Written by, Bojana Atanasovska
Updated November, 12, 2022
Makeup is the new chocolate this holiday season, as almost every beauty brand is putting out its own stylish take on the traditional advent calendar. To help you find the best beauty advent calendar in the UK to glam up your Christmas, we have curated a list of the best of the best based on factors such as price, selection, and value.
Let’s get right to it!
Whether you’re a beauty enthusiast or you want to surprise a friend pleasantly, a beauty Christmas calendar is always a good idea. So, take a look at this year’s selection of the prettiest calendars for every budget:
Brought to you by one of the world’s top makeup artists, Charlotte Tilbury’s Dreams & Secrets Christmas calendar is sure to glam up your holiday season. Within it is everything you need for both perfect skin and sublime makeup artistry. Tilbury’s treats include a full-size container of the brand’s most popular lipstick shade, Pillow Talk, 15 ml tubes of the famous Magic Serum and Magic Cream, as well as the Airbrush Flawless Setting Spray that won’t let your makeup budge even after a wild New Year’s Eve.
Selfridges is truly bringing Santa to town with their beauty Christmas calendar in 2021: you get a fantastic value for your money and an excellent combination of skincare and makeup products suitable for all skin types. This year, you can spice up your look with Milk Makeup’s Lip and Cheek blush stick and pamper your skin with The Ordinary’s full-size Rose Hip Seed Oil after any festive celebration or a night on the town.
If you’ve been looking for a luxury advent calendar for that special someone, Dior’s got you covered. Besides the gorgeous floral design, this pricey yet elegant calendar features 24 miniature makeup, skincare, and fragrance surprises. Behind its enchanting doors, you’ll find anything from the beloved J’Adore perfume to the La Collection Privée candle and Dior’s top-selling Rouge lipsticks.
MAC’s 2021 make up advent calendar is the perfect holiday treat for makeup enthusiasts of any age. The brand’s box of tricks hides 24 surprises of exquisite beauty items that will surely help you with your very merry Christmas look. As you unbox the mesmerising case, you discover its riches within: anything from the matte Ruby Woo lipstick to the Mineralize Blush in Warm Soul shade, which you can set on top of MAC’s Prep + Prime Natural Radiance in shade Yellow.
Although John Lewis & Partners’ cosmetic advent calendar isn’t as luxurious, it still takes beauty calendars to another level by offering 12 full-size products of coveted brands. Despite the lower price, the calendar includes famous names like Clinique or even Charlotte Tilbury. In fact, you’ll get Tilbury’s The Queen Of Glow full-size eyeshadow palette and a full-size Dr.Jart + Ceramidin Facial Barrier Mask.
Back for the fourth year in a row, ELLE’s Christmas calendar has never been better. The next-level contents of ELLE’s offering will surprise beauty enthusiasts with anything from premium hair to skincare and makeup products for 25 wonderful days. Within this Christmas treat, you’ll find anything from the Huda Beauty Legit Lashes Double-Ended Mascara to a full-size pack of Murad’s Intense Recovery Cream. Moreover, ELLE packages its little wonders in a beautiful polka-dot box that perfectly ornaments your dressing table.
The LOOKFANTASTIC advent calendar is one of the most in-demand advent calendars for women in the UK. How can it not be with its 11 full-size products and a very affordable price? Counting down to Christmas will be much more fun while unboxing hit products like the Kevyn Aucoin Volume Mascara and the Prai 24K Gold Wrinkle Repair Crème. So hurry up and get this beauty extravaganza before it’s too late.
Feelunique’s legendary makeup and skincare advent calendar is coming back for 2021 with a fantastic spread of 27 indulgent beauty treats. This Christmas miracle includes five full-size products like Huda Beauty’s Nude Obsessions Rich Palette and the Wishful V Chin Lift Mask. Behind the other 20-plus doors, you can expect anything from a Charlotte Tilbury Eye Cream to Laura Mercier’s Rouge Essential Silky Lip Creme Stick in A La Rose.
Susanne Kaufmann’s highly anticipated skincare advent calendar is finally here to make your Christmas wishes come true. Indulge in the brand’s exclusive skin, body, and bath products that will put you in a festive mood and beautiful and glowy skin. What’s more, you can also enjoy some full-size treats like Susanne Kaufmann’s Lip Balm, Eye Rescue Stick, as well as the Hyaluron Serum. Along with the other 20-plus little miracles, this Susan Kaufmann beauty regime is bound to raise the holiday spirits of you and yours.
While The Body Shop’s Share the Joy is their most affordable advent calendar for her out of four offerings for 2021, it still packs a bounty of mini surprises. This bundle of joy includes 24 festive treats for the perfect countdown to Christmas, and inside its marvellous pop-up world, you’ll find both iconic and new products. For a super affordable price, you get The Body Shop’s body butters, lip balms, bath bubbles, and plenty more.
