I have a couple of friends who get a beauty advent calendar every year and they can be a bit of a gamble. The biggest names are not cheap and if, as I would, you like it to be a surprise then it can be disappointing if it's filled with goodies that aren't your jam.
I won't be giving away any spoilers (you can find them all on the various websites) but I thought it would be helpful to have a little overview of some of the big name calendars so if you don't want to know exactly what is in there you have a little bit more info to help you make your decision. For example I don't want perfumes really so the Selfridges calendar is not for me this year.
For each calendar I will let you know the cost of the calendar, the worth of the calendar and how many products per category. I will also give my personal opinion but as the word personal implies this is just down to my preferences. If you are big into your hair products then the Cult Beauty one is for you.
The original and for many years, the best this calendar is the envy of many but over the past couple of years I think it's not been as great as it once was and this year... I still agree. It's definitely my second choice of calendars for this year
Costs £245 worth £1065
30 products, 20 full size
Product breakdown:
4 hair
15 facial skincare
2 body
5 makeup
3 perfume
2 candles
1 bath
I think this would be the one to go for this year, it was my choice for last year too, though it has the least exciting packaging. It just has more of what I want. It doesn't have as many full-size products as the Liberty calendar (Liberty wins in terms of full size products) but I'd rather try more things that I want than have full-size of those I don't. It also explains how the value is much lower than the Liberty option despite it only being £30 cheaper.
Costs £215 worth £770
30 products, 15 full size
Product breakdown:
3 hair
19 facial skincare
1 body
5 makeup
1 candle
1 bath
This one also looks very good this year, though for me it's a bit hair heavy.
Costs £235 worth over £1000
37 products, 13 full size
Product breakdown:
9 hair
17 facial skincare
1 body
7 makeup
1 perfume
1 candle
This is definitely a good budget option, I looked at the Boots one as well but that's limited to about 3 brands which isn't enough variety for me. I love the design for this though
Costs £95 worth over £500
26 products, not sure how many are full size
Product breakdown:
4 hair
11 facial skincare
2 body
6 makeup
1 candle
1 household
This one is biggest on perfume so lowest on my list especially as for £5 more you get the Space NK one
Costs £210 worth £800
25 products, 12 full size
Product breakdown:
3 hair
8 facial skincare
7 makeup
5 perfume
1 candle
1 household
1 Selfridges based product
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