Beauty Advent Calendars 2021: Paul & Joe and Barry M Part 3 (Final)

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I have the final part of my beauty advent calendars of 2021 for you. You can find the first part here and my previous post here.  Let's begin with the Paul & Joe Makeup Collection 2021. Day 17 was Herbal Lotion (25ml). This was something that was also in the 2019 advent-I loved all the skincare in that.

Day 18 was another door with a note to use this item with Day 19. It's the Lipstick Case N L02, I really love the colour. I have the same case in blue, but this mauve-purple is gorgeous.

Day 19; Lipstick Limited 009. I've just realised I haven't swatched anything in this post. We had so many days without daylight last week, that I struggled to even get these photos. It's a deep claret shade, I haven't actually tried it yet so am not sure of the formula, whether it's sheer, matte, full coverage.

Day 20; Lip Treatment Balm, Limited 004. Look at this cute wee tin and the balm looks stunning, it's got a pink flash and lots of beautiful sparkles.

Day 21; Handkerchief/Face Cloth. They call it a handkerchief, but it's definitely a face cloth! This is adorable, again one of those things you just can't buy normally, so I was very excited to get it. It's baby blue with a cat face pattern all over and a satin printed cat and embroidery in the corner. It feels really nice and thick.

Day 22; Nail Oil Limited 001 (4.3ml). We also got this in the 2019 calendar with a lovely floral cat image on it. I was really excited to see the cute grey lamb on this one, which is a print from a couple of years ago. I've almost finished my last one, so have this ready and waiting. I forgot to photograph it, but it's a squeezy tube with a brush applicator, so you just squeeze a little out and apply, no mess, I like it. I'm trying to apply nail/cuticle oil more regularly as I keep getting bottles as free gifts and will never use them all up otherwise.  Keeping a tube next to me is key to remembering to apply it for me!

Day 23 is another item to be used with the following day. It was the Compact Limited 004, which again is beautiful and coordinates with the previous lipstick case.

Day 24; Eye Color Limited 019. The final day is a duo eyeshadow with applicator to go inside the compact. The pale shade is actually quite sparkly when you see it under bright light and the deep purple also has sporadic shimmer.

I absolutely loved this calendar, even more so than the last one in 2019 and sincerely hope Paul & Joe do more of the same for 2022. Though there were a lot of similarities, none of the makeup shades were duplicates, which I appreciate and as for the skincare, well that's stuff I'll always use up so I have no issues with that being the same. It's fantastic to get limited edition shades or packaging or items that wouldn't otherwise be available here, I think that's a fun part of advent calendars. I also think you get a lot for your money. Favourites would have to be the lamb compact, drawstring pouch (lamb again!), kitty hair clips and the face cloth.  My empty calendar is still sitting waiting to be recycled, I'm having a hard time parting with it because the imagery on it is so beautiful!

Next up is the final leg of the Barry M Nail Paint Advent Calendar. Day 9; Limited Edition Nail Paint in Rose Champagne (GNP83), another Gelly Hi Shine finish in a pale dusky pink.

Day 10; Velvet Matte Nail Paint in Silent Cove (VNP12). It's a navy blue, I don't think I've tried their matte finish before. I'm generally not a fan of matte anything, I prefer shiny!

Day 11; Gelly Hi Shine Nail Paint in Black Cherry (GNP42). The colour is exactly as the name suggests.

Day 12; the final day was the big door. By the way, I absolutely gave up trying to open these neatly after breaking two nails trying to stab the (obviously not very well) perforated edges. It ended up like an OCD nightmare, with doors ripped in 3 and rough edges, but I was exasperated with the whole thing by then. Anyway, even the final big door was a nightmare to open, but inside was a large makeup bag containing a nail file, cuticle oil and 2 nail paints.

Limited Edition Nail Paint in Icing Sugar (GNP80)

Limited Edition Nail Paint in Treacle Syrup (GNP79)

Nail & Cuticle Oil (15ml), a rich blend of nourishing Rose Hip Oil, Sweet Almond Oil and Vitamin E to hydrate and nurture.

Here's all the polishes together, all the limited edition shades are the Gelly formula.

Awful ripping doors aside, I also enjoyed this calendar. I think there's a terrific selection of shades from bright to pale, light to dark. I personally would've liked to see more metallic and sparkles for Christmas, Day 12 certainly delivered on that. I'd worry in the future about getting duplicates of things I already own. It's just luck I didn't already own anything here as I do have a fair few Barry M Nail Paints in my collection, so for that reason, I'd prefer if the calendar was made up of exclusive shades. I can't fault the value, Barry M Nail Paints are what, £3.99 a bottle? I paid just over £20 for this calendar and there's 13 (full size) polishes in here as well as the other bits.  Also like that the entire thing is recyclable (with a moulded card insert as well as the outer box).