Full price comparison of 2025's biggest beauty advent calendars - and how to bag over £1,000 of 'free' products
Unity Blott
Featured Image Credit: Tyla
We may not be in December yet, but beauty advent season has officially arrived.
Dropping earlier each year, these cult festive boxes are filled with beauty products in the place of traditional chocolate treats and have gained collectible status, with waitlists in the thousands and many selling out within minutes.
And with everyone from ASOS to LUSH, L'Occitane and Liberty jumping on the bandwagon, it’s not hard to see why.
While some of the more luxurious pieces can cost upwards of £200, they’re considered a serious investment for beauty lovers as the value of the contents usually far outweighs the cost of buying the products individually.
But which advent calendars offer the best value for money in 2025 - and what’s inside? Buckle up for a deep-dive into this year's offering - and be sure to check back here for updates and reviews as they drop.
Additional reporting by Yasmin Thomas, Rhiannon Ingle, Alex Lansdown, Madison Burgess, Becky Mills, Lucy Sarret, Saskia Calliste, Danielle Fowler, Niamh Pugh, Jess Battison, Emily Puckering and Chloe Jackson.
If you’re looking for a reasonably price Christmas beauty advent calendar, then Avon has absolutely got you covered. From fruity flavoured mini perfumes, several tubes of mascara so you’ll never run out and skincare that is perfect for any clean girl aesthetic lovers, you’re definitely in for a treat. Although slightly fidgety, the 24 boxes have a new surprise for every single day of December. It’s the perfect gift for you, your mum, your sister or even your in-law (if you want to impress). There’s a range of full sized and mini products that would make for great stocking fillers or perfect to throw in your handbag! The price doesn’t break the bank and you’re getting more for what you’ve paid for - which is always a bonus. You better get clearing out your makeup draw though because there’s plenty of products to choose from.
£190 (estimated)
£136 (saving £54)
Consider us besotted. The £98 ASOS Face + Body Advent Calendar may be one of the most affordable on the market, but there are some of the biggest names in beauty behind each door. Worth a whopping £406, we're talking everything from the MAC MACximal Matte Lipstick and Biodance Collagen Real Deep Face Mask to the Sunday Riley Aquamarine Melt Cleanser. The standout product is a full-sized Charlotte Tilbury Glowgasm Beauty Light Wand that everyone will fight over. Our only critique? The packaging could be a little more luxurious, as the boxes were a bit tricky to open in order, but nobody will remember that.
£406
£98 (saving £308)
At £34, Baylis & Harding’s 24-door advent calendar looks like a luxe treat, but don’t expect a bargain. The minis inside add up to about £12–£14 if you bought the full-size equivalents, so the real value is in the festive packaging and daily surprise rather than cost per ml. That said, the presentation does deliver - even if the doors are fiddly to open (thank God for long nails), you know each product is snug and won’t fall out. The scents are a mixed bag: Festive Cranberry is a classic crowd-pleaser; Plum Pudding makes me feel like a literal Christmas pudding (which, to be fair, is probably the point); Spiced Pear is the unexpected star, not too sweet and surprisingly elegant; while Candy Apple is far too sugary for my taste, though oddly earned me the most compliments. All in all, it’s a fun, fragrant countdown, but better bought for the ritual than the value.
£34.01
£600
£150 (saving £450)
£309
£175 (saving £134)
£282
£155 (saving £127)
When it comes to a beauty advent calendar, if there’s one thing Cult Beauty Is going to do is deliver. It has no faults especially with £1,100 worth of goodies that will only set you back £240. The range and quality included in this year’s calendar is completely out of this world. This year they pull out the stops and blessed buyers with luxurious brands such as Huda Beauty, Charlotte Tilbury, Sol de Janeiro and BYOMA just to name a few. You’ve got a lengthy selection of products to use and some ‘Cult Beauty Exclusives.’ It has the perfect balance of quality skin care along with quality make-up that’s sure to tickle anyone’s fancy. It doesn’t stop there though, they’ve considered the environment and offering £5 to customers when you spend £25 and send them back your empty boxes. Whether the product is for yourself or a gift, this is a 2025 essential!
