Beauty advent calendars have all become a bit samey but even as they push the boundaries of our spend limit, are there any out there that are all thriller with no filler? I’ve done the digging to find out and these are the five that represent the best value with the most interesting and exciting products inside.
Jo Malone London
This is the queue maker! The very first Jo Malone London advent calendar had queues around the block with people eager to purchase. I view this more as a discovery set than an advent calendar – it’s a way to engage with luxury fragrance in an exciting format without committing to any one perfume forever. There are 25 fragrant products, featuring mini candles, bath and body minis, a full size (30ml) fragrance and mini colognes. If you ever wanted to get to know the brand, this is how.
Body: Peony & Blush Suede Body Cream (50ml), Vitamin E Lip Conditioner (15ml), Wood Sage & Sea Salt Hand & Body Wash (100ml), English Pear & Freesia Hand & Body Cream (50ml), Wild Bluebell Body Mist (30ml), English Pear & Freesia Hand & Body Wash (100ml), Poppy & Barley Body & Hand Lotion (50ml) and Velvet Rose & Oud Body Cream (50ml).
Mini Candles: Pine & Eucalyptus and Pomegranate Noir with a bigger travel size candle in Orange Bitters.
Fragrance 30ml & 9ml Fragrances : Orange Bitters 30ml Cologne, plus 9mls in Myrrh & Tonka, a mystery scent, Blackberry & Bay, Cypress & Grapevine, English Pear & Sweetpea, Hinoki & Cedarwood, Oud & Bergamot, Wood Sage & Sea Salt, English Oak & Hazelnut, Lime Basil & Mandarin, Scarlet Poppy and Orange Bitters.
So, this Jo Malone London advent calendar offers such a wide variety of scent-based treats that will last so far beyond the festive season. In fact, because many of the fragrances are season based, it’s a year-long gift to yourself or someone else. It’s a luxury price but truly represents the brand presenting it.
Price: £360 HERE. Best for: Familiar and stylish comfort cocooning.
Fortnum & Mason
Even though I can see the ubiquitous Sol de Janeiro Brazilian Bum Bum Cream peeping out, this Fortnum & Mason advent calendar offers brands that other calendars don’t. I can’t remember ever seeing Ortiga in any other calendars – it’s a lovely bath and body brand hailing from Sicily. It focuses mainly on bath and body – the idea of pampering and soul reviving is perfect – although there are a few skin care focused items, too. It actually contains 23 full size products, with only 3 at travel or sample size. The value is £1149.
Bath & Body: Sol de Janeiro Bum Bum Cream (75ml), Aromatherapy Associates Revive Morning Bath & Shower Oil (55ml), Ortigia Fico d’India Bath Salts (75g), Jo Malone London English Pear & Freesia Hand Cream, 30ml Bamford B Balanced Body Gel (200ml) Ortigia Ambra Nera Soap in a tin (25g), Aromatherapy Associates Revive Body Oil (100ml), Charlotte Posner Glam Squad Wash Bag and Ortigia Florio Soap in a Tin (25g).
Face: Delilah Lip Saviour Colour Enhancing Oil (5ml), Olverum Pure Radiance Facial Oil (30ml), Delilah Liquid Blush Peony (12ml), Wildsmith Active Eye Serum (15ml), Cult51 Rejuvenating Night Cream (50ml), Bramley Clementine Antioxidant Cleansing Balm (75ml), Cult51 Neck and Décolleté Firming Cream (30ml), Bamford Lip Balm (15ml) and Delilah Liquid Blush Peony (12ml).
Fragrance & Candles: Clive Christian Town & Country Perfume (10ml ), Gallivant Buenos Aires Eau De Parfum, (30ml ), Fortnum’s 1707 Topaze Eau de Parfum with Gold Atomiser (10ml), Fortnum’s 1707 Lilas Eau de Parfum (10ml), Baobab ROMA Scented Candle (75g) and Fortnum’s Four Seasons Votive Candle Clementine (75g).
Assorted: Head band, Kure Bazaar nail polish.
PRICE £265 HERE. Best for: All round pampering.
SpaceNK
While there are some predictable brands included in this sumptuous Space NK Advent calendar, brands such as Hourglass and Westman Atelier are taking part which certainly gives it the elevation it needs to feature in my top five luxury advent calendar list. Sizes vary – I’d like to have seen a few more full sizes or more generous sample sizes but I think the big names, such as Charlotte Tilbury, will pull in the customers. There’s a good split between face care, hair and make-up with bath, body and fragrance featuring less. It’s generous across all the beauty categories which I’ve split up below.
Bath & Body: Sol de Janeiro Delicia Drench Shower Oil (385ml), SpaceNK Caribbean Shores Body Lotion (100ml).
Hair: Color Wow Dream Coat (50ml), Color Wow Dreaming Advanced Repair & Resurfacing Treatment (50ml), Dyson Chitosan Post-Style Serum (30ml), Fiona Franchimon No1 Hairpin, K18 Molecular Repair Hair Oil (30ml), Olaplex No.6 Bond Smoother (100ml).
