Sephora

itsfi · ‎08-17-2025

The holiday countdown has begun!! 🎉 Please use this thread to share your advent calendar unboxings. 🎁

Whether you open all the doors to your calendar at once, or you open a box one day at a time and follow the traditional schedule (e.g., 24 day unboxing beginning on 12.1 and 12-day calendar unboxing beginning 12.13 or 12.25), WELCOME!!

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

caitbird

I am like a week behind with posting reveals, apologies - life/my brain have been kicking my butt lately. Going to try to do a catch up post now, if the forum will let me upload these darn pictures:

Day 5 reveals:

Papier: fun & funky gold lobster bookmark

YesStyle: Skin1004 Madagascar Centella Poremizing Quick Clay Stick Mask - I love a good clay mask, so I'm looking forward to trying this one

Bird & Blend: Mulled cider herbal tea - I haven't tried this one yet, but it sounds good

Simon & Schuster: very appropriate cat-themed magnet

Day 6 reveals:

Papier: "little reminders" sticky notes - very handy

YesStyle: Unleashia glitter gel - I didn't swatch this one yet, but it looks like a very pretty pink color

Bird & Blend: Blackberries & Cream Oolong tea - this one was pretty good

Simon & Schuster: "Will Talk About Cats" mini button pin - I've already put this one on my purse

Day 7 reveals:

Papier: very cute little pen/pencil holder pouch

YesStyle: Nature Republic Honey Melting Lip in Midnight Sparkle - YesStyle's product page describes this as "a stick-type lip gloss with a high-shine finish". This color is interesting, because it looks like a sparkly brownish-black color, but swatches pink.

Bird & Blend: Irish Cream rooibos tea - I quite liked this one, it has notes of chocolate and coffee

Simon & Schuster: 3 cute little mini cards for different occasions

Day 8 reveals:

Papier: blank lined notebook

YesStyle: Haruharu Wonder Black Rice Probiotics Barrier Essence - I am looking forward to trying this one

Bird & Blend: Starry Night herbal tea - this one was pretty good, it has notes of lots of different flowers and fruits, including lavender, hibiscus, rose, and apple

Simon & Schuster: silver "serving cattitude" keychain

Day 9 reveals:

Papier: a nice pen, seems good quality and has a nice weight to it

YesStyle: Isntree Onion Newpair Booster Shot 2000 - this is supposed to be good for pores and uneven skin texture, which sounds promising

Bird & Blend: Hot Cinnamon rooibos tea - I'm having this right now, it's pretty good

Simon & Schuster: "cat warmer" laptop sticker - Frida does seem convinced that my laptop is indeed a cat warmer, so this is very appropriate 😂

Day 10 reveals:

Papier: another nice pen

YesStyle: rom&ND contour palette - maybe having this in my collection will finally be the push I need to experiment with contouring...

Bird & Blend: Creme Brulee black tea

Simon & Schuster: cat paw shaped stress ball/squishy

Day 11 reveals:

Papier: set of mini sticky notes/annotation tabs

YesStyle: Medicube PDRN Pink Peptide Serum - I am really excited about this one, I have been wanting to try it for awhile and I'm almost out of my current peptide serum, so this is perfect timing

Bird & Blend: Candy Cane peppermint black tea

Simon & Schuster: cute mini pouch

Day 12 reveals:

Papier: set of stamps and ink pad (emerald green) - I don't have any stamps currently, so I'm happy to add these to my stationery collection

YesStyle: Tirtir Lip Tint in Cherririd

Bird & Blend: Morning Kick Yerba Mate tea

Simon & Schuster: DIY cat party hat - I don't think either of my cats will willingly wear this, but it's a cute idea 😅

Day 13 reveals:

Papier: another very nice, chic pen

YesStyle: VT PDRN 100 Essence - this is supposed to be good for elasticity, wrinkle care, and firming, so I am happy to try it

Bird & Blend: Fire & Ice Pu'erh tea with ginger, chili and peppermint - this one sounds really interesting

Simon & Schuster: another magnet, with an important self care message this time

Sorry for the long post - I will try not to get so behind again.

I hope you are all doing well, enjoying your advent calendars and having a happy and restful holiday season so far! 💜

Samtian

@caitbird I'm loving all these things you've gotten! The party hat instantly made me think of Deli Department (He's from New Zealand). He's a very special cat I love very much.

itsfi

Oh wow, that's some fun treats you've unboxed @caitbird!

