Let’s Compare the 2026 Beauty Advent Calendars Coming Out This Year!
While September may only just be around the corner, my head is already in December. The moment I feel the first chill in the air is the moment I start planning my winter wardrobe and Christmas plans. I simply love Christmas so much: it has so many iconic duos. Cold weather and warm candles, early darkness and fairy lights, jolly markets and hot chocolates to go. Need I go on?
One thing I love about the Christmas season in particular is all the winter and holiday collections coming out in the make-up industry. One of these is, of course, the Advent calendar. Now, I know beauty Advent calendars are not exactly new, but they do introduce me to products I would not have tried otherwise. Sometimes this leads to me finding new favourites; sometimes it leads to me giving most of it away to my mother. Either way, it is a happy occasion. Often, I just like the experience of getting to know a product, whether I end up continuing to use it or not.
On top of that, I really, really, really want more than just make-up. I plan to end every December day by opening a present and pampering myself with it, either that night or the following morning. This means that I am also on the lookout for calendars that offer small treats, teas, candles, or other little luxuries such as fuzzy socks.
These self-care boxes, however, are harder to find. Often, they include things I would end up tossing, such as a random pouch or some bracelet or other. I spent quite a bit of time looking for self-care calendars without too much fluff and eventually landed on a few options I actually find interesting.
I also want to note that, because I’m shopping from Europe, I’m also paying attention to which calendars are actually available here and what they cost in euros.
So, I’ve split this overview into two sections: beauty and make-up calendars and fragrance, body and self-care calendars. I’ll also keep adding to it as more 2026 releases appear.
I’ve also compared all of the beauty calendars. Directly below this introduction, you’ll find a quick comparison table with their prices, stated values, number of full-sized products and what stands out about each one.
At the end of the post, I’ve added a much more detailed comparison. This one breaks down how many make-up, skincare, fragrance and other products each calendar contains, including how many of those are lipsticks, eyeshadows, mascaras and so on.
I’m considering getting more than one calendar myself, in which case I really don’t want to end up with the same types of products over and over again. So, if you want to know which calendar contains the most lipsticks, which one is the most make-up-heavy or which one has the most skincare, that final table is where you’ll find all the numbers.
2026 Beauty Advent Calendars at a Glance
€1,300+ Special
17 / 38 Special
Beauty & Makeup Advent Calendars
de Bijenkorf - Beauty Advent Calendar 2026
Price: €159.95 · Stated value: €850 · View the Bijenkorf calendar
For anyone unfamiliar, de Bijenkorf is a department store known for the luxury brands it carries. I like visiting the Amsterdam location for its numerous beauty counters, many of which you won’t find elsewhere in the city.
For the coming holiday season, they have selected all sorts of products from a variety of brands to create a balanced advent calendar that allows for plenty of exploration. I saw a picture of everything that will be included, but because I don’t want to spoil it for myself, I deliberately avoided looking too closely at the specifics. I could make out a couple of items, though, so I will zoom in on the ones that stood out to me.
I am, for example, very excited to see a MAC lipstick included, as well as a NARS Multiple stick. Both brands are among my favourites, and I’m excited to see exactly which shades I get when I open them. I can also see a miniature Gisou hair mask, of which I already own the full-size version. But there are also brands I’ve been wanting to try, such as Caudalie, Dr. Jart+ and Fugazzi.
There are some staple items in there too, which are usually pretty fail-safe. By this, I mean products such as a Laura Mercier powder, a Charlotte Tilbury setting spray, and a body lotion. You know, those are the kinds of things that will always come in handy.
The box itself stands upright and has an almost checkered pattern that reminds me of wrapping paper. The numbers on the individual boxes are reflective gold, while the main colour of the calendar is a really cute baby pink.
The website states that the calendar has an approximate value of €850, and it retails for €159.95.
*I have bought this one while writing this post!
