The festive season is fast-approaching, Michael Bublé is defrosting, Christmas lights are being untangled, and the countdown will soon be on. What better way to countdown to Christmas than with an advent calendar? And we’re not just talking about your bog-standard chocolate kind (although they are great too, of course!).
In recent years advent calendars have evolved into something a little more luxurious, from chocolate and cheese to whisky wine, and even beauty. So if you’re a lover of all things glam, you’re sure to love our top picks of beauty advent calendars for 2020. Ranging under £50 to a little over £200, there are calendars to suit everyone and every budget this Christmas – and with dozens of luxury gifts instead, they're amazing value for money.
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From designer brands to a mixture of hair, skin and nail products to keep you looking fresh throughout December, here are some of our favourites. Be sure to get them quick while stocks last!
Uncover a new luxe surprise each day this holiday season with Revolve Beauty's first-ever Advent Calendar. We love that it's packaged in a reusable custom suitcase-style box complete with a lock. Inside, the advent calendar is filled with 24 individually-boxed beauty products, ranging from mini size to full-size products.
A few of the luxury beauty brands included in this must-have advent calendar are GLAMGLOW, Stila, Sunday Riley, By Terry, Supergoop! and Peter Thomas Roth. This is truly perfect for the countdown to Christmas.
Christmas can often be harsh on your skin – cold weather, late nights, and plenty of alcohol can leave you looking tired, dry and chapped. The Mr Porter 'The 12 Days of Grooming' advent calendar has been created to combat this. Behind every numbered door you'll find one of Mr Porter's favourite lotions, scents and serums from the likes of Elemis, Malin + Goetz, and Grown Alchemist, all working to ensure you look your best for the party season. The watercolour-illustrated presentation box makes it ideal for gifting, too.
Amazon’s beauty advent calendar for 2020 includes 24 boxes of all shapes and sizes. The retailer claims its products include “proven classics from top brands”, but for now the box is shrouded in mystery.
Last year’ Amazon advent calendar contained items worth over £220, with a mixture of hair, skin and beauty products, yet was priced at just £40. We’re expecting similar levels of value this time around.
Freshly updated for 2020, the new Beauty Advent Calendar from Harrods of London includes 25 gifts claimed to be worth over £700 in total – making the £250 price tag actually seem like pretty good value.
This advent calendar brings together some of the most popular skincare, make-up and fragrance products from the famous Harrods Beauty Halls. Gifts hidden behind the festive green doors include face oil, cleansing balm, face masks, lifting serum, day cream, shampoo, conditioner and moisturiser.
This stunning chest of treats from Charlotte Tilbury includes 12 drawers of products to open in the run-up to Christmas. What’s more, instead of merely being a collection of travel-sized samples, this box includes three full-size products.
These include the Hollywood Beauty Light Wand in Spotlight rose gold highlighter, Colour Chameleon in Copper Lights copper shade for enhancing the look of your eye colour, and Matte Revolution Lipstick in Pillow Talk Original. The nine other travel-sized treats include an airbrush, skin clay mask, moisturiser, serum, primer, eyeliner, mascara, lip liner and hydrating body shimmer. All of this comes in a reusable makeup chest drawer.
This year’s Liberty Beauty Advent Calendar promises to be bigger and better than ever, and includes contents claimed to be worth a whopping £789, yet costs £215.
The bumper-sized advent calendar has 25 treats inside, and Liberty says a huge 19 of those are full-size products, so it really does represent excellent value for money. Among the products are an array of cult favourites from the likes of Diptyque, Hourglass and Le Labo, plus items from brands new to Liberty, like VENN, Decree and Augustinus Bader.
You’ll have to be quick to bag this one, as Liberty says last year’s beauty advent calendar was its most popular product in its 145-year history. It goes on sale on 7 October, and will be joined again this year by a Liberty beauty advent calendar for men, priced at £195 and including over £460 worth of products.
The White Company’s 2020 advent calendar really is something to behold. Standing tall and opening wide like a grand wardrobe, the box contains 25 pull-out drawers, each revealing a treat.
