December reigns as one of my favourite months of the year for many reasons, but by far one of the best things has to be the joy of waking up and opening tiny doors every morning to discover the goodies inside.
As a child, Cadbury’s chocolate was the crème de la crème when it came to my advent calendar of choice, but as I’ve passed into my twenties, the chocolate goodies have been sidelined for the kind of advent calendar my 9-year-old self would have never believed possible: a beauty advent calendar.
If you’ve yet to get your hands on a beauty advent calendar, the premise is pretty much the same as your run-of-the-mill chocolate kind, apart from behind each door instead of a tiny, slightly unidentifiable chocolate mould, lies a different beauty product across makeup, skincare and fragrance.
Imagine if Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory was a Sephora, and you’re pretty much there.
Working in the beauty industry, my inbox is inundated with different beauty advent calendars from August onwards (the Christmas joy never ends for us beauty journos), and when you’ve got access to so many options, it can be pretty difficult to decipher what’s really worth your money and what’s just fluff (a pretty lovely problem to have, I know).
For example, you’ll want to consider how many doors there are, how many full-sized products you get, and more importantly, whether you’ll actually use the things inside.
Over the past few years, the beauty advent calendar game has stepped up, with nearly every brand and retailer bringing out its own version.
To help you navigate which ones are really worth the investment, the Eliza team shared what would be their ultimate beauty advent calendar choice and why, along with the specs (we’re all about the detail here), so all you need to worry about is who you can start dropping hints to.
Liberty Beauty Advent Calendar – Rebecca Fearn, Beauty Editor’s favourite
Launches: 28th September
Price: £245 (worth £1065)
Number of doors: 25
Best product: The Le Labo perfume roller
Best for: The beauty connoisseur
Overall review: Every year, I have a friend who receives the Liberty beauty calendar as a present. And every year – yes, even taking into account I’m a beauty editor – I am jealous. This really is the crème de la crème of beauty advent calendars, if you ask me. It’s for the beauty addict; the one who saves up their hard-earned cash to splurge on the very best brands around, cost be damned.
Liberty to me is just such a special, magical place (the store is my favourite in London, especially around Christmas), and this calendar embodies everything I adore about it: beautiful packaging, unbeatable brands, and a luxurious feel that allows me to pretend (for just a few minutes) that I am far more boujee than I actually am.
This year, the calendar features some big hitter brands, from Dr Barbara Sturm to Ren, Larry King to Le Labo. There’s skincare, makeup, body bits and fragrance, with 20 full-sized products to enjoy all year long. Maybe this will be the year I *finally* get my hands on one… (Update: I did!).
The Body Shop Boxes of Wishes & Wonders Ultimate Advent Calendar – Hannah Thompson, Beauty Content Creator’s favourite
Price: £145 (worth £219)
Number of doors: 25
Best for: The ultimate self-care box
Best product: Lavender Sleep Calming Pillow Mist
Overall review: For me, nothing says Christmas like The Body Shop. Without fail, I used to save up my pocket money starting in October and head down to my local store to buy my mum and nan’s Christmas present, so there’s no other brand that fills me with quite as much nostalgia come the Christmas season.
The Body Shop does three different sizes of advent calendar but this one is the ultimate gift; it contains full-sized, limited edition and minis of The Body Shop favourites, including its much-loved Camomile Sumptuous Cleansing Butter, Shea Body Butter and Himalayan Charcoal Skin Clarifying Night Peel.
This calendar will top up your skincare and body care and then some, but what makes it the best gift of all is that every sale of one of these calendars helps to support improving working conditions and fair pay for The Body Shop’s global partners.
Sephora Advent Calendar – Hannah Blake, Managing Director’s favourite
Price: £130 (worth £711)
Number of doors: 25
Best for: Indecisive OG Sephora Fans
Best Product: Augustinus Bader – the Cream
Overall review: This is the first year we’ve been able to access a Sephora calendar in the UK so my excitement levels were high, and I wasn’t disappointed.
If like me, you love all things beauty then this is the calendar for you with hair, fragrance, skincare and makeup products all on offer behind those 25 doors.
