their different form. 

[peculiarzmakeup]

I am definatley getting in early on this next year I have some great suggestions from you and I think I might start planning way ahead it looks so fun but I am one of those people that will open all at once haha 🤣 @itsfi 

[itsfi]

Diptyque Day 16 

Fleur de Peau Eau de Parfum (travel size)

Back at Day 12, I mentioned that the Fleur de Peau scent seemed like one that would work well as a perfume or hair mist (in addition to the hand lotion in that day’s unboxing). Well, thank you to the Diptyque folks for including a Fleur de Peau eau de parfum in this advent calendar. 

The notes on this EDP are more intense than in the lotion and, unlike the lotion, the powder and musk notes are more noticeable from the get go and throughout the duration of the scent's wear, which is long. The notes in this are not at all overpowering but they definitely are more front and center in this fragrance. The musk fades away and the fragrance takes on a clean, fresh, powdery floral - what comes to mind is the iris flower with faint but consistent undertones of what I'd describe as a finely milled, fancy French baby powder. There's a hint of sweetness too that keeps the baby powder delicate - it's not synthetic or candy-like, but soft, feminine, chic. 

[itsfi]

Diptyque Day 15 (late post)

Day 15 brings us another candle 😍.

Mimosa. The flower. Not the sparkling wine and orange juice cocktail that’s popular at brunch. 😉 

The cold and hot throw on this Diptyque Mimosa Candle (mini) is lovely - it’s strong enough that you can smell the scent, but not so strong that it overwhelms you. 👍🏼 

I’ve never smelled a mimosa flower or mimosa tree, so I can’t say whether or how closely the throw from the candle replicates either.  What I can say is that this gives off a soft, floral scent - fresh, slightly powdery, subtly green and faintly herbaceous, with just a hint of sweetness to it that reminds me vaguely of honey - rich but not heavy, sweet but not sugary. It's really pretty how it fills a room; it creates a calm and uplifting mood. Thinking over the notes, my knee-jerk reaction is that this is a springtime scent and it would do nicely to light it then for sure, but there’s something about the feel of this scented candle that makes it a good fit for winter. 

[NOTE: I'm a smidge behind but hoping to catch up later tonight with today's unboxing - it's a good one! Well, they've all been good ones so far. Loving it!]

[itsfi]

Voluspa 12-Day Advent Calendar

VOLUSPA 12 Day Candle Advent Calendar 

Traditionally, 12-day advent calendars start on Christmas Day. I picked up a 12-day advent calendar from Voluspa last year but instead of the traditional approach, I opened and lit one candle every month. It extended the fun and joy of getting to open something. The beginning and end of a month can be busier than usual so instead of opening a door and lighting a candle at the first of the month, I did it mid-month. I decided to keep up with that approach this year. I'll post the first candle in this thread and will likely continue with the ones to follow on the Home fragrance thread 🕯️💐🏠. 

For the first candle from this advent calendar, we have:VOLUSPA Sparkling Cuvee Glass Jar Candle 18 oz / 510 g 

Bright, fresh, upbeat, and crisp. The pomelo and rose petals are what stand out with this one, though each of those notes are softened by the woodsy scent. While I don't pick up the smell of sparkling wine, the blend of notes do create a bubbly, lively feel. I enjoy this scent very much. 

[peculiarzmakeup]

This is beautiful love how they designed the glass @itsfi 

[blackkitty2014]

You put a spell on me with all your wonderful Advent Calendar @itsfi 😍🥰🌹 I rarely burn a candle because we klutz are worrying about fire hazards but we should start when it is supervised 😘

[itsfi]

Diptqyue Day 14

Diptyque Philosykos eau de toilette is a grassy perfume, more so than the eau de parfum in this scent. I didn’t see grass on the notes in the brand description so I’m going to assume this is what fig is thought to smell like. This is a very green, earthy, grassy scent, with an occasional hint of soft, creamy, woodsy note. It light in the sense that there’s an airy quality to it but there’s an intensity to the scent itself. The dry down comes more quickly than with most fragrances - it’s a lot softer and sees those earthy grass notes dissipating into the background and shortly the entire fragrance becomes almost (but not completely) imperceptible, even as I lift my wrists to my nose. This is a scent that will require multiple reapplications throughout the day.

I’m not a fan of this one, the main reason being the heavy grass notes. One of my allergy triggers is fresh mown grass and while Philosykos doesn’t smell like that per se, its grass heavy leanings are not something I would gravitate towards. Have you tried this one @blackkitty2014? If so, how does it smell to you? 

[peculiarzmakeup]

Such a neat perfume! Cool scent. @itsfi 

[blackkitty2014]

@itsfi @Oh I know this one. I almost bought a full size of this. Forgot what happened that stopping me from getting a bottle of this. If you pick couple fig leaves and smash them up with your hands you get Philosykos 😘 I did this experiment many times since we have a big fig tree at home. Sorry you didn’t love the scent. I think part of the reason stop me from buying is the scent is a bit too green/grass scent than I would like