Beauty advent calendars have become a highlight of the festive shopping season, selling out before you’ve clicked buy or joined a waiting list. That’s understandable, they’re a joyful way to bring some festive cheer to a dark, cold December after all, and a much-needed seasonal hit of dopamine via a daily dose of beauty. Beyond this, they also provide a smart way to try a curated selection of products in smaller sizes before investing in a full-sized version, but there’s another, unrecognised bonus here too.
Instead of doing the last-minute sweep at the airport pharmacy for travel minis (guilty…) the bounty you’ll find in beauty advent calendars also works perfectly for globetrotters. And, if you like the product enough to buy the full size, the smaller pot makes it easy to decant into and reuse as your own travel mini.
With so many beauty advent calendars on offer, finding the perfect one is beyond overwhelming. Our advice: use your travel style to find the perfect match and get in quick.
Best beauty advent calendars for frequent travellers
If you travel constantly, let your advent calendar take the stress out of your trips by giving you what you really want for the year ahead. With a super useful beauty selection that comes in a multiple of sizes, you’ll never be caught short without a mini shampoo to pack on weekend breaks, a relaxing face oil to soothe skin on overnight flights or a travel candle to help ease any jetlag. Our advice? Stash them all in a wash bag, so when your next trip is imminent, you can simply grab them and go.
Bobbi Brown Advent Calendar
Ideal for business travellers, the Bobbi Brown 12 days of Glow Advent calendar, £195, houses a selection of their cult items in a mixture of sizes. The Vitamin Enriched Face Base is the ultimate make-up base and is great for dehydrated plane skin. And there’s a selection of full and mini-sized make-up, including their much-loved long-wear cream shadows that are perfect for creating effortless make-up looks on the go, with zero blending/brushes necessary.
Selfridges Beauty Advent Calendar
Selfridges Beauty Advent Calendar, £220, is always something of a marvel. Valued at a massive £1,094, it’s packed with 32 beauty treasures (16 are full-sized), with numbered drawers holding items from Paco Rabanne, Lisa Eldridge, Augustinus Bader and Pleasing. It essentially has everything you’d ever need in terms of travel beauty, from a glam trip far away through to a local spa weekend with friends. It’s definitely one for the beauty aficionados.
Harry’s Advent Calendar
And, finally, Harry’s Advent Calendar, £69, is the gift that keeps on giving and contains a mix of razors, refills, stands, nail clippers and a huge selection of travel grooming products with a bag to house it all in. Everything you’d need to look sharp, when travelling. It was a sell-out last year…just in case you’re on the fence. (Launching soon, click below to join the waiting list.)
Best beauty advent calendars for carry on luggage only
If impromptu city breaks with only carry-on luggage are your jam, then these advent calendars are for you. It’s a given that the mini beauty buys that come with advent calendars are the perfect size for hand luggage requirements, but they’re also a fun way to experiment with new products and new looks when you’re in new cities and feeling a tad more uninhibited.
Liberty’s Advent Beauty Calendar
Liberty’s beauty calendar, £245, is worth over £1,065 and contains 30 of their buyers’ must-haves and beauty hall bestsellers. Pick from Sunday Riley, Vilhelm Parfumerie, Kate Somerville, Larry King and many more incredible must-try products. And, for the lucky five, there’s a golden ticket with £1000 to spend in store. This is the calendar that has everything you’d need for short trips, and so much more. (Launching on 28th September – join the waitlist
here and get reminders; this one is always a sellout.)
The Anthropologie Beauty Advent Calendar
Anthropologie’s calendar is just £78 (worth £300) and is full of products to stash in your carry-on and your nightstand alike. You’ll want to keep the SISTER & CO: Myrtle Bath Oil on hand for when the Air Bnb is somewhat lacking and for last minute getaways the Up Circle Cleanser is the perfect weekend size. But our favourite are the three Floral Street 1.5ml minis in Wonderland Peony, Sunflower Pop & Sweet Almond Blossom – they really help anchor your memories to a place, even if it’s just a speedy overnight or day trip.
Sephora Beauty Advent Calendar
Another multi-brand calendar that’s really on our radar this year is the Sephora Beauty Advent Calendar, £139. With 34 beauty treats (17 of which are full-sized) from Elemis, Huda Beauty, Nars and Neom – it will have your travel beauty stash nailed for an entire year – it’s very impressive for the price as well as being super useful. It’s available to preorder now.
Clarins Men Beauty Advent Calendar
Finally, Clarins Men’s calendar, £65, contains hard-working favourites like the Clarins Men Energising Eye Gel and Clarins MenActive face wash in handy travel sizes, perfect to grab and go for impromptu weekends away.
Beauty advent calendars for fans of multi-destination trips
Chances are the scent of the hotel lobby or jasmine flowers warmed by the afternoon sun are so evocative that whenever you smell them, or even something similar, you’ll recall your most cherished holidays in an instant. The reason: the olfactory bulb runs from the nose to the base of our brains and has a connection to our amygdala, the part of our brain that processes emotion and the hippocampus, which looks after memory.
Some studies report higher levels of brain activity from scented stimuli than from visual stimuli. That’s why scent is such a vital part of our travels and having a selection of scents can help to embed incredible memories and recall them in a whiff. Having a new scent for each place we visit can really help embed this.
The Jo Malone Advent Calendar
Jo Malone’s advent calendar, £350 is, as you’d imagine, a thing of absolute joy. This year the packaging is gingerbread inspired and it includes 25 mini Jo Malone treats including miniature colognes and deliciously scented travel candles that are a pleasure to use, both home and abroad. It’s available online from 29 September 2023. Sign up to the waiting list
here.
