Countdown conundrums! Best beauty advent calendars for 2023
If you’re jumping on the beauty advent bandwagon, you better be quick. The cult Liberty calendar has launched with Sephora, Next, Space NK and Selfridges hitting shelves too… Snap them up now – they’re a guaranteed sell out (yes, really!).
CULT CLASSIC
Liberty London’s cult calendar sells out faster than a sparkler loses its sizzle. Beautifully packaged – Designed by renowned illustrator Clym Evernden – it’s the ultimate festive indulgence, with 20 full-sized brands from the likes of Sunday Riley, Votary, Le Labo and Augustinus Bader. If you find one of five Golden Tickets, you win a £1,000 gift card.
Best Door: Dr. Barbara Sturm Face Cream 20ml – the ultimate firming, hydrating face cream.
£250
WHAT NEXT?
This pretty parcel from Next is a winner for a head-to-toe pamper session – and ALWAYS sells out. Hidden in 25 drawers, it contains top-selling products from Next’s host of brilliant beauty, haircare, and aromatherapy brands, worth £355. If you love to flirt with different beauty brands, this is the ultimate all-rounder.
Best Door: Murad Retinol Youth Renewal Eye Mask – give your eyes some much needed TLC .
£95
SECOND TIME’S A CHARM
Back for round two (after a rather stunning debut calendar last year), Sephora UK is pulling out all the stops with 36 products, 23 of which are full-sized in this 25-day calendar (worth over £1,000). Indie biz lovers you’ll love the luxe skincare from under-the-radar Indian brand Ranavat, plus stock up on tried and tested faves like Molton Brown.
Best Door: Drunk Elephant TLC Sukari Babyfacial – the chemical exfoliant is a saviour for skin texture.
£189
SIGNED, SEALED, DELIVERED
How pretty is Elemis’ festive post box design? And the contents are just as pleasing for skincare lovers. It’s not the traditional 12 or 25 Christmas countdown, you receive 11 treats from their Pro-Collagen range – including the brand-new Glow Boost Exfoliator. You’re bagging £550 of products too, so it’s a pretty sweet deal.
Best Door: The only full-size gift behind Day 25, Pro-Collagen Marine Cream, is packed full of underrated anti-ageing hero Ginkgo Biloba.
£189
THE PARTY PACKAGE
The beauty addicts go-to, Look Fantastic’s calendar is covers everything from face care and makeup to hair and body care. You receive 27 gifts – 12 of which are full sized – worth £565 (result!). If your party season diary is already filling up, this calendar has a great mix of hydrating picks great for fending off dry skin when the temperature drops.
Best Door: ICONIC London Day to Slay Eyeshadow Palette – every girl needs a knockout party eyeshadow palette.
£99
GO BIG OR GO HOME
Only 25 gifts in your calendar? Bah! Yawn! Space NK is coming in hot with 33 luxe skincare, haircare, and makeup goodies worth over a whopping £1,000. With cult brands like Charlotte Tilbury and Paula’s Choice to celeb brands from Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Selena Gomez, this is a great way to branch out of your comfort zone without breaking the bank.
Best Door: Tatcha Luminous Dewy Skin Mist – it’s a quick way to spritz some life back into dull skin, plus Meghan Markle is a fan.
£235
ONE AND DONE
Want to have your cake and eat it? Say hello to 45 treats courtesy of Harvey Nichols’ curated range of skincare, makeup, body care, hair care, and fragrances, worth a whopping £1,300. Come Christmas, your cabins will be brimming with 35 cult brands from the likes of Carolina Herrera and Laura Mercier, plus the perfume hero celebs swear by, Maison Francis Kurkdjian.
Best Door: A fantastic pampering treat, the Shavata Singh Eyebrow Shape Treatment Voucher, is available to claim in all Shavata Singh stores.
£250
LIGHT ‘ER UP
No need to wait to see if you have been naughty or nice, The White Company’s 25 days guarantees a gift on Christmas morning. Tucked into each drawer is a selection of to-die-for candles, home sprays, body lotions packed with soothing sea salts and essential oils, worth over £273. And breathe.
Best Door: Winter Signature Candle – is there anything more festive than a crackling candle?
£175
HI BOBBI!
Ooh, a box of tricks to look your glow-getting best. Bobbi Brown’s 12 Days of Glow delivers polished skin – think shimmering highlight, rosey lip tint, bronze eyeshadow and hydrating moisturiser. We love the focus on enhancing your features whilst letting your skin breathe, saving £69 from the standard price of £264 is just a shiny bonus.
Best Door: Premium Size Vitamin Enriched Face Base – all your skin needs met in a boosting blend of vitamins B, C, and E.
