In 2014, Liberty London took the Advent calendar — a time-honored tradition of daily chocolate eating and twee Christmas scenes — and beautified it, swapping out candy for a selection of its best-selling products. Needless to say, it was a hit, and many beauty retailers quickly followed suit. Now, just about everyone has a gift-worthy Advent calendar, from Space NK (which is already sold out) to YesStyle to Macy’s, each offering a curation of their greatest hits. The deals vary. Some, like the Liberty Beauty calendar, contain lots of full-size products, making them well worth the money. Others offer an assortment of travel sizes and minis, a good way to discover new brands or stock up on TSA-approved versions of things you’re already familiar with.
Below, I’ve curated the best Advent calendars available this year, many of which we’ve mentioned in years past. If you’re planning on grabbing one, I recommend shopping early, as these always tend to sell out. I’ll also be regularly updating this story as stock fluctuates and more are released, so check back often for new calendars.
The Dermstore holiday chest is sort of an Advent calendar, minus the tiny boxes. It’s the platonic ideal of an Advent calendar in that it’s a collection of products that have been popular at the retailer this year. That means you’re getting a sample of the good stuff, not just an assortment of samples that need to be disposed of by the end of Q4. It contains a mix of full- and deluxe-size products, including a brightening Skinceuticals moisturizer, Supergoop! body sunscreen, and the La Roche-Posay adapalene gel, an effective retinol alternative.
E.l.f. is also doing Advent calendar’s right. It’s under the $100 price point, contains mostly full-size items, and is a curation of the brand’s popular products with the added bonus of never-before-seen shades.
This seven-day Advent calendar from Paula’s Choice would make for a good gift for the week leading up to New Year’s. It contains seven best-selling products, including the AHA/BHA exfoliator, which we’ve said is the best toner for acne-prone skin.
Laneige, maker of the viral lip sleeping mask beloved by celebrities and beauty gurus, released an Advent calendar with a mix of its hydrating products. There’s three flavors of glowy lip balm, three mini lip sleeping masks (I love to toss these in a purse), a tub of the water sleeping mask, and a hyaluronic-acid-packed serum and moisturizer that promise glazed-doughnut skin.
Strategist senior editor Hilary Reid swears by the Clarins hand cream, which she discovered while studying abroad. She says it works better than any other she’s tried, keeping her skin moisturized for hours. That, along with 11 other products, are included in this season’s Advent calendar, which comes in a festive, gift-worthy box.
Dr. Barbara Sturm’s skin-care products are eye-wateringly expensive, but fans will tell you they’re worth the money. The Advent calendar contains 24 different products and costs $560, which feels steep until you remember that a full-size face cream costs $240. With this, you’ll get a range of the brand’s offerings, including the hyaluronic serum, which Rio Viera-Newton has said is “really great.”
M.A.C’s Advent calendar looks like a stack of gold presents and has 24 days of surprises. It includes a mix of full- and mini-size products, many of which are staples of the brand. Case in point: There’s a tube of my very first lip gloss, M.A.C Lipglass, along with a few tubes of the classic M.A.C lipstick in an array of holiday-appropriate shades.
For the bath enthusiast, an assortment of festive bath bombs and lotions from Lush. There are 24 days of surprises, and it comes in a highly giftable box designed by Tess Gilmartin, a member of Blue Room, an inclusive arts program based in the U.K.
This year, Olive & June is doing two calendars: Christmas and Hanukkah. The Christmas calendar includes 25 days of surprises: travel-size versions of the brand’s manicure accessories, two limited-edition nail polish shades — Blitzen, a cool-toned cranberry shimmer, and Tangled Lights, a charcoal with rainbow glitter — a stick-on manicure, and festive medium-length metallic green press-ons. The Hanukkah calendar has eight days’ worth of products and its own assortment of limited-edition nail polish shades. There’s How Do You Like Your Latkes?, a shimmery seafoam green, and Miracle, a glittery blue. There’s also a medium-length press-on kit (a glitter-blue French with a white bow) and deep-blue stick-on tabs for extra-short nails. Both kits include a mini version of the hand-stabilizing Poppy, which makes it easier to paint with your nondominant hand. The calendars are currently available for preorder and begin shipping in mid to late October.
Manucurist’s selling point is its gel-alternative nail polish, which wears similarly (it still needs a UV lamp to cure) but doesn’t adhere to the nail so strongly and is less damaging to remove. The brand’s Advent calendar comes with an assortment of neutral pinks and a pop of red along with nail-nourishing serums and a hand cream.
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