Penhaligon’s The Toy Chest Advent Calendar
This calendar, £395, makes the ideal gift for scent and travel fans alike. It contains a selection of classic and very useful 10ml scents, mini candles (ideal for making a holiday rental more homely), plus scented body products to ensure each destination on your voyage feels luxurious, and smells like it too.
Fresh 24 Beauty Icons Advent Calendar
Although it’s not strictly fragrance, Fresh 24 Beauty Icons Advent Calendar, £298, includes 24 of the brands most-loved skin and bodycare icons, all with refreshing, unique and memorable scents. So if wearing fragrance isn’t your jam, but you still want a hit of scent, this could be the one for you. (Launching 1st October)
Best beauty advent calendars for spa and retreat fans
Having a travel kit of chill-inducing beauty products on hand is the perfect way to take the spa experience with you wherever you’re staying. Particularly if you want to evoke a little relaxation each day wherever you’re staying; be it luxury glamping or a rented cottage.
SENSAI Advent Calendar
Skincare addicts should invest in the SENSAI Advent Calendar, £308 which has 24 of this Japanese luxury brand’s best-selling skincare, body care and makeup icons. Our favourites are the Purifying Cleanser, the Total Eye Treatment and Total Lip Treatment – they’re perfect for giving your washbag a spa-like upgrade. It’s available from October from
Harrods and
sensai-cosmetics.com.
ESPA Wellness Advent Calendar
Take a look at ESPA’s calendar, £175 (worth £419), too, which houses aromatic mini products to bring that spa-like feeling to wherever you’re staying, and if you’re a fan of fitness retreats use the Fitness Shower Gel after anything strenuous for some serious relaxation and muscle recovery. And the positivity pulse point oil and the winter spice candle are ideal for a meditation moment.
Elemis First Class Advent Calendar
Finally Elemis’s calendar, £189, is packed with smart skincare goodies, fragrant bathing delights (the Frangipani Monoi Bathing Cream is divine) and nourishing body care that means this is essentially, an at-home spa in a calendar. Know anyone who needs a little self care in their life? This is for them.
Best beauty advent calendars for living the party life
If the more hedonistic side of Ibiza, Mykonos and Miami are highlights of your year, now’s the time to take advantage of the mini make-up products that advent calendars bestow. They’re vital as clutch bag staples and save you from potentially losing a full-sized product on a night out, followed by untold woes the next morning (we’ve been there…).
Charlotte’s Lucky Chest Of Beauty Secrets
Try Charlotte Tilbury’s advent calendar, £160, for a mixture of ultra covetable make-up and skincare treats. Some are full size, like the iconic Magic Cream and Airbrush Flawless Setting Spray but there’s plenty of mini make-up and skincare products to pop in your pocket or a bag. This is all your sun-kissed, glowy make-up essentials are covered, and you’ll probably want to keep this ‘Lucky Chest of Beauty Secrets’ as a jewellery box too.
Benefit All I Want Advent Calendar
Containing everything a beauty lover could wish for, Benefit’s All I Want Advent Calendar, £145, houses 24 days of beauty gifts and bestsellers. There’s a full-size Roller Lash Mascara, ultra cute mini Hoola Matte Bronzer and a mini POREfessional Super Setter spray to keep everything on until the wee hours, and beyond.
MAC Frosted Frenzy Advent Calendar
If you favour a more colourful approach to make-up, try this year’s offering by MAC Cosmetics, £170, which contains 24 MAC essentials (and 21 full-sized products) including mini lipsticks (which are perfect for a micro bag), eyeshadows and pro-quality products like a useful mini setting spray to party proof your hard work.
Sisley’s Advent Calendar
All partied out? Nail your skincare routine with
Sisley’s Advent Calendar, £595, decorated with collages and embroidery taken from an array of Isabelle d’Ornano cushions. Inside is a mix of Sisley and Hair Rituel by Sisley icons in a variety of sizes, including Sisleÿa L’Intégral Anti-Âge Eyes and Lips Contour Cream. Think of it as RnR for your skin.
Best beauty advent calendars for global travellers
Do you crave winter sun in St Lucia? And enjoy a jaunt to the ski slopes of Courchevel? For those who are exposed to different climates and fluctuating temperatures, a mostly skincare calendar is essential to see you through the next 12 months of travel.
The Body Shop Advent Calendar of Wonders
The Body Shop Advent Calendar of Wonders, £95, contains 25 products with a mix of body butter, shampoo, body wash and other useful minis to cover all your beauty needs and then some – no matter what the climate. It also celebrates the brand’s community fair trade partners and the packaging is recyclable.
L’Occitane Advent Calendar
L’Occitane’s Reusable Advent Calendar, £180, is made from cotton, and contains a host of their best-sellers, like the skin-softening Almond Shower Oil, the refreshing Herbae par L’OCCITANE Eau de Parfum and ultra useful Shea Intensive Hand Balm. If you’re a frequent traveller, who zips from the mountains to the beach, this calendar has you covered.
Cowshed Winter Advent Calendar
When you’re travelling extensively, sometimes you just want a little scent of home. Cowshed’s 2023 calendar, £150, has all your favourites covered, including the Relax Bath And Shower Gel and comes with a Pillow Mist and Relax candle, to instil some chill wherever you go – and whatever the timezone.