Cult Beauty - Beauty Advent Calendars
Price: €285 each · Stated value: €1,100+ each · View the Cult calendar
Cult Beauty offers two editions of its advent calendar: the Signature Edition and the Special Edition. Honestly, calling one Special and one Signature makes me feel like the Signature Edition is not special, then? They probably should have gone with a different name, but I digress. One notable distinction between the two is that the Special Edition contains perfumes and is therefore subject to shipping restrictions, while the Signature Edition can be shipped worldwide.
There is quite a bit of overlap between the two boxes. Both contain the same Westman Atelier mascara, Dr. Levy cream, L’Occitane shower oil, Make Up For Ever colour crayon and Milk Makeup primer. And it kind of goes on and on: there are several more identical products, and I am not even halfway down the list yet. So, it seems like the differences between the two boxes are tiny. The boxes both do include the Medik8 Advanced Pro-Collagen Peptide Cream, which seems really good. For this box, that would be the star player for me.
While looking into the products, I also saw people online pointing out that some are repeats from last year’s advent calendar. So, if you did get last year’s calendar, I would check how much overlap there is before deciding whether one of these is worth getting again.
From the pictures, I can tell that neither seems particularly make-up-heavy, and I am not looking for too much skincare or haircare. The Special Edition does have one item I am interested in, which is a miniature of Kilian’s Angels’ Share. It is a pricey perfume, but it intrigues me. It seems decadent. I want to sniff it, and apparently there’s a store not too far from me that stocks it. This may be a TBC moment.
Sephora - Advent Calendar 2026 European Edition
Price: €TBA · Stated value: €TBA · View the Sephora calendar
This is one of the calendars I was most excited about, but the more I read about it, the more disappointed I get. I figured it would be makeup-heavy as well as seasonal and festive. Sadly, it seems to have let me down in both departments.
Before I delve any deeper, though, let me say that, as a Dutch girl, the version I can actually order is the European box. Now, let me break it down.
Nothing about the design of this box screams Christmas or festivities to me. It has the strong Sephora look, consisting of its signature black-and-white stripes, along with what looks like a musical note on the front of the box. That is kind of it. Disappointing. I don’t want to put that under my tree, as it just looks like an ad for them, like a marketing prop. It’s the same reason I have such a strong dislike for shirts with brand names on them. I don’t want to be a walking ad!! I just want something festive under my tree!
Now for the second and bigger offence: the contents. Or at least, what we know of them so far, as we don’t have the full list yet. I really wanted an eyeshadow palette, and they delivered. But then you look at the colours and it’s all... mattes and neutrals. Like, what? It’s Christmas! Where is the glitter? The shimmer? The sparkle? The joy?
The other products revealed so far don’t pique my interest enough to make me want to buy the entire thing, but they might interest you: a Gisou styling cream, a Sol de Janeiro body mist, a Haus Labs lip lacquer, a Phlur perfume and more. Some of the products sound nice, but then again, if these are supposed to be the stars of the show, I don’t particularly need to see what the rest will be like.
Anthropologie - 24 Days of Beauty Advent Calendar 2026
Price: €115 · Stated value: €400+ · View the Anthropologie calendar
This calendar screams at me. Just look at it! The hand-drawn look is exactly what I’m craving in this AI era, and the whole design is so whimsical. The artwork feels playful and personal, and it is such a nice change from some of the sleeker, more branded boxes I have come across.
One thing I really have to give this calendar is that it holds some genuinely interesting items. There aren’t many of the typical, tired products or brands in here either. There’s a hair tie, a candle, a lip gloss, separate SPF products for the face and lips, a hand wash, a pillow spray, flyaway hair gel and eye patches. They even include a beauty-adjacent wellness item: two sachets of electrolyte powder, which I am honestly interested in trying.
I really enjoy how diverse this calendar is. I actually think it would make a perfect gift, because it is hard not to find a use for most of what is inside, whether the individual products become favourites or not. You will use the lip balm, because, hello, do you ever really not use lip balm? You will use the eye patches, the hand cream and the SPF. These are products that naturally work their way into your routine. This is a very useful calendar.
PLUS, it will look adorable under the tree. Seriously.
The price is also very good. Sure, there are no MAC or NARS products in here, but I feel like this calendar is trying to do something different. It feels less focused on big prestige names and more focused on variety, discovery and products you can actually incorporate into everyday life. It is friendlier to your wallet, and I think it would suit a much wider range of people.