£195
POSH PAMPERING
Harry Styles in your stocking! OK, so it’s his beauty brand Pleasing, but we’ll take it. It’s just one of the 33 high end beauty brands in the Selfridges calendar (Augustinus Bader, Sam McKnight, IIISkin), worth a whopping £1,000. It’s a treasure trove for high-end beauty fans, you’ll and bag 33 luxe products from the likes of
Best Door: Paula’s Choice Niacinamide Booster – it brightens, blurs, and hydrates your skin, need I say more?
£220
CHARLIE’S ANGELS
Makeup babes dust off your brushes, Charlotte Tilbury’s 12-door calendar (worth £225) strikes the balance between brilliant skincare and makeup, plus a mini version of the popular Hollywood Complexion Brush to buff up your collection.
Best Door: Travel-Size Airbrush Flawless Setting Spray – truly the stuff of legends, your makeup won’t budge!
£160
SKINCARE SAVIOUR
If you’re a ride-or-die Clarins fan, get in line for their 24 luxe goodies (worth £262) made with a super-combo of skin-saving ingredients like aloe vera, shea butter and acerola fruit. Offering everything from mascara, lip balm, and micellar water…what’s not to love?
Best Door: Lip Comfort Oil – get mistletoe ready with this splash of hydrating and plumping oil – mwah!
£135
THE ECO ONE
We love the festive minimalist design on Harrod’s calendar, and the £1,173 value is a purse-pleasing cherry on top. You’ll unwrap 25 treats (21 full-sized) many of which are from staple cruelty-free and sustainable brands including Sunday Riley, REN, Dermalogica, and haircare hero Chämpo.
Best Door: ReVive Masque des Yeux Instant Eye Mask, an essential for the morning after.
£250
PLANT POWER
Clean beauty crew gather around – Dr Hauschka has a 100% organic beauty bundle with 24 of its bestselling face and body care – we’re talking calming bath soap, hydrating face mask, and botanical foot cream – all made with natural ingredients and worth £150.
Best Door: Tinted Moisturiser – the secret to a natural makeup-free glow.
£90
CLEAN SPREE
Prefer to glow from within? ESPA skincare is a kitchen table dream turned world-renowned spa and skincare brand, and their calendar is a whopper. From antioxidant face creams formulated to protect your skin barrier to a renewing anti-ageing moisturiser and an aromatherapy candle – this holistic haul is worth £419.
Best Door: Pink Hair and Scalp Mud – a must-have for deep cleansing your scalp (aka the secret to luscious locs).
£175
COMING UP ROSES
Everything’s coming up roses on Christmas day with Jo Loves’ fragrant offering of 25 home sprays, candles, and her signature fragrance paintbrush in three scents (Pink Vetiver, Mango Thai Lime, No42 The Flower Shop, and Jo by Jo Loves Fragrance) they’re mini on-the-go perfumes, but we’ll make it last.
Best Door: It’s hard to beat the Jo by Jo Loves Fragrance Paintbrush – it’s a super versatile, classy scent.
£365
HEAVEN SCENT
More for you nosey bunch (yes, you!) Catch a whiff of four beloved YSL perfumes (including Libre and Black Opium) alongside luxe lipsticks, mascara, and their raved makeup-removing balm. As you can guess, you’d usually be coughing up a pretty penny on these products (£419, to be precise), so this is a steal. Get yours from Selfridges.
Best Door: Rouge Pur Couture The Bold lipstick in the shade 1971 – you simply can’t get through party season without a bold red lippy.
£250
LEAVE IT TO JOHN
Good ‘ol John Lewis is a dead cert for hitting all the beauty sweet spots. From expert haircare by Brit-brand Philip Kingsley to makeup from Laura Mercier and scents from NEOM – come Christmas, you’ll be pretty (and fragrant) as a peach. Best of all, 16 of the 25 gifts, worth a stunning £921, are full-sized so they should last you well into the new year.
Best Door: OTO 10% CBD Sleep Drops – the first step to beautiful skin is catching plenty of z’s.
£195
NAILED IT
You’re never fully dressed without a mani, and this colourful OPI 25-door calendar is the way to nail every outfit. Featuring 14 shades for the festive season and nine chic shades fit for any season, plus an essential top coat, worth £398.
Best Door: Big Apple Red is bang on-trend for this autumn and winter.
£69.90
GREEN QUEEN
One of the few calendars under a £100 price mark, L’Occitane gals you’re in for a treat of 24 goodies, including scrubs, bath foams, hand creams, and the best-selling Overnight Reset Serum, worth £122. Plus, bonus points for the fully recyclable and sustainably sourced cardboard.
Best Door: Curb dry winter hands with the Shea Butter Hand Cream.
£62
FIRST IN LINE
The newest kid on the advent cal block, Vogue has launched its first bundle, and it’s full of luxury brands like award-winning London-based skincare brand Sarah Chapman and vegan makeup powerhouse Hourglass. Let’s be honest; the price point is a little steep, but you’re bagging £1.5k worth of treats, so we’ll call it a win.
Best Door: Ever the mystery fiends, we’ve got our beady eyes on the surprise Vogue collectible.
£350
