Beauty Advent Calendars 2026

MSE_Olivia

Hi all, MSE Olivia here.

It's that time again! Beauty Advent calendars are being released earlier and earlier each year, and I'd love to know your thoughts on the ones available so far. Are there any that take your fancy? Did you buy one last year, and if so, what did you make of it?

I've analysed 21 beauty Advent calendars in my latest blog, and will cover more as they launch.

Emmia

I didn't buy one last year, and so far I've not been tempted this year, I considered Liberty (again) and could do a preorder and get a discount as a beauty box subscriber, but I honestly don't think I'd use enough of the products - so I'd end up having to sell them on Vinted etc.

Last year I had a Little's coffee pod advent calendar which was great so I'll probably do something like that again.

Sarahspangles

My skin is sensitive so until this year I’d never considered buying an advent calendar. I generally stick to products that I know I’m not allergic to, which don’t cause irritation - it’s a pretty low bar! After one of my usual buys was reformulated, causing a reaction, I bought a L’Occitane Shea butter travel kit, which is essentially tester sizes. I liked this collection, but it’s possibly a bit too rich. So I’ve now got the Classic advent calendar. It offers nothing like the supposed savings of multi-brand calendars - “£99 for £192 worth”. However out of 24 products there are only three which I suspect will trigger a reaction. Two are shampoo/ conditioner which my partner can use. Of the rest, I’m sure most will be usable whether or not they become my new staple buy.

As an aside, I’ve noticed Vinted is flooded with what look like beauty box and advent contents. I’ve got a pretty good idea of how much cleanser, moisturiser etc I can get through in a year, if people are buying this stuff knowing they’re going to resell a lot of it, that’s its real value! I just hope they’re not actually opening things, and that they move them on quickly. I use a batch code checker website to see when products were made to make sure I’m not getting expired stock.