Beauty, answered: Are beauty advent calendars actually worth buying?

Hey beauty friends, and happy Friday afternoon. Welcome to Beauty, answered, a place where I'll be delving into all the burning questions you have about everything beauty.

With autumn in full swing, and with it, the swift return of beauty advent calendars, this week I'll be looking into whether these extravagant festive treats are actually worth investing in.

We may still only be in September, but some of the best beauty advent calendars are already selling out - so which ones are actually worth your money? Find your beauty answers here...

Are beauty advent calendars worth buying?

It's been quite the journey for beauty advent calendars. Since first launching around the start of the millennium, they really began to gain traction in the 2010s, before, fast forward to 2025, almost every beauty brand on the market has some sort of festive advent offering.

In that time, we've seen calendar contents grow from minis and testers and end-of-season stock, to trending bestsellers, thoughtful necessities, and the number of full-size offerings growing by the year.

However, with increased quality (and the rapidly rising level of inflation we've seen over recent years) comes increased price. So, where in 2015, the Selfridges Advent Calendar cost £95, a decade later, it'll now set you back £250. Or No7's 2015 product was a relatively affordable £38 price, compared to its current £175 price tag.

But while the increase in price may be off-putting to some, I'd argue that, for the most part, what you're getting in return is entirely worth it.

If you're fan of a particular brand, like Elemis, Jo Loves or No7, buying an advent calendar can be a thrifty way to get a selection of your favourite products for a lot less money, with these three calendars alone offering over £1,300 of savings between them. Not all brands will offer such a high value though, however most sale pages will state the overall value of products if you want to weigh up against the price before you buy.

For the best value though, I always like to opt for a beauty multi-retailer or department store, like Lookfantastic, Sephora or Selfridges. These tend to give the highest monetary value of products for similar prices as most of the calendars on the market. It's also a way to fill out your beauty routine with a spectrum of new, trending and high-performing products for all of your different concerns. And you might even discover a new go-to.

Which advent calendars are the most worth the money?

Having had my hands on nearly every beauty advent calendar on the market for 2025, these are the three I would buy myself to get the best value...

Until next week, beauties...