Hmm. I tried to step away from the beauty advent calendars this year (my post on the Clarins and l’Occitane ones was going to be my singular foray into this particular area) but the Lookfantastic offering is gargantuan. Again. Do you remember the one from last year? This year’s is as big. It’s better. To give you an idea of scale I’ve photographed it with my iPhone Plus, above, and then with Estée Lalonde’s brilliant new hardback book, Bloom, below:

If you’re still in any doubt as to how big this beauty-packed chunk of a unit is, then here’s my cat sitting inside it. Mr Bear is also a chunk of a unit, weighing in at something like eight kilos, so if he can’t convince you of the size then nothing can!

Mr AMR said “what the hell is that?” when the package was delivered, because it’s about the same size as a coffee table. And then he said “oh, wouldn’t that make a lovely present?”, a level of interest that’s unusual for him, because he very rarely glances twice at any of the beauty things that arrive at AMR HQ.

This is really quite something, the Lookfantastic calendar: no duds rattling around in here. The contents are worth a whopping £300+, including a few full-size items that more than make up for the price of the box on their own.

The calendar is called The Beauty Secret and for good reason – Lookfantastic don’t give anything away when it comes to the contents. If you’re happy to just go along with the fact that it’s worth over £300 yet costs £70, and you love to be surprised and you get excited by the thought of trying new brands and products, then don’t read on and look at the contents. You, my trusting beauty aficionado, can order your advent calendar right now HERE.

For those who like to know exactly what they’re getting, fear not: I have meticulously itemised the contents for your approval. (Actually I haven’t, I’ve just taken some photos, but you’ll get the gist. It’s all pretty lust-worthy.)

There’s a great selection of skincare, makeup, bodycare and haircare but I feel that the skincare and makeup categories are the most exciting. In skincare, a selection of masks and night creams, moisturisers and exfoliants – I particularly love the mini Glow Tonic from Pixi and the Daily Microfoliant from Dermalogica. But the star product here has to be the Foreo Play, an electronic cleansing device that stimulates and massages the skin as it removes grime and makeup.

I reviewed the large Foreo cleanser here – this one is more petite and travel-friendly, but still costs £29 if bought separately! A good start, then…

In makeup, some tasty morsels including eyeliner, mascara, a Nudestix lip pencil, false eyelashes, blusher and eyeshadow brush. Only the mascara is a smaller size – everything else, so far as I can see, is a proper product. The glittering star here, though, has to be the Illamasqua shadow quad:

Look at that! The shades remind me a lot of the Chanel Rouge collection palette – really reddish and autumnal. I get the feeling that this palette is exclusive to the Lookfantastic calendar, as it’s named Lookfantastic (check me out, I’m like Poirot) and what a fabulous inclusion it is. Value? £34. You’ve made up the cost of the whole calendar with just the Foreo, Illamasqua and false lashes!

A nice little bodycare selection – glad to see a Deep Sleep pillow spray in there, and the Molton Brown will always be a crowd-pleaser. I’m particularly enamoured with the mini bottle of Huile Prodigieuse from NUXE – such a beautiful body oil, and this one is jammed full of sparkly gold shimmer, too, so that you can get those arms and legs glistening for your Christmas parties…

A good hair selection, too, including an intensive mask from one of my favourite (very expensive) French brands, Christophe Robin, a mini Moroccanoil, an Ojon oil and bits from Wella and Redken.

See anything you fancy? I’d use pretty much everything from this calendar, but I think that Mr AMR’s initial reaction was spot-on – this would make a great gift. Imagine a great big whopping parcel like this arriving at your front door!

You can pre-order your calendar here – and if you fancy reading about the Clarins and l’Occitane ones, that post is here.

Still-life problems: when your cat wants to be in every picture.