Skin Care: Augustinus Bader Retinol Serum (15ml), Caudalie Premier Cru Eye Cream (15ml), Drunk Elephant Beste No.9 Jelly Cleanser (15ml), Eve Lom Rescue Mask, Laneige Cream Skin Cerapeptide Mist (30ml), Medik* Liquid Peptides Advanced MP (30ml), Naturium Niacinamide Cleansing Gelee (219ml), Ole Henrikson Banana Bright Eye Cream (15ml). Paula’s Choice Pro-Collagen Peptide Plumping Moisturiser (50ml), Tatcha The Brightening Serum (30ml), The Inkey List Ectoin Hydro-Barrier Serum (30ml), The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Exfoliating Toner (100ml), Then I Met You Living Cleansing Balm (90g).
Make Up: Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Beauty Light Wand (medium/deep), Gisou Honey Infused Lip Oil in Strawberry Sorbet, Glossier Birthday Balm Dotcom Lip Balm, Hourglass Unlocked Satin Crème Lipstick in Sahara, Kosas Hotliner Lipliner in Extra, La Mer The Lip Volumizer in Sheer Gloss, Lisa Eldridge Kitten Lash Mascara in Black, Milk Makeup Hydro Grip Setting Spray, Rare Beauty Weightless Eyeshadow Stick, Refy Brow Sculpt in Clear, Summer Fridays Dream Lip Oil in Blush Dreams and Westman Atelier Baby Cheeks Blush Stick in Dou Dou.
Fragrance: DS & Durga Debaser (7.5ml), Phlur Vanilla Skin EDP(9.5ml).
PRICE: £260 HERE. Best For: Skincare and make-up fans.
Diptyque
This beauty advent calendar is more about atmospheric and sublime scents than it is about skin care. There are 25 items and enough candles to see you through winter in a swirl of sumptuous fragrances – somehow there is something for every mood. The advent calendar packaging is beautiful – it opens out to reveal a bookcase image in which the windows are held.
Candles: Sapin (Pine Tree) Candle (70g) Limited Edition, Baies (Berries) Candle (70g), Feu de Bois (Wood Fire) Candle (35g), Narguilé (shisha) Candle (35g), Ambre (Amber) Candle (35g), Coing (Quince) Candle (35g), Santal (Sandalwood) Candle (35g), La Droguerie – Odor removing candle with basil (35g) and Roses Candle (35g).
Fragrance: Orphéon Refillable Solid Perfume (3g), La Droguerie – Odor-removing room spray with basil (10ml), Lilyphéa Exclusive Eau de parfum (10ml), Lunamaris Exclusive Eau de parfum (10ml), Fleur de Peau Eau de parfum (7.5ml), Orphéon Eau de parfum (7.5ml), Do Son Eau de parfum (7.5ml) and Eau Rose Eau de parfum (7.5ml).
Hair & Body: Fleur de Peau Hair Perfume (30ml), Philosykos Perfumed Body Lotion (50ml), Do Son Perfumed Hand Cream (45ml), Do Son Perfumed soap (25g), Satin Oil for body and hair (50ml), Softening and comforting wash (30ml) and Exfoliating Wash (30ml).
Plus: A Tree decoration set featuring two ornaments.
Price: £390. Pre-Order is HERE. Best for: Fragrance fans who love to create ambience at home.
Liberty London
Liberty always wins on looks with the iconic store replicated as the advent calendar. Liberty houses more niche fragrance than anywhere else – it’s a point of difference and much pride – but they are also more adventurous with their beauty and grooming products than other department stores and there are 20 full size products. The value for this beauty advent calendar is £1245.
Face: Sisley Paris Floral Toning Lotion (100ml), Emma Lewisham Skin Reset Face Serum (30ml), La Mer The Lip Balm (9g), Augustinus Bader The Rich Eye Cream (15ml), Verden Nocturne Magnesium Night Balm (75ml), Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant (13g), Paula’s Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster (30ml), Votary Super Renewal Serum Retinol Alternative (30ml), Skincycles Eye Matrix Mask 4 x 6ml, Dr. David Jack Supernova Antioxidant Cleansing Gel (30ml), and MZ Skin The Rich Moisturiser 10ml.
Makeup: Trinny London Sheer Shimmer Lip2Cheek in Violine, Lisa Eldridge Beauty Seamless Glide Eye Pencil in Ground Coffee, Jones Road The Mascara in Pitch Black 2.7g (travel size) and Trish McEvoy Sheer Lip Colour in Mulberry.
Fragrance: Matiere Premiere Vanilla Powder Eau de Parfum (6ml), Ex Nihlio Blue Talisman Eau de Parfum (7.5ml), Liberty LBTY. Fragrance Zephirine Eau de Parfum (8ml), Bibbi Santal Beauty Eau de Parfum (10ml), Vilhelm Parfumerie Sparkling Jo Eau de Parfum (10ml), D.S. & Durga I Don’t Know What Eau de Parfum (7.5ml ), Vyrao The Sixth Eau de Parfum (10ml) and Granado Esplendor Eau de Parfum (25ml ).
Hair & Body: Mirror Water SMOOTH Body Oil (50ml), Davines Naturaltech Nourishing Shampoo (100ml), Philip Kingsley Elasticizer Deep Conditioning Treatment (75ml), Charlotte Mensah Manketti Oil Conditioner (50ml), Maria Nila True Soft Argan Oil (30ml), Larry King A Social Life For Your Hair (30ml) and a Liberty Ianthe print drawstring bag.
Price: £275 HERE. Best for: Fragrance adventurers and skin care discoverers.
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