Day 5 - oooh, curious to hear your thoughts on the Skin 1004 clay mask, once you've had time to give it a good testing. I was gifted it by a very thoughtful friend and am excited too to give it a try. I've used a few of their sheet masks in the past and if that's an indicator, this clay mask should be good!
Day 6 - That blackberries and cream oolong tea sounds decadently relaxing.
Day 7 - The notes on the tea sound marvelous - chocolate & coffee? In a caffeine free blend! What's not to love about that combination.
Day 8 - ahhh, haruharu wonder is one of my favorite Kbeauty skincare brands.
Day 9 - It sounds like the folks at Simon & Schuster are doing a catriffic 😂 job on getting it right!
Day 10 - While shade range is often limited, the Asian beauty brands can offe some good contour shades / undertones for fair and fair-light complexions. The rom&nd ones do a nice job of providing a soft, subtle but still noticeable effect. It's nice to get a product that allows you to try out or dig deeper into a new or newer to you technique
Day 11 - Yes to Medicube! I'm more familiar with their skincare tools but they have some noteworthy non-tool products.
Day 12 - No takers on the party hat? That's too bad, it is really cute! Those stamps look like they'll come in handy for your "to do" lists and your journals. You're all set for lists and journals for 2026!
Day 13 - The "Press Paws" magnet is cute - and yes, definitely needed as we close out the year. Hope you are able to get in some short and long moments to paws here and there. Love VT's skincare, another Kbeauty brand that routinely ranks high for me.

caitbird

@itsfi thank you! I've been happy with all of my advent calendars so far, I'm having fun with them. I'll definitely have plenty of new things to try out/use when it comes to Beauty, stationery, tea, and miscellaneous cat-themed goodies! 😂

Titian06

@caitbird - The advent calendars have wonderful goodies! 💕 Thanks for the catch-up post!

caitbird

@Titian06 thank you! 😊

itsfi

Typology Days 6 thru 9

Typology Organic Peppermint Hydrolate

I get a little nervous with peppermint scented skincare products. I find the scent generally refreshing and reinvigorating but sometimes the peppermint oil can cause my skin to react negatively. Not so here. Typology Organic Peppermint Hydrolate's lightweight consistency and cooling feeling is nice on the skin, even in this cold weather. I've been using it on my nose for the last few days to see how it performs with pores and blackheads and on a spot elsewhere on my face to see how its claims regarding pore and blemish care hold up. Will report back on results later this month.

Typology Targeted Blemish Serum

Well, this is aptly timed - I have an active blemish (and one that is healing) that need targeting. We'll see how this serum performs. Stay tuned.

Typology 9-Ingredient Soothing Serum

Another aptly timed product in the advent calendar. I have redness around my nose, especially this time of year, so that's where this serum is going to be tested. Only 2 (going on 3) days of use so far, so too early to tell.

Typology Radiance Serum

I'm running out of space on my face, lol. I have been using the hyaluronic acid serum day and night but I think I will switch over to just the evenings all over my face and use this Radiance Serum on just my cheeks in the mornings.

caitbird

@itsfi these all sound like very nice products! How nice that several of the advent calendar's offerings are perfect for skin concerns at this time of year, too (I also struggle with redness around my nose in colder weather - such as now 😓). I hope they all work well for you!

missjeanie

Lol @itsfi I'm trying to picture you mapping out zones to test all these products now!

itsfi

Hahaha! Maybe this will help @missjeanie 🤣

Current usage of Typology products (as of 12.11.2025)

Number in parens is the day the product appeared in the Typology 2025 Advent Calendar.
The model face is an Etude (fka Etude House) 0.2mm Therapy Air Sheet Mask - Manuka Honey. This particular sheet was from either their 2022 or 2023 version which, for reference, means the sheet is wider than my actual face, shorter length at forehead and longer at chin than my actual forehead and chin.

missjeanie

@itsfi I DIE!!!! That's hilarious, but also incredibly helpful!

itsfi

@missjeanie, hilarious and helpful. I can live with that! 😃

itsfi

Typology Day 5

Typology Purifying Moisturizer

I was excited to see that this moisturizer contains zinc PCA and bamboo extract as both have been effective for me when it comes to addressing my adult acne and the excess oil production and shine I can experience on my nose and chin. I've been wearing this a few days on those particular areas of my face.

Lightweight and absorbs quickly. It gives a nice matte effect to skin and contains ingredients with antibacterial properties, making well suited for those with oily skin or use on oilier parts of the face for someone with combo skin.

caitbird

@itsfi sounds like a very nice moisturizer! I'll be interested to know your thoughts on it once you've had a chance to use it more. I hope it works well for you!

caitbird

Day 4 reveals:

Papier: To Do list notepad

YesStyle: Clio Kill Lash mascara - I don't know much about this one, but am looking forward to trying it

Bird & Blend: Great British Cuppa English Breakfast black tea - I've actually tried this one before (it was one of the free samples that came with my order), and I liked it

Simon & Schuster: Shopping List notepad

kind of funny that I ended up getting 2 different list notepads from 2 different advents for today 😆

CookieGirl1

@caitbird I've heard so many rave reviews of Kill Lash! Hope you love it.

ather

@caitbird Aww I love these note books!! So funny you got 2 on the same day!

CorgiMommy

You must have a lot to do, LOL @caitbird

Titian06

@caitbird - You've been doing a lot of organizing lately. Now you can start your shopping lists since you can see what you have and don't have. 😅

caitbird

@Titian06 haha! 🤣 well, the organization/inventory/declutter project is still ongoing, but I do always seem to have a few (or more than a few) shopping lists/wish lists going...😅