Items hidden inside include no fewer than six festive scented candles, lip balm, oil, hand cream, shampoo, conditioner, body scrub, body lotion and Gua Sha. It’s certainly a classy calendar, and at £160 is one of the more expensive options for 2020.
If there was a competition for the most value packed into a 2020 beauty advent calendar, then Net-A-Porter would win. This 25-gift calendar has a claimed total value of £1,115, making its £240 retail price look like amazon value for money – even if that is still a bit steep compared to the usual chocolate-filled advent calendar.
Gifts are among Net-A-Porter's best-sellers, and include beauty and make-up products from brands like Omorovicza, Augustinus, Bader, Charlotte Tilbury and Philip Kingsley. Each gift sits inside its own pull-out drawer, with all 25 hidden behind a wardrobe-style box tied with a decorative bow.
Called the Beauty Anthology Part II, this year’s advent calendar by Space NK includes no fewer than five full-size products, plus 19 other travel-size items. The larger items include hand cream by Byredo, a retinol vitamin C moisturiser by Kate Somerville, an eye design palette by Kevyn Aucoin, No.7 Bondin Oil by Olaplex, and Bergamot hand and body wash by Malim+Goetz.
There’s also a 140g layered Christmas candle by Jo Loves, and a further 18 beauty, hair and makeup items to enjoy throughout December. Space NK says the contents add up to over £630, and is pricing the calendar at £195. It goes on sale on 5 October.
MAC’s limited-edition 2020 advent calendar is packed with 24 pieces from the company’s beauty and makeup collection. Worth over £300 but retailing for £125, the calendar includes a wide range of lipsticks and eyeshadows, plus a keychain accessory.
Birchbox’s 2020 beauty advent calendar includes no fewer than 27 items spread across 25 drawers. It’s a mixture of hair, makeup and skincare products, including Birchbox favourites like Eyeko, Bumble and bumble, and bareMinerals.
There’s no word on if any of the treats are full-size items, but Birchbox says the contents of its 2020 advent calendar adds up to £480, so at £85 (or £70 for subscribers), it’s still great value for money.
Back again for 2020, Clinique’s beauty advent calendar has taken on a festive red-and-green theme this year. Inside each of the 24 uniquely shaped compartments you’ll discover a range of skin care and makeup products.
Highlights include Moisture Surge Hydrator and Lash Power Mascara, and there’s also Deep Comfort Hand & Cuticle Cream, Pop Lip Colour + Primer, Blush Brush Deluxe, Clarifying Lotion, Quicliner, and Aromatics in Black.
All of these are travel-sized rather than full-sized items, but regardless Clinique says the set is worth £200, and is priced at £90.
This year’s advent calendar by Rituals surely wins the award for most creative of 2020. Requiring a little assembly, this calendar turns into a cute model village, complete with snow-covered houses that are illuminated by a set of LED lights from underneath.
Each house contains a special Rituals gift, with 24 surprises in all. These range from shower gel and eau de parfum, four festival candles, body cream, soap, shower scrub, hair and body mist, hand balm, and body spray.
Rituals hasn’t said how much the contents of its 2020 advent calendar is worth, but has revealed the retail price of £89.90.
This Hello Kitty themed advent calendar by OPI is one for the nail vanish fanatic in your life. Behind each of the 25 doors is a different mini nail lacquer, with a range of neutrals, brights and glitters on offer.
You’ll get a range of colours, sparkles, top coats and base coats and the polishes are chip-proof with a long-wear of 7 days or more. If you like to have nails to match every outfit, then this beauty advent calendar will keep you busy throughout December.
The Fragrance Shop has announced its first-ever Advent Calendar. The luxury offering includes £260 worth of gorgeous fragrance and beauty products for less than a 1/3 of the RRP price, at only £69.50. The selection is curated to feature a selection of the brands that beauty aficionados know and love, including Calvin Klein, Burberry, Missguided, Lord & Berry, E-Cooking, Pepe Jeans and Aromatherapy Associates.
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