You’re also guaranteed some beauty cult classics like the Nars Orgasm Blush, Living Proof Dry Shampoo and my favourite, Augustinus Bader’s The Cream, so you can cross them off your Christmas list! If that wasn’t enough, there are 34 products and 17 of them are full-sized. This is the ultimate treat that will keep you going well into 2023.
L’Occitane Classic Advent Calendar – Sarah Whalley, Videographer’s favourite
Price: £55 (worth £101)
Number of doors: 24
Best for: Looking after your skin & hair in the cold winter months
Best product: Shea Ultra Rich Lip Balm
Overall review: L’Occitane products have remained a classic go-to for a luxury-feeling skin & hair care regime at a friendly price. Although I’m fairly new to using the brand, this year’s advent calendar has a colourful and playful design that immediately had me intrigued.
As a dry skin sufferer, when it comes to the winter months I have to make sure I’m moisturised from head to toe, so the fact this calendar contains so many nourishing products that can help is an absolute winner (as well as it being a nice little daily treat!).
L’Occitane Classic Advent Calendar includes a wonderful selection of deluxe mini sizes from the iconic Almond and Verbena shower products, to the Shea Butter Hand Cream and many, many more! It’s definitely a delightful (and indulgent) way to count down the festive period, so what’s not to love?!
MAC Bursting With Surprises Advent Calendar – Lucy Robson, Audience Development Lead’s favourite
Brand: MAC
Price: £165 (worth £405)
Number of doors: 24
Best for: The beauty junkie who needs a Christmas fix
Best product: Matte Lipstick – Russian Red
Overall review: When popping cheap chocolate out of foil is no longer delivering those Christmassy feelings, it’s time to think about what exactly would spark joy for you.
For me, 24 whole days in December where I’ll be opening doors to MAC products from across its whole range, including iconic buys such as the MAC Dazzleshadow, Powder Kiss Liquid Lipcolour and Fix+, means I’ll be excited to try new things beyond my faithful nude lipstick and eyeliner.
YOU Beauty Advent Calendar – Sally Newall, Editor’s favourite
Price: £75 (worth £365)
Number of doors: 24
Best for: Discovering your new beauty obsession
Best product: Murad Vita-C Eyes Dark Circle Corrector
Overall review: For me, the best thing about beauty advent calendars (besides the joy of opening tiny doors to a present every morning) is getting to try a whole variety of brands and products I wouldn’t otherwise get around to.
You Magazine’s advent calendar has something for everyone, from active skincare to soothing bath salts and a festive nail polish. If your entire beauty routine is in need of a refresh, this calendar will do just that, and for a very purse-friendly price of £75 considering some of the big brand names you get in here.
What’s more, if you use code ELIZA at the checkout, you’ll get an extra £10 off.
Liz Earle 12 Days of Beauty Advent Calendar – Natasha McNamara, Publisher’s favourite
Price: £65 (worth £164)
Number of doors: 12
Best for: Investing in your skin as you lead up to Christmas
Best product: Cleanse & Glow Transforming Gel Cleanser (much needed for party season)
Overall review: Christmas when I was kid always involved some kind of ‘smellies’ and (sadly) while I am no longer likely to get a bottle of The Body Shop White Musk in my stocking, I love this calendar because I get to try out new skincare products and have a little bit of pampering every day.
This skincare advent calendar includes a number of the brand’s bestselling skincare heroes, including of course, the iconic Cleanse & Polish, along with its newest iteration, Cleanse & Glow, which boosts radiance ahead of party season.
Charlotte Tilbury Charlotte’s Diamond Chest of Beauty Stars – Krissy Turner, Fashion Editor’s favourite
Launches: 29th September
Price: £150 (£244)
Number of doors: 12
Best for: Youtube beauty addicts looking to create party makeup looks
Best product: Airbrush Flawless Setting Spray – the best setting spray in the game
Overall review: I’ll be honest, I’m slightly biased here as Charlotte Tilbury is in my top three makeup brands, so opening 12 little doors to tons of tiny products from the makeup artist is a dream regardless, but if you’re new to the brand, the advent calendar, or ‘beauty chest’ as it’s known, is the best entry point.