£1,100+
£240 (saving £860+)
Ok, Debenhams’ Beauty Advent Calendar was a bit of a dream come true. Multiple products in many of the 25 drawers? Genius. Opening each one up really felt like a treat, even more so because it contained plenty of the stuff we use day-to-day. The contents total up to over £700 but for £150 you’re getting plenty of full-size and mini hair, skin and makeup products. From Vida Glow Marine Collagen powder and Benefit’s 24-hr Brow Setter, to a full tub of Wella Professionals hair mask and Lancôme eau de parfum, there’s a great mix of products to top up on and try out. There was a noticeably higher ratio of hair products aimed at conditioning or treating than shampoos, as well as several products aimed towards anti-ageing, which may not be for everyone. However, it’s gifting season after all and there’s so much in this calendar for what you’re paying that you just might be willing to share.
£700+
£150 (saving £550)
£1,149
£265 (saving £884)
£1,587 (estimated)
£250 (saving £1,337)
There’s a reason this one is considered the advent calendar to end all advent calendars. Immaculately presented, indulgent and packed with beauty products you’ll really use, we recommend investing before it inevitably sells out again. Inside you’ll find 30 premium products (20 full-size and 10 mini) spanning skincare, makeup, fragrance, and haircare. Our highlights included cult favourites from the likes of Augustinus Bader, La Mer, Paula’s Choice and Trinny London, plus a few extras which we won’t mention so as not to spoil the surprise. Retailing at £275, the calendar is valued at over £1,245, making it one of the highest-worth offerings of the season. That’s more than four times its price tag; a serious return on investment for anyone looking to refresh their beauty shelf before the new year. And if that weren’t enough, a handful of lucky recipients will also discover a hidden ‘golden ticket’ for a £1,000 Liberty gift voucher tucked behind one of the doors.
£1,245
£275 (saving £970)
This year’s Liz Earle Advent Calendar is a true treat for skincare lovers. Each day brings a beautifully packaged surprise to add to your skincare routine. Our personal favourite was the Hot Cloth Cleanser, which leaves skin feeling incredibly soft, smooth, and completely refreshed. The smell from each product is amazing, too. You can smell the scents of many products even before opening them, adding an extra layer of excitement. From soothing cleansers to nourishing creams, every item is made with natural ingredients your skin will thank you for, leaving no body part unpampered! Overall, the calendar is perfect for anyone who loves treating themselves (or gifting skincare luxury, but where's the fun in that?) With its premium ingredients and luxurious scents, it truly feels like a full-body treat.
£204.40
£79 (saving £125.40)
Get ready for a festive countdown that feels like a luxury French getaway in a box. Behind its 24 doors you’ll find skincare, body, fragrance and hair treasures; from iconic shea butter hand scream to Immortelle Divine serum and almond shower oil. The full line-up is a mix of full-size heros and cute minis that are the perfect way to discover new favourites. At £149, this calendar isn’t cheap but yet its declared value is £276.50, meaning you’re getting nearly double the a value in product - that’s girl math we can get behind. Expect scent notes of verbena and cherry blossom, rich textures from their bestsellers, and that signature French charm in every drawer.
£276.50
£149 (saving £127.50)
Nothing says cosy season like a warm bath every night; and this year it's made even better by a colourful array of 25 products (a mix of LUSH classics and Christmas exclusives). If you want to smell incredible throughout the whole of December then look no further than this advent calendar. The box, a giant funky cardboard house with the products behind each door, is a huge selling point in itself. Once you get inside, you have 18 bath bombs and seven bubble bars, including fan favourites, festive specials and five products that are exclusive to gifting so you won’t find them on the shop floor. From citrus to candyfloss, there’s a really good mix of different scents and the bubble bars can be used more than once, making it great value. I would definitely choose this for myself and it also makes a great gift for other bath lovers. After all, who doesn’t want a bath bomb in the shape of a sprout?