This is also the reason I would recommend this one as a gift. It is such a people-pleasing calendar that I cannot imagine someone not having a good time with this one.
The calendar contains 25 products, 17 of which are full size, with Anthropologie putting their combined value at £400. It currently retails for €115, making it one of the more affordable options in this overview.
LOOKFANTASTIC- Iconic Beauty Advent Calendar 2026
Price: €140 · Stated value: €771 · View the LOOKFANTASTIC calendar
The only item I would definitely be happy with in this box is the MAC Fix+ setting spray, and then it stops there. There’s no make-up in here. The more I’m going through these boxes, the more confused I’m getting. Beauty means make-up, right? And skincare includes things such as… creams and lotions etc? Call the monkey by its name: skincare advent calendars.
Now, this box does have a mascara, a brow gel, and a translucent powder. But I am not interested in an expensive brow gel that requires a brush and the mascara does not have enough pull to sway me for the entire box. The powder in this box doubles as the one in the Bijenkorf box that I own. So, that’s me out.
Another thing that stood out to me was the inclusion of The White Company Amalfi Lemon Home Spray. Personally, a fresh lemony scent is not something I associate with winter at all. I want warm, cosy, festive scents at Christmas, so something called Amalfi Lemon feels very summery to me. It is not necessarily a bad product, but it does feel a little out of place in a festive advent calendar. This brings me to the look of the box itself. The inside is a shade of coral. Coral? It seems they are confused about the season.
Then there is the marketing. The promotional video for the calendar was just some... like... red gloves doing a Rubik’s Cube? How hard is it to hang up some fairy lights!! I do not understand the marketing angle here.
Sure, you could say: fairy lights? For Christmas? Groundbreaking! But what I am saying is, what do a Rubik’s Cube, red leather gloves and what looks like a medical jacket have to do with Christmas? I suppose the colours are... Christmassy? But I am so for real when I say that I just don’t get it. We are counting down to Christmas and getting excited about it, yet they don’t seem to want the packaging or marketing to reflect that or spark any of that excitement.
Selfridges Beauty Advent Calendar 2026
Price: €315 · Stated value: £1,278 · View the Selfridges calendar
One moment I love this one, then the next I don’t. It’s hard to make my mind up!
I heavily dislike the blush palette that’s in here, and would have preferred eyeshadows. I just, am not a pink blush girl! I am also entering a purple era I fear will last at least until next spring. But then, there is the Marc Jacobs eyeshadow. Does someone know, though, why they went with a brown?
Another product I spotted was a Sol de Janeiro shower oil. Sol de Janeiro is a bit tired at this point, yet I see them in all the boxes. The paddywax candle is kind of cute, but does not scream festive/winter/christmas to me.
There is a Gucci mascara, another setting spray from Charlotte Tilbury, eye patches and something called Bee Venom. I also spotted what looks like a candle, a nail file and a sheet mask.
While I like it enough, I cannot justify the price. The Bee Venom product retails for €220 for 30ml, which might have something to do with why it is so pricey. This did lead me to question how they are sourcing actual bee venom, whether this is ever ethical, and made me sad all over again that the bees are struggling.
Also, IF YOU HAVE AN ALLERGY TO BEE STINGS: DO NOT USE THIS PRODUCT!
They are asking €315 for the calendar. That seems quite steep, but Selfridges says the calendar contains 40 products and is worth £1,278. Of course, €220 of that value is coming from the Bee Venom serum alone.
Space NK Beauty Advent Calendar 2026
Price: €316 · Stated value: £1,200+ · View the Space NK calendar
I had really high hopes for this one, as I saw so many people raving about it online.
The box itself looks really cute! Icy blue with ornaments plastered all over! I can see a pink nutcracker on the front, and an orange slice, pink bells going off. I can imagine this looking like a wrapped present under the tree, rather than something actively being used, such as an advent calendar, you know? To me, this is a good thing.
When you open it up, it’s all pink. All. Pink. I love it. How can you not?