Next on our list is Share Love & Joy—another The Body Shop advent calendar for women that simply transports you to a magical Christmas world through its beautiful box of wonders. However, unlike the company’s cheaper offering, this one includes 25 mini- and full-size products to keep you pampered from head to toe. The Body Shop has stuffed this one with their best self-care treats: from the Himalayan Charcoal Face Mask to the British Rose Body Scrub and the trademarked Drops of Youth sheet mask.
L’OCCITANE opted for a different kind of beauty Christmas calendar this year. Namely, abiding by their commitment to nature, the company has used recycled cotton to create a beautiful advent calendar in cooperation with a famed UK illustrator. Its joyful refillable packaging hides amazing goodies behind its floral patterns like the brand’s Divine Cream, Overnight Reset Serum, Almond Supple Skin Oil, and over 20 other high-quality products.
Liberty, London’s most coveted brand, prepared a splendid display of 25 fantastic products for their 2021 Christmas calendar. Just like every year, the brand stocked its calendar with the most in-demand items, including cult favourites and new launches. For example, its snow-covered doors hide world-renowned riches like Augustinus Bader’s skincare line and OLAPLEX’s haircare products, undoubtedly spoiling any beauty enthusiast.
OPI’s 2021 offering is perhaps the best beauty advent calendar in the UK for nail polish lovers. The Celebration Collection box hides 25 marvellous products for anyone’s digits, from the festive ‘Snow Day in LA’ to ‘Maraschino Cheery’ and ‘Alpine Snow’. The company also included three nail care treatment products to keep your nails in perfect shape.
The last entry on our list is GlossyBox’s exclusive beauty Christmas calendar, which is overflowing with 25 glossy treats. But, what makes this advent calendar the perfect Christmas gift? First of all, the 2021 edition includes 15 full-size containers and ten deluxe-size mini versions of industry-leading brands like Pixi, Rodial, and ELEMIS. Imagine cosying up in front of a wintery firepit and opening Glossybox’s little wonders like the Molton Brown’s shower gel or Ecooking’s peeling mask.
Come Christmastime, cosmetic brands strive to stand out from the competition by putting out the best advent calendar for every beauty lover out there. But, how do you recognise a good offer? Check our quick guide to learn what to look for in a beauty Christmas calendar.
Before going on a gift shopping spree, setting a budget is a must. Luckily, cosmetics brands prepare advent calendars for various price ranges: from affordable calendars below £100 to special offers worth hundreds of pounds, like the £400 Dior advent calendar. Note that the cheaper alternatives still offer an excellent value for money and satisfying daily surprises.
Many companies like LOOKFANTASTIC also include full-size luxury brands in their calendar drawers. If you’re lucky enough, you can even find a beauty advent calendar on sale, whose estimated value is much greater than its price tag. In essence, search for the best-reviewed and value-rich calendar in your price range. That way, you’ll get the most out of your money.
Once you’ve set a budget, it’s time to think about what you want to see inside your calendar. For instance, if you’re a fragrance enthusiast, go for a perfume advent calendar to test lots of new scents. However, some brands combine different types of products, thus allowing you to enjoy a broader range of product types. Therefore, when purchasing your beauty advent calendar, consider whether you’d like to try out 25 products of the same type or you’re in it for the surprise of getting anything from skincare to fragrances and makeup.
Don’t judge a book by its cover when buying an advent calendar since even the most colourful, eye-catching products may let you down with their poor offering. For example, an expensive luxury advent calendar may only appear enticing without including anything valuable within.
On the other hand, some budget advent calendars may surprise you with their fantastic bang-for-buck that doubles or triples their price. Ideally, you would get the best value out of a 25-door calendar, in which you shouldn’t find more than three products you won’t use.
Now that you’ve seen our selection of the top beauty advent calendars for 2021, it’s time to make your decision. We’ve included something to fit everyone’s taste, calendars with perfumes to body scrubs, from budget brands to premium labels. But, at the end of the day, you know best how to treat yourself or your loved ones this Christmas.
Due to the increased popularity of beauty calendars, almost every makeup company comes out with their own offering. You can find calendars by drugstore brands like e.l.f. Cosmetics, as well as some high-end boxes by brands like Balmain. Some companies, like Glassybox, even curate a selection of various premium brands.
Typically, the majority of companies launch their advent calendars around the end of October. Note that you have to be quick, as many of them sell out super fast.
When looking for the best beauty advent calendar in the UK, you’ll find plenty of price options. If you want the best of the best, however, you’ll have to shell out hundreds of pounds, such as the eye-watering £825 for a brand like Chanel.