The individual price points for the full-sized products are fairly high, so by gifting this to someone (or as a spot of self-gifting, I won’t tell), you open them up to a wealth of new products at a bargain price point. They’ll have opened all the doors and mastered the smoky party eye in time for NYE, guaranteed.
Ciate Mini Mani Month Advent Calendar – Laren Tayyip, Editorial Assistant’s favourite
Launches: October
Price: £65
Number of doors: 24
Best for: Jazzing up your nails
Best Product: Strengthening and repair base coat polish
Overall Review: I love an at-home mani and Ciate’s mini plant pot polish colours are to die for! There are a range of beautiful colours including biodegradable glitter options. Christmas is the best time to flaunt glitter nails and the gold plant pot is my favourite choice.
Even better, the polishes are made from 80% natural ingredients such as biotin, bamboo and hydrating bakuchiol extracts. It’s the perfect mix between caring for your nails but also keeping them looking gorgeous.
LookFantastic Advent Calendar – Lottie Franklin, Fashion Content Creator’s favourite
Launches: 1st October
Price: £95 (worth over £500)
Number of doors: 26
Best product: PMD Clean Mini
Best for: Trending skincare
Overall review:The LookFantastic beauty calendar has everything you need to create a mini spa day, making it the perfect antidote to those days in-between Christmas and New Year’s Eve when nobody knows what they’re doing.
As well as all tempting scrubs, balms, moisturisers, serums, repair creams, facial mists and eye-masks, I’m most intrigued by the PMD Clean Mini facial tool with its SonicGlow™ technology, and the Disciple Gua Sha facial massager, both of which I’d never justify buying on their own but would love to try out.
M&S Beauty Advent Calendar – Tivina Elliot-James, Picture Editor’s favourite
Launches: 27th October
Price: £40 (worth £300)
Number of doors: 25
Best product: Clinique High Impact Mascara
Best for: Exploring the beauty world cult classics
Overall review : I feel like M&S is slightly off many people’s radar (well at least mine until recently) when it comes to the huge range of incredible beauty brands that it stocks. This advent calendar has so many of your faves that you might already be familiar with, like L’Occitane’s Dry Skin Hand Cream (which is a classic), as well as some others that I have been wanting to try for ages, such as the Philip Kingsley Elasticizer Deep Conditioning Treatment.
This calendar gives you a little taste of everything you need; consider it a beauty buffet full of bath, body, fragrance and makeup. It’s great to be able to try beauty products without splurging on the full-sized bottle, and all grounds are covered in this calendar, making it a great all-rounder if gifting.
This all comes wrapped up a two-tier vanity box with pull-out draws that can later be used to stash make up or jewellery. And who doesn’t need a bit of extra storage post X-mas? And at just £40, it’s a win for me!
Diptyque Advent Calendar – Annie Wells, Creative Director’s favourite
Launches: 10th October
Price: £370
Number of doors: 25
Best for: Having a fabulously scent-filled Christmas
Best product: Limited-edition Christmas Pine Tree Candle
Overall review: Scents have always been a huge part of getting me into the Christmas spirit, from having cosy candles burning on every free surface of the house to spritzing wintery scented perfumes before heading out to the pub on dark, frosty nights.
That’s why the Diptyque advent calendar is the perfect choice for me. Having 25 delicious fragrances in the form of perfumes, candles and creams hidden behind each little door is the ultimate Christmas treat, and the beautiful celestial packaging will fit perfectly amongst my assortment of glitzy decorations.
Macmillan 24 Days of Beauty Advent Calendar – Julia Wyer, Eliza Fashion and Beauty Intern’s favourite
Launches: Available now
Price: £88
Number of doors: 24
Best for: Pampering and beautifying your skin for the holiday season
Best product: Sleek MakeUP i-Divine Palette Level Up
Overall review: What I love about this beauty advent calendar is the wide range of beauty goodies that are behind those 24 little doors. It is filled with necessities like Boots’ Hyaluronic Acid Serum and moisturiser (that I need for my everyday skin care routine), but then also has loads of fun goodies, like the i-Divine Palette from Sleek MakeUP, and brightening face masks from Soap and Glory.
It’s the perfect mix between beauty and pamper! Not to mention, £2 from every calendar sold goes to Macmillan Cancer Support. You can’t go wrong!
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