But then you get to the products…
Sol de Janeiro, again. Every box seems to have it. Boring. Gisou hair perfume, which I do want. There’s many items I do not know, which can work out amazingly or disappointingly. It seems very skin and body care-heavy, and the makeup items are mostly small items: lip pencil, lip gloss, mascara, eyeliner. While those items are fun, it doesn’t seem like there’s a product in here with a WOW-factor, you know? There is a Caudalie product in here that I am very interested in, and the Olaplex 3 mask. But for €316, I might as well just buy those items separately.
Harrods Beauty Advent Calendar 2026
Price: €350 · Stated value: €TBA · View the Harrods calendar
This box is beautiful. It has a drawing of the Harrods building in a reflective gold. I remember when I was a teen… Gosh, this must have been half my life ago, when my mother and I went to London, and we walked past this place. It was autumn, and it was beautiful, impressive.
The colors are neutral and classy. The reflect makes it festive, while the cream keeps it toned down. It’s very nice and understated, I like it. The inside looks the same as the outside.
As for the products, I see a ColorWow hairspray, which is an item I’d be super excited to try! I’m always on the hunt for a nice hairspray, and even a bad one is good enough to use up. There’s a NARS eyeshadow stick that I can’t see the shade of, and a SISLEY lipstick that looks absolutely gorgeous. I see a face, eye, and hairmask, an hourglass ambient lighting blush, a very dense, thick makeup brush, and a lash curler.
Those are all really good items. I am definitely pondering over this one… The only thing holding me back is the price. Is it even fun to unbox these items when the entire calendar is so expensive?
Debenhams Beauty Advent Calender 2026
Price: £120 · Stated value: £528 each · View the Debenhams calendar
I have tried to find information on this one, but they’re keeping their cards close to their chest. What I’ve been able to find is that it contains hair gummies, a lash serum, a bright pink lipbalm, a lipliner, a tacky sleep mask, a benefit mascara and an eyeshadow palette that did not really look like an eyeshadow palette, but more like a highlighter.
The dark purple flower design of the outside of the box looks cute. Looks like wrapping paper. This would blend in with other gifts under the tree.
This calendar holds 29 items, 13 being fullsize, but I am just not excited about it.
This calendar does have much better value than the other ones, but man is its content lackluster.
Next.
Fragrance, Body & Self-Care Advent Calendars 2026
I really really, really want a self-care, maybe even a bookish Advent calendar, and I’ve tried to find one that combines everything I want, but apparently it does not exist!! I was hoping I could find one that would offer a book or two, tea, some treats maybe, fluffy socks, a scented candle, perhaps a silk sleeping bonnet, pillowcase or eye mask. But no. I cannot find it. How is that possible?
Maybe I’ve found a hole in the market that I can fill, or maybe I’ll just pick up a Christmas-themed “blind date with a book” at the bookstore.
Do not fret, it is only August, and I will not stop looking! At least not yet!!
I am also after a fragrance calendar, as it seems really fun and experimental to wear whatever perfume you get that day, as well as a general self-care or bath-and-body type of calendar. I don’t think many of these are out yet, though, so forgive me if this part feels a little incomplete.
Look Fantastic - Iconic Scents Advent Calendar
Price: €175 · Stated value: €610 · View the LOOKFANTASTIC Scents calendar
While their beauty calendar did not excite me, their perfume calendar has me raising my eyebrow and stroking my chin. Yes, I am definitely plotting to acquire this one.
I used to work in a store similar to Sephora, where I’d be around makeup and perfume on the daily. I always came out smelling so good, and I miss that. I miss smelling like a perfume store. Every time I’d get off work, my friends would ask me which perfume I was wearing, and all I could say was, “All of them.”
Every perfume would get spritzed around me, and the ventilation system was working overtime trying to get some fresh air into the building, but to no avail. It was like SpongeBob trying to escape the perfumery, except instead of trying to escape, I loved it there. In fact, I have often considered going back.
Back to this calendar: I’m hoping something like this will get me excited about perfume again. I haven’t been keeping up with all the new things coming out, whereas I used to be super into it. Maybe this will give me a refresher!
