The Best 2021 Beauty Advent Calendars To Get Yourself Before They Sell Out
They're also a good excuse to sample a brand's top-sellers—generally at a discount. For instance, Liberty London's annual advent calendar (you'll see in a second if you scroll) offers over a thousand dollars worth of beauty and skin care you can get for under $300. The trick is buying it before everyone else gets their hands on a box.
So, what are you waiting for? Keep on reading for the best beauty advent calendars this year, and we'd add to cart ASAP if we were you.
Best makeup advent calendars

This 12-day advent calendar offers a special collection of Benefit bestsellers in mini and “fun” sizes (the total value amounts to $140), including the popular They’re Real! Mascara and the new They’re Real! Magnet Mascara, as well as the brand’s 24-Hr Brow Setter and two POREfessional products, Pore Primer and Hydrate Primer.

Twelve makeup and skin-care products—designed to create a full look—are featured in this “treasure chest” that looks like a pretty jewelry box, complete with jewel-handled drawers. The full- and travel-sized products (total value $283) include Multi Miracle Glow, Goddess Skin Clay Mask, and Charlotte’s Magic Serum Crystal Elixir, as well as a new, exclusive color for the Colour Chameleon eyeshadow pencil, called Pillow Talk.

Exclusive to Anthropologie, this beauty advent calendar is cute and festive, depicting an Anthropologie storefront that features a cat, a penguin, a French Bulldog, a toasting couple, Christmas and Hanukkah symbols, and more. The 24 samples (a $275 value) feature brands like Mario Badescu, Sunday Riley, Caudalie, and Living Proof, while the products range from foot cream to hand cream to a few fragrances.

Not only are e.l.f. products free from phthalates, parabens, nonylphenol ethoxylates, triclosan, triclocarban, and hydroquinone, but they’re also vegan and cruelty-free! Their 2021 advent calendar is perfect for that ingredient-conscious friend. These 24 bestsellers (in both mini and full sizes) include makeup (Lip Lacquer, Instant Lift Brow Pencil), skin-care (Gentle Peeling Exfoliant, No Budge Eyeliner) and even beauty tools (Blending Brush, Eyelash Curler).

Considered one of the more luxurious beauty advent calendars, Liberty London includes 25 high-end products that are all together worth over $1,100 (the highest value yet). The calendar includes beloved brands like Le Labo, Olaplex, Davines, Malin+Goetz, and more—covering makeup, hair, perfume, and skin care.
Best skin-care advent calendars

Only available at Saks, La Mer’s 2021 advent calendar offers skin-care products for every part of the body—The Eye Concentrate, The Lip Balm, The Intensive Revitalizing Mask, and much more—plus, of course, Crème de la Mer (because how could they not?). The design that’s revealed when you open the gift box is pretty in and of itself, full of rich colors and whimsical illustrations. Pre-order now.

Got a friend who likes beauty brands that offer cruelty-free, sustainable, Fair Trade products? Here’s a great choice for their holiday gift this year. This advent calendar’s packaging looks like a Christmas pop-up book, and each day offers a little box with both a product and a suggested small act of kindness. The calendar (a $174 value) contains everything from Strawberry Soap to Mango Shower Gel to a Vitamin C Sheet Mask, to all the body butters you could dream of.

Every door here leads to a luxurious Dr. Barbara Sturm product that’s beloved by all, including the cleanser, lip balm, face cream, anti-aging hand cream, brightening serum, and more. For the 24 days leading up to the holidays, unwrap a mini (or deluxe!) version of all your faves that are said to be inspired by Dr. Sturm’s own mother’s advent calendars.

If you’re looking for a practical-but-fun stocking stuffer (well, not literally; this wouldn’t quite fit!) or an item that could be part of a larger gift, look no more. This ChapStick set includes special holiday flavors like Candy Cane and Sugar Cookie, as well as Cake Batter, Cotton Candy, Passion Fruit, and more—plus the Classic Original, of course.

What a fun design for an advent calendar, beauty or otherwise—Origins’ calendar (a $125 value) includes 12 little gift boxes, each one designed as a festive train car. The gifts include three Dr. Andrew Weil for Origins products (such as the Mega-Mushroom Relief & Resilience Soothing Face Mask), two GinZing items (like the Into The Glow Brightening Serum), and much more. All are free of parabens, phthalates, propylene glycol, formaldehyde, sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), mineral oil, petrolatum, paraffin, diethanolamine (DEA), and polyethylene beads.

One nice thing about this advent calendar (exclusive to Saks, and now available for preorder) is that, unlike many others, it features 14 beauty brands. The skin-care and hair-care products include items from Sunday Riley, Briogeo, and Eve Lom. In a nice touch, the stylish (and well-organized!) box features labels with each item’s purpose: Brighten, Nourish, Detox, Exfoliate, Hydrate, and so on.

It would be tough to find a beauty advent calendar that’s more fun, colorful, and Christmas-y than this one from Kiehl’s. The theme shows New York City as a “magical dreamland,” with everything from a NYC yellow cab to a pizza slice (no Pizza Rat, alas). In each of the 24 decorated drawers is a mini version of a bestselling product, including their Midnight Recovery Concentrate, Ultra Facial Cleanser, Amino Acid Shampoo, and of couse, Creme de Corps (total value $245).
Best perfume advent calendar

This is not just a perfume advent calendar—it’s THE perfume advent calendar we wait for every year. Surprise yourself with 24 Jo Malone scents and reuse the box as a jewelry tray when you’re done (it’s sturdy and beautiful enough to do so). Preorder now before it sells out.
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