Another upcoming Christmas season, another round of beauty advent calendar releases—treasure troves of products to try placed inside glorious holiday packaging. With 30% of holiday shoppers in 2022 stating they intended to purchase an advent calendar, retailers are unveiling their 2023 advent calendars with anticipation of huge sale numbers. From unbeatable value-for-purchase-price to impeccably designed boxes, here is the retailer edit of beauty advent calendars. We put together a round up of this year's beauty brand advent calendars as well.
A golden starry night and the iconic New York City skyline await inside Bloomingdale’s offering for the holiday season. The $300 box is estimated to contain $800 worth of products, with content like the La Prairie Skin Caviar Luxe Sleep Mask, a Parfums de Marly Delina candle, and SK-II Facial Treatment Essence.
An illustrated vision to behold, Cult Beauty’s offering at £225 ($274) goes for less traditional and more abstract and dream-like packaging. With a value of more than £1,000 ($1,219), 20 full-size products (39 beauty products in total), surprise golden tickets hidden inside three boxes £1,000 ($1,219), and over £60,000 ($73,197) of sales going to Mental Health UK (as well as one tree planted by More Trees for every calendar sold), it’s a gift that keeps on giving. Brands inside include Charlotte Tilbury, Drunk Elephant, Olaplex, and Glow Recipe.
Greeting buyers with a “Season’s Treatings” covered door, the turquoise and black interior of Debenham’s advent calendar is sleek and minimal. Behind its doors awaits an array of skin, hair, and fragrance products, including Algenist Genius Collagen Essence, a Grow Gorgeous Satin Hair Wrap, and Estée Lauder Double Wear Zero-Smudge Lengthening Mascara. The £85 ($103) box contains £390 ($476) worth of products.
The online beauty subscription service is bringing its curatorial eye to the advent calendar format with a “Feel the Magic” edition worth £473 ($577) at a price of £80 or $97, containing 28 products in total: 17 full sizes, and 11 deluxe sizes. The rose gold and grey marbled box contains items such as Rodial Papaya Enzyme Scrub, Medik8 Micellar Mousse, and a Ciaté London I am a Woman Eyeshadow Palette.
The luxury retailer is offering up a gold and emerald green box of delights for the holiday season, with each of the 25 drawers depicting a different part of its flagship store facade. Products include the Eve Lom Original Balm Cleanser, RéVive Masque des Yeux Instant Eye Mask, 111SKIN Celestial Black Diamond Brightening Essence and NARS Lipstick. The box retails for £250 ($305) and is worth £1,173 ($1,431).
The retailer’s advent outing boasts a £1300 ($1,585) value for a £250 ($305) retail price. Inside its blue and peach geometric-printed walls, one finds 45 items from 35 best-selling brands, with 25 full-size products, including Sol de Janeiro, Charlotte Tilbury, Maison Francis Kurkdjian, and Augustinus Bader. The calendar also contains treatment vouchers for services such as a one-on-one makeup lesson with a Fenty makeup artist, and eyebrow shaping courtesy of a Shavata Singh brow expert. A lucky 1 in 50 purchases will also contain a £100 ($121) Harvey Nichols gift card.
With a his and hers offering, the London department store is doubling up on its yuletide offerings, both featuring its famous storefront. The Liberty Advent Calendar, with a retail price of £250 ($305) and a value of £1,043 ($1,272), takes a more painterly and snow-covered approach with a paisley interior. Liberty Men's Advent Calendar (retailing for £230 or $280, with a £650 or $793 value) has a graphic black and white front that makes way for a green, red, and white maze-like print on the inside. The Liberty Advent Calendar contains 29 best-selling products such as Dr. Barbara Sturm Face Cream, Zelens Instant Recharge Renewal Mask, and Byredo Lipstick, as well as an exclusive new Liberty LBTY Tudor Eau de Parfum. Five buyers will also receive a golden ticket with a £1,000 ($1,219) voucher to spend in-store. The Liberty Men's Advent Calendar includes grooming products such as Malin+Goetz Leather Perfume Oil, Frederic Malle Uncut Gem, and D.S. & Durga I Don’t Know What for fragrance; Votary Super Seed Nutrient Cream and REN Clean Skincare Glow Tonic for facial care; and Hair by Sam McKnight Perfect Mess Matt Sculpting Clay for hair styling.