NEOM - 24 Days of Wellbeing Advent Calendar 2026
Price: £199 · Stated value: £399 · View the NEOM calendar
I wasn’t actually familiar with this brand when I stumbled upon it during my research. After browsing their website, I learnt that they pride themselves on using 100% natural fragrances designed to boost your wellbeing, whether you want better sleep, less stress or more energy.
These scents come in all sorts of products, including candles, diffusers and room sprays, alongside a range of bath and body products such as essential oil roll-ons, massage candles, body washes and body butters.
This Advent calendar includes 10 full-sized products across Home Fragrance, Bath & Body and Christmas. There are three candles, including one with a special Christmas scent. I can see five body milks, butters and oils in total. There are also four body washes and three bath products, but only one dedicated scrub? I don’t know about you guys, but my scrubs always run out super fast, so more of them would have been much more helpful.
I can’t make up my mind about whether I find the calendar too repetitive or super fun. There are a few items I would have liked to see, such as their Wonder Balm and face mist. I would have liked more scrubs in general instead of body washes, too. Currently, I find that it contains a lot of the same kinds of products, just in different scents.
I do really enjoy the inclusion of the candles and the different little pens. I want to try their sleep mist, too.
This calendar is yours for £199, with a total value of £399. As for us Europeans, it does not appear on NEOM’s European website, but you can order it through the UK website and enter a European delivery address ;). That is also why I’m giving you the price in pounds rather than converting it to euros.
Junglück Premium Adventskalender
Price: €? · Stated value: €? · View last year’s Junglück calendar
I may be getting a little ahead of myself here, because I don’t actually know whether or not this brand will do another Advent calendar this year. What I do know is that I found their calendar from last year, and it looks beautiful.
In terms of skincare and self-care, it had everything you could think of: fragrance diffusers, gels, lotions, creams, serums, exfoliants, acne roll-ons, tea, lip balm and peels.
They even incorporated a special Christmas scent into some of the products in the calendar: orange and tonka! Like, that does feel right for Christmas!
Last year, JUNGLÜCK released both a Starter and a Premium Advent calendar. The Premium version contained 24 products, including 11 full-sized products, and had a stated value of €413. As of August 31st, I have not been able to find a confirmed 2026 version yet.
The brand is German, and a lot of the writing on the packaging and products is in German, which I do not understand, but other than that, I am very excited to see what they will do this year and will definitely be keeping an eye on them.
So, what are we actually getting?
I wanted to know which calendars were actually makeup-heavy and which were mostly filled with skincare, so I broke their contents down by category. The table below compares makeup, skincare, haircare, fragrance and body products, as well as individual categories such as lipstick, mascara, blush and eyeshadow as well as haircare, skincare, and makeup.
| Calendar | Total items | Full Size | Mini / Travel Size | Makeup | Skincare | Haircare | Fragrance | Bodycare | Nail / Hand | Tools | Mascara | Lipstick | Lip Gloss / Oil | Lip Balm / Treatment | Lip Liner / Stain | Eyeshadow | Eyeliner | Brows | Blush / Cheek | Bronzer | Highlighter | Primer | Base / Concealer | Powder | Setting Spray | False Lashes | Multi-use Makeup | Moisturiser | Serum | Cleanser | Masks / Patches | SPF | Skincare Misc | Shampoo / Conditioner | Hair Mask / Treatment | Hair Product | Perfume | Body Mist | Home Fragrance | Body Wash / Bath | Body Cream / Oil | Body Misc | Nail Polish | Nail / Hand Care | Reveal Status | Check |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| de Bijenkorf | 30 | TBA | TBA | 8 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | Fully Revealed | de Bijenkorf |
| Sephora Favorites EU | 24 | TBA | TBA | 5+ | 2+ | 1+ | 2+ | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | 1+ | TBA | 1+ | 1 palette | TBA | TBA | 1 | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | 1 | TBA | TBA | TBA | 1 | TBA | 1 | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | 1 | 1 | 1 | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | Partial reveal — 10 / 24 confirmed | Sephora EU |
| Selfridges | 40 | 33 | TBA | 14 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Fully Revealed | Selfridges |
| Cult Beauty Signature | 33 | 19 | 14 | 12 | 15 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Fully Revealed | Cult Beauty |
| Anthropologie | 25 | 17 | TBA | 1 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Fully Revealed | Anthropologie |
| Space NK | 35 | 26 | TBA | 10 | 12 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Fully Revealed | Space NK |
| Lookfantastic | 27 | 19 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Fully Revealed | Lookfantastic |
| Harrods | 33 | 21 | TBA | 9 | 15 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Fully Revealed | Harrods |
| Debenhams | 29 | 13 | TBA | 4 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 29 announced — 28 contents currently listed | Debenhams |
Final thoughts
While writing this article, I went ahead and bought the Bijenkorf Calendar. Once I started comparing the other options, though, I realised I also needed to think about product overlap and the balance between different categories. That is why I made the comparison table above: so you can get an idea of what each beauty calendar contains without having to inspect every single product and ruin the surprise for yourself.