£125
If you’re worried about the risk of buying a beauty calendar and not using most of the products in there, you don’t have to worry about that with Molton Brown. While it’s priced at a significant £230, it is potentially the most practical calendar we’ve seen. Jam-packed with deliciously scented products, it’s going to make the bathroom your favourite place in the house. For us, the highlight is the sheer amount of perfumes in this box, eight in total! If you’re someone that has a handbag for every occasion, you’ve now got a perfume to go in each of them too. The notes of every single product are addictive and they’ll have you turning your head to see who smells so good, until you realise it’s you. From bubble bath to shower gel, they’ve fit it all in here, with scents lasting so long that you’ll be set until next Christmas. Also, who doesn’t love an extremely tiny candle, right?
£230
£340+
£165 (saving £175+)
£530+
£175 (saving £355+)
N/A
£112 (saving N/A)
PLT’s advent calendar has some beauty essentials (like Carmex and Oh My Lash lashes) but also surprised us with a few hidden gems like the Peter Thomas Roth Gold Mask, Pixi products and Coco + Eve’s hair mask that smells divine. The make-up products are generally more suited to lighter skin shades: the Doll Smash Devotion Blush Stick, the Sosu Lipstick in Naïve Nude and the tanning products won’t suit all darker complexions but you can always dish them out to your friends. Inclusivity aside, the burgundy packaging looked luxurious and aesthetically pleasing; very on-theme for the gift-giving season.
£318
£100 (saving £218)
£100+
£50 (saving £50+)
£1,136
£250 (saving £886)
£92+
£48 (saving £44+)
£1,150
£260 (saving £890)
Those on the hunt for a more affordable beauty advent calendar might want to check out Trouble Maker’s 25 Days of Trouble advent calendar, which can be snapped up for the more-than-reasonable price tag of £40. We have to admit that for the price point, we were a little sceptical about what the quality of the products would be like, but we were very pleasantly surprised. The range of goodies behind the doors is so big that you could create a whole new makeup routine. In total, the calendar treats beauty addicts to a mascara, two primers, two eye liners, two eyeshadow pallets, brow gel, setting spray, a shimmer gloss, peptide lip balm, several lip glosses, setting powder, makeup sponge, highlighter, blusher and three ‘snugs’ designed to hold products in. Personal highlights were the ‘Bouncy Blush stain’ and ‘Juno Juice’ lip gloss, which stood the test of time during a day at the office. The only downside was that a few of the doors contained accessories to hold certain products in, such as the Mist Snug Accessory in Twinkle Pink, which I felt wouldn’t get much use and served more as filler. Overall, 25 Days of Trouble is a budget-friendly calendar that could make for a fantastic refresher to your makeup routine.
£80
£40 (saving £40)
If you’re someone who enjoys gorgeous-smelling baths and fragrances (and let's face it, who isn't?), then this is the advent calendar for you. Containing 24 vegan bath and body treats, the William Morris 'Sunflower Swan' design calendar is packed with uplifting fragrances that are packed with botanical extracts, shea butter and aromatic essential oils. This stunning calendar - which is inspired by two designs from the mesmerising William Morris Gallery archives, and features braille on each door - includes four 40g bath salts, three 30ml bath foams, three 10g bath fizzers, seven 15ml hand creams, one 15ml body cream, one 30ml hand cream, and a 10ml pulse point oil. Literally perfection for any bath lover! The festive feel of this calendar, along with its soft velvet bow, multiple botanical scents and luxurious bathing products, makes for the perfect gift this Christmas… but we absolutely won’t judge if you want to treat yourself before the festive chaos begins!
£80+
£45 (saving £35)
Featuring four full-sized products worth £164 alone, this one is a real treat for beauty lovers with (let’s face it) expensive taste. Plus, they'll never need to buy travel minis again thanks to the whopping seven perfumes, all beautifully packaged in adorable miniature versions of their full-sized counterparts. On the makeup front, there’s everything from mascaras to lipsticks - and a generous skincare selection makes this a worthy investment. Come for the gorgeous packaging, stay for the mini Marrakech candle that gives off a suitably festive neroli scent.
£490 approx
£346 (saving £44)