The department store is offering not one, but three different advent calendar options: a 25 Day Advent Calendar ($99, $321 value), 12 Days of Beauty ($49.50, $149 value), and a Luxury Beauty Advent Calendar ($120, value $293), which also contains 12 days of products. The first two have the classic red and metallic holiday coloring, while the luxury edition features a gold illustration of the Macy’s storefront with a burgundy interior. Products inside the 25 Day Advent Calendar include Belif The True Cream Aqua Bomb, Elemis Pro-Collagen Cleansing Balm, Sunday Riley Good Genes Lactic Acid Treatment. The 12 Days of Beauty contains a full-size Tarte Maracuja Juicy Lip Crème alongside an assortment of minis such as Lancôme Lash Idôle Lash-Lifting & Volumizing Mascara, Drybar Liquid Glass Miracle Smoothing Sealant, and Anastasia Beverly Hills Clear Brow Gel. The Luxury Beauty Advent Calendar contains items such as a deluxe size sample of Tom Ford Lip Color, as well as minis of Yves Saint Laurent Libre Le Parfum, Clé de Peau Beauté Softening Cleansing Foam, and Armani Beauty Eye Tint Liquid Eyeshadow.
The Niche Beauty advent calendar takes on an unexpected format, offering each of its 30 products (19 full size, 11 sample size) in an individual black drawstring bag. The calendar’s value is over £1,200 ($1,464) at a £250 ($305) price tag. From a Dr. Levy Switzerland MicroSkin Roller to Susanne Kaufmann Bath for the Senses, Oribe Côte D’Azur Nourishing Hand Crème, and Milk Makeup Pore Eclipse Primer, this offering contains an interesting collection of coveted brands.
Containing 16 full-size products from brands like Lisa Eldridge, Dr. Barbara Sturm, Biossance, and Pleasing, the Selfridges advent calendar has a value of £1,049 ($1,279) at a £250 ($305) price tag. The tiered maroon box is decorated in gold, pink, and red confetti, featuring popular products like Refy Brow Sculpt, Fable & Mane SahaScalp Amla Soothing Serum, JVN Hair Complete Air Dry Creme, and Phlur Missing Person Eau de Parfum.
The retailer has launched advent calendars for its EU, US, and UK markets. The Sephora Favorites US Advent Calendar contains 27 products inside a starry nighttime printed box, with brands including Dr. Dennis Gross, GXVE by Gwen Stefani, Laura Mercier, Paula’s Choice, and Topicals. It retails for $99 with a $342 value. The EU version—worth over €420 ($444) and priced at €149.90 ($157)—contains products such as BYOMA Clarifying Serum, Huda Beauty 1 Coat Wow! Black Mascara, and Patchology Firming Eye Gel Patches in bright orange, red, and silver celestial themed packaging. The UK two-tier version, colored in vibrant tangerine, red, and silver stars, costs £189 ($230) but contains £1,045 ($1,275) worth of products like K18 Leave-in Molecular Repair Hair Mask, Juliette Has a Gun Not a Perfume, and Rare Beauty Perfect Strokes Matte Liquid Liner.
With an exterior reminiscent of the Northern Lights with a holographic font, the Space NK advent calendar comes in 100% recyclable packaging that is FSC certified and made with only water-based inks. It contains 33 products, 19 of which are full-size, such as Summer Fridays Jet Lag Mask, Boy Smells Hinoki Fantôme Candle, Olaplex No. 4 Bond Maintenance Shampoo, and Kosas Wet Lip Oil Gloss. It has a £235 ($286) retail price and £1,000 ($1,220) value.
The retailer is offering options for color, bath, and nails with the 12 Days of Beauty ($22), 12 Days of Bath ($22), 12 Days of Nails ($22), and the six Days of Bath Fizzers ($20) with its namesake brand products. The 24 Days of Self Care Advent Calendar, which retails for $60 and has a $250 value, showcases a champagne and white exterior covered in botanical and animal life illustrations. It contains products including the Briogeo Don't Despair Repair! Deep Conditioning Mask, Living Proof Advanced Clean Dry Shampoo, Murad Retinal Resculpt Overnight Treatment, and Supergoop Unseen Sunscreen SPF 40.
