Kate Demolder: Beauty advent calendars — are they ever worth the price?
With teeny gifts hiding behind whimsical doors — and the year’s most coveted launches tucked inside — Advent calendars offer the thrill of discovery leading up to the festive season.
The best beauty Advent calendars take the thrill of Christmas morning and prolong it for an entire month.
With teeny gifts hiding behind whimsical doors — and the year’s most coveted launches tucked inside — Advent calendars offer the thrill of discovery leading up to the festive season.
But are they simply a way for brands to use up old stock, or a decent way for beauty lovers to save? When it comes to beauty Advent calendars, the standard varies hugely.
With that in mind, let’s consider some of the ones that have caught our eye.
Infused with the spirit of Rituals’ Dutch heritage, the brand-new Classic Advent Calendar offers a myriad of bestsellers, all travel-size (though some go up to 70ml) from almost all of their current collections, so you get a taste of what Rituals 2024 has to offer.
There’s no denying €215 is a lot of money. That said, with three full-size products (including the Beauty Light Wand in Pinkgasm) as well as nine travel-size products, this is pretty good.
I use both the travel-size Airbrush Flawless Setting Spray and Lip Cheat liner from the brand, and they have kept me going for a long time.
Buying the Space NK calendar could do your Christmas shopping (if you have lots of beauty-loving friends) for you.
With the most full-size products Space NK has ever offered––23; including a Glossier Lip Créme and Drunk Elephant’s La La Retro Whipped Cream ––this calendar is 25 days of beauty, and spectacular savings to boot.
No7’s beauty advent calendar this year is something of a show pony, offering 25 full-size products.
Covering makeup and beauty, this is a humdinger.
Know someone who loves their night cream and mascaras? This will make their year.
Dermalogica’s Advent Calendar offering this year features 24 of their hero products; 3 full size; 4 travel size and 17 minis.
Considering one of them is the Biolumin-C Night Restore (which is €109 on its own) this actually isn’t as eye-watering as one might think.
For someone who lives and dies by Dermalogica––sensitive skin crew, I’m looking at you––this might be one to consider.
This is the one you’ve been waiting for. Harvey Nichols’ 2024 Beauty Advent Calendar features products from Charlotte Tilbury, 111SKIN, Fenty, Trinny London, Rodial, Eve Lom, Le Labo, and more, across 25 drawers.
This is by far the most excessive offering one can buy. With 18 full-size products, it comes in at quite decent value.
Consider this your chance to try out La Prairie’s famous Caviar eye cream, which retails at €571 on its own.
Another doozy, complete with 25 days of surprises and 11 full-sized products.
Covering make-up, fragrance, skincare, and haircare from brands such as Medik8, Le Labo, and Bobbi Brown, this is an advent calendar to remember.
Come for the Sol de Janeiro Brazilian 4Play Shower Cream Gel, and stay for Kilian Paris’ trio of fragrances.
With twelve full-size products –– including a Drunk Elephant Jelly Cleanser, bareMinerals Pore Minimising Primer and a Laura Mercier Caviar Stick Matte –– I’m quite impressed by this Boots offering.
It features a new Sol De Janeiro Fragrance Mist, a NARS Bronzing Powder in Laguna (AKA, the one everyone loves), a travel size of Urban Decay’s All Nighter Setting Spray, and a Philip Kingsley Daily Damage Defence.
If I were to lose my beauty bag tomorrow, I reckon this would be the one I’d buy based on price and offering.
This is only available online – so there’s no chance of being tempted in-store.
