Thoughtfully twirling a puzzle with opening windows in our hands, we are still often perplexed. Handsomely? Yes. Useless? But no. Dispelling the myth about the impracticality of an Advent calendar presentation. The very concept of "Advent" has ancient roots. Adventus is Latin for "coming." This word Catholics called the period of time preceding the Nativity of Christ, all the preparation associated with the holiday and exciting anticipation.
Two of the most popular Advent traditions have survived: the spruce wreath and the Christmas calendar.
In the famous European wreath that adorns the doors of the houses of believers, the four Sundays preceding Christmas are inserted one candle each: on the first Sunday - one, on the second - the second, etc. (the addition of light symbolizes the approach of a bright holiday).
At first, the Christmas calendar was exclusively child's play. It is believed that the first in history, if not invented, then launched into the masses in Germany: in 1908, Gerhard Lang's printing house printed a calendar in which, behind 24 closed windows, they hid colored cards (according to various sources, images of the faces of saints). The child could open a new window only at the beginning of a new day ─ this was how the time was counted until Christmas. The Germans, half a century later, released such a calendar already with a delicacy - chocolate and sweets - inside.
Traditionally, such a calendar is divided into the number of Advent days. In the case of classic Christmas calendars, there are 24 windows (the time from December 1 to December 24 is taken into account, after which the believers celebrate the onset of Catholic Christmas). In the past few years, marketers have actively taken up the matter, and the tradition has moved from a narrow religious category to a massively popular field. Today Advent calendars can be found not only in confectionery, but also tea, alcoholic, tobacco, "toy", jewelry, etc. In addition, manufacturers have not strictly adhered to the tradition of 24 windows for a long time, changing them, at their discretion, to 20, 15 and even 10.
The easiest way to describe the Advent calendar is mood ─ mood. But it also has practical benefits. This is especially true in relation to the beauty “diary”.
In the countries of the Orthodox faith, the Advent calendar for a long time remained a pleasant, but incomprehensible mystery - both because of different national traditions and because of the mismatch of Christmas dates (December 25 according to the Gregorian calendar and January 7 according to the Julian calendar). Today, the situation is improving, and largely due to the advent of the beauty advent calendar - a traditional "window" space, where a mini-format of a cosmetic product is hidden in each opening.
Beauty advent calendars today are care (most often), decorative and perfume calendars. Summing up the three components ─ symbolism (recall the history of preparation for the main holiday of the year), practicality (you can start using it from January 1 of the current year - who will forbid it?) And aesthetics (modern advent calendars are very beautiful) ─ we get a wonderful New Year's gift. It remains to choose the best option.
Advent Calendar "Kaleidoscope of Beautiful Dreams", L'Occitane
This no-nonsense premium advent calendar was designed by the Castelbajac creative studio. Before you is a magic cube-box with which you can discover new beauty secrets every day. There are 24 boxes in total, and they contain all the hits of the Provencal brand in mini-formats. Here you can find comfort cream and face toner, shower oil and body milk, shampoo, soap, hand cream and even eau de toilette. It's nice that now the packaging can not be thrown away, but left as a keepsake as a New Year's decor (or sent to the nursery, hiding sweets and other goodies in small boxes).
Price: 9300 rub.
Where to buy: loccitane.ru
Advent calendar based on herbal cosmetics, Yves Rocher
The Advent calendar consists of 24 boxes, in which are hidden cosmetic and perfume bestsellers of the French brand. Here you will find body care (gommage, rinse off balm, milk, hand cream), hair (shampoo and mask), products for face care and make-up, Oui à l'Amour and Mon Evidence fragrances in mini-formats 5 ml … By the way, the green packaging of the gift is not accidental: the cardboard is made of wood from the forests under its jurisdiction, where they closely monitor the preservation of the environment, and the boxes themselves can be reused or recycled. Environmentalists will definitely appreciate it.
Price: 3500 rub.
Where to buy: yves-rocher.ru
New Year's calendar "24 treasures of the Arctic", Lumene
The Advent calendar from Finland is inspired by northern nature and mesmerizing winter landscapes. Its design is based on the image of Finnish birch forests inhabited by majestic deer, arctic foxes and mysterious owls. In the calendar, you will find 19 treatments (among them the best sellers from the Nordic Hydra, Nordic-C, Nordic Detox and Nordic Rituals series) and make-up products (concealer, eyebrow wax, shadow pencil, lipstick). A distinctive feature of Lumene ─ natural ingredients (northern Chaga mushroom, arctic cloudberry, northern pine bark, pure spring water) ─ will delight organic lovers.
Price: 5990 rub.
Where to buy: lumene-shop.ru
Beauty Calendar "Castle", SephorCollection
A magical gift for those who dream of feeling like a little princess. Cardboard packaging looks like a clamshell book familiar from childhood: you open the lock, and now miracles do not take long. The Sephor set contains everything you might need for a bachelorette party: a mask and effervescent cubes for the bathroom, cosmetics (pencils for eyebrows, eyes and lips, shadows, blush, lipstick, nail polish) and various useful things like a mirror, hair bands and even notepad.
Price: 2799 rub.
Where to buy: Exclusively at Sephor and at sephora.ru
Advent Calendar, Clarins
Here are all our favorite Clarins products: SOS Hydra moisturizing mask, Multi-Régénérant mask, Beauté Éclair restoring balm ─ and in general you can find a lot of interesting things in 24 windows (decorative beauty hits, bracelet and key ring). The undoubted plus of the kit is that it contains both female and male products (for example, the ClarinsMen Nettoyant Exfoliant Cleanser), so it will be an excellent gift for a couple packing their bags in anticipation of the New Year's trip (all packages are in mini-format).
Price: 7000 rub.
Where to buy: clarins.ru
Advent Calendar, Babor
Individual beauty course from a German aesthetic laboratory. In a laconic stylish box, 24 ampoules are hidden, the purpose of which is to bring the skin to an ideal state for a momentous event when applied consistently (what will it be - a meeting of Christmas, a corporate party or something else is up to the person being gifted). Ampoule care is clearly structured (there are moisturizing ampoules, there are ─ "anti-stress", lifting, with oxygen, with algae), recommendations in what order to open the windows are attached. Those who know exactly what the skin needs and are used to trusting high technology will like it.
Price: 6800 rub.
Where to buy: babor.ru
Photo: Gleb Kordovsky, Getty Images
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