I will admit it, I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with beauty advent calendars. When the first one launched a few years ago I thought it was genius – a beauty gift a day was way better than a chocolate. Also, the value for money was exceptional and it gave people the chance to test lots of different products they wouldn’t usually buy. As the trend exploded, it seemed there was an advent calendar for everything, from sex toys to alcohol, candles to bath bombs. Nothing was safe from being stuffed being a numbered door in the name of advent.
I remember when my children were small I would spend weeks researching the best alternative advent calendar, only for my eight-year-old daughter to ask me if she could have just a simple chocolate one last year. I also realised I was spending anything from £25 to £40 before Christmas had even started and that is without mentioning the dreaded Elf On The Shelf tradition. I wished I had never even started (side note: to parents with young children I urge you to NEVER start this tradition, it may seem fun on insta but at 3am when you wake up in a panic because you haven’t move the damn elves, it is nowhere near as cute.)
Back to beauty, it may seem a bit ridiculous to be discussing beauty advent calendars in September (although I would like to make a PSA that it is under 100 days until Christmas) but these things tend to sell out – especially the good ones. Over the years I have received many advent calendars, so I tend to have a good nose for which ones are actually worth it and which you can give a miss.
I’ve selected my top six 2024 beauty advent calendars that I believe offer the best products, the most premium brands and the greatest value for money. After a lot of thought, I decided to stick to only advent calendars which contain a mix of products (as opposed to single brand beauty advent calendars) for this feature, these tend to sell out the quickest and I think work best if you’re not a fan of a dedicated brand.
Marks & Spencer
Best Budget Beauty Advent Calendar 2024: Marks & Spencer
Marks & Spencer Beauty Advent Calendar 2024 (£50) – Available in store and online 24 October 2024 when you spend £35 on clothing, home or beauty.
I love me an M&S beauty box. As far as I am concerned these beauty promo gifts are some of the best on the market. The brands all tend to be of the highest standard and may not contain the hefty price tag of some of the other retailers, but more often than not the products M&S choose to have in its beauty hall work. Considering M&S is really setting itself as the fash pack destination this Autumn, spending £35 will be pretty easy to secure the goods. I also like that it is in a bag, which you can use again and doesn’t require spending ages recycling. Some of my highlights include a full size Cowshed Relax Bath & Body Body Lotion, Percy & Reed Tame that Mane Smoothing Cream and Bloom & Blossom Keep Dancing Foot & Leg Mist. It is worth over £300 so I can’t see them staying on the shelves for long.
cultbeauty.co.uk / 2366626853602550
Best Value for Money Beauty Advent Calendar 2024: Cult Beauty
Cult Beauty Curated With Love Advent Calendar 2024 (£235)
First up, it must be noted just how beautiful this box is. It is pretty much a work of art in itself. As one of the most adored advent calendars of the past, Cult Beauty has to almost out do itself each year to keep its space in the top spot. It contains well over the required 25 items with 40 beauty treats – 19 full size and four exclusive to Cult Beauty amongst them. When I was doing the maths I only needed to open 8 boxes to cover the cost of the calendar, which means you get a lot of bang for your buck. Some of my personal favourites include MediK8 Hero Mask Set, Augustus Bader The Rich Cream and Sunday Riley CEO Serum.
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sephora.co.uk
Best TikTok Brands Beauty Advent Calendar 2024: Sephora
Sephora Advent Calendar 2024 (£199)
If you know your beauty brands then this list of products is going to sound like a 2024 hall of fame. It contains 40 fan favourites, including 24 full size products and 20 exclusive to Sephora. I’m still a bit confused as to when advent calendars starting to contain more than the required 24 items, but hey who am I to argue when it includes full size products like Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow Pink Juice, Makeup by Mario Rosy Glam Quad Eyeshadow Palette and Rare Beauty Soft Pinch Tinted Lip Oil in Happy? I would recommend pre-ordering now if you’re interested, as I can’t see there will be stock once its despatched at the end of October.
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lookfantastic.com
Best £100 Beauty Advent Calendar 2024: LookFantastic
Lookfantastic Iconic Beauty Advent Calendar 2024 (£100)
Before you start, this advent calendar contains a £30 voucher to use at Lookfantastic, so according to my girl math calculations it really only costs £70. In terms of what you get for your money, this is up there with the best of them and at £100 the price tag isn’t too eye-watering either. Some highlights include an Anastasia Beverly Hills Soft Glam Eyeshadow Palette and a full size Iconic London Prep Set Glow. It also has a nice balance of hair, makeup and beauty if you’re looking for an all round offering.
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cloud.mail.selfridges.com
Best Premium Brand Beauty Advent Calendar 2024: Selfridges
Selfridges Beauty Advent Calendar (£250) – Available to order from 5 October 2024
If you’re into your premium, boujee brands then this is the beauty advent calendar for you. There are a whopping 38 products exclusive to Selfridges packed into this box of dreams, which is worth over £1,000. Some of the real highlights are Byredo Rose of No Man’s Land EDP, Fenty Hair The Comeback Kid and Pleasing The Whole Dewniverse Nail Polish. Out of all the products, 22 are full size and there’s a Selfridges Beauty Concierge Gift Card. The only downside is that it will probably sell out if you don’t get on the waiting list ASAP and the amount of the Selfridges Beauty Concierge Card has not been confirmed as yet.
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boots.com
Best Beauty Advent Calendar 2024 for Tweens: Boots
Boots 24 Days of Skincare (£65) – on sale now.
If you’ve got a tween or teenager into skincare this advent calendar is going to make you very popular. It contains all the buzzy brands they have been coveting over such as Byoma and Bubble, as well as practical gems like Starface blemish patches, Garnier Micellar Water and Cetaphil Cleanser. It contains 16 full size products which means over half of the calendar has the good stuff.
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Sephora
Lauren Ezekiel is an associate editor at PS UK, where she writes about all things beauty and wellness. With a degree in journalism and 12 years’ experience as a beauty editor at a leading Sunday supplement, she is obsessed with skincare, hair and makeup, and is often found offering advice to innocent bystanders. Her work has been published in Grazia, OK, Health and Beauty, The Sun, ASDA, Dare and Metro.