What I was really hoping to find was a calendar filled with different makeup products from different brands: a lipstick from NARS, an eyeshadow from MAC, a highlighter from Bobbi Brown, and so on. I would happily pay quite a bit for something like that.
Instead, so many of these calendars contain a huge amount of skincare. They are BEAUTY calendars! I would much rather have the skincare in a separate body and self-care calendar, which I would happily buy alongside it. A face mask here, some eye patches there, maybe two or three skincare products in total: fine. But when I look at a preview and see two makeup products next to three skincare products, that is simply not the balance I am looking for. Looking at you, Harrods.
I have sensitive skin and do not particularly enjoy messing with my skincare routine, whereas makeup is exactly where I want to experiment. That makes these skincare-heavy calendars a much bigger gamble for me, especially because I still want an Advent calendar to be a surprise. I do not want to study every product beforehand just to work out whether I will actually use half of it.
Price makes that problem even bigger. Once a calendar creeps above €200, I start looking at it much more critically. Some have enormous advertised values because one exceptionally expensive product is doing a lot of the heavy lifting. Selfridges is a good example: the Bee Venom product alone is worth a small fortune. Technically, that value is there, but that does not necessarily make the calendar valuable to me. If I am not excited about the expensive item, the impressive number on the box does not mean much.
At that price, I need to know enough about the contents to justify buying it, but not so much that I spoil the whole thing for myself. The more expensive the calendar gets, the harder that balance becomes.
Overlap matters for the same reason. Lookfantastic, for example, contains a Laura Mercier powder that would duplicate the one in my Bijenkorf Calendar. That counts against it, although I am not ruling it out yet. Debenhams, Lookfantastic and Anthropologie are all still in the race while I figure out which gives me the best overall mix.
Selfridges also contains the same setting spray as my Bijenkorf Calendar, and at that price I need considerably more convincing. For now, that one is much further down my list.
I am very happy with the Bijenkorf Calendar, though. It is beautiful, relatively affordable and contains lots of exciting products from great brands. It is not particularly makeup-heavy, which has given me another idea: maybe I need to start looking at Advent calendars from individual makeup brands I already love, such as NARS, Bobbi Brown or MAC. Perhaps that is where all the makeup has been hiding.
As for the lifestyle and self-care calendars, I am definitely not done looking. I still refuse to believe that nobody has made my dream combination of books, tea, fluffy socks, candles and general winter cosiness.
So, despite the heading, these are not actually my final final thoughts. I am treating this post as an ongoing project. As more 2026 calendars are announced, I will keep adding anything interesting I find, moving contenders in and out of the race, and eventually come back to tell you which ones I actually bought and why.
And remember, people: the money you don’t spend on one of these calendars is money you can put towards products you actually love. Don’t get tricked into buying one just because a couple of the products seem nice. You are worth the whole package!
Before I sign off, I’d love to know your thoughts if you’re out there. Which calendar are you considering? Did I miss one that deserves to be on the list?
Thank you 4 being here <3
Suzy
Tracking new releases, availability, prices and product reveals as they appear.
