Beauty advent calendar season starts earlier every year, and 2026 was no different. Most of the big ones launched between early September and mid October, a few sold out within weeks last year, and the prices have crept up again.
This is my guide to the seven calendars people are actually talking about: M&S, LookFantastic, Boots 24 Days of Luxe, Stylist x Latest in Beauty, Sephora, Cult Beauty and Space NK. For each one you’ll find the price, the claimed value, how many products are full size and who it suits. I’ve judged them on what you get for your money, not on how pretty the box is.
I update this page every year, so it always has the current line-up. I have the LookFantastic, Space NK and Stylist x Latest in Beauty calendars and I’ll be opening them and going through them, everything here comes from published contents, retailer information and early reviews, and I’ll link my hands-on posts as they go up. This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you buy through them, at no extra cost to you.
The quick answer
- Best value for a mix of big brands: LookFantastic (£120)
- Most full-size products: Stylist x Latest in Beauty (31 full size, £169)
- Best budget and gift pick: M&S (£75)
- Best big-brand saving: Boots 24 Days of Luxe (£150)
- Best for exclusives: Sephora (£235)
- Best for fragrance: Cult Beauty Special Edition (£245)
- Best for the full luxury experience: Space NK (£275)
Beauty advent calendars 2026 at a glance
| Calendar | Price | Claimed value | Products | Full size | Cost per product | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M&S | £75 | £400 to £460 | 26 | 10 | £2.88 | An easy, affordable gift |
| LookFantastic | £120 | £665+ | 27 | 19 | £4.44 | Big-brand variety on a mid budget |
| Boots 24 Days of Luxe | £150 | £709.59 | 27 | 19 | £5.56 | Big brands, big claimed saving |
| Stylist x Latest in Beauty | £169 | Almost £650 | 34 | 31 | £4.97 | Most full-size products |
| Sephora Favourites | £235 | £1,000+ | 41 | 27 | £5.73 | Exclusives and trend-led picks |
| Cult Beauty Special Edition | £245 | £1,100+ | 38 | 17 | £6.45 | Fragrance and haircare |
| Cult Beauty Signature Edition | £245 | £1,100+ | 33 | 19 | £7.42 | A skincare and make-up mix |
| Space NK | £275 | £1,200+ | 35 | 26 | £7.86 | Luxury and the big names |
Cost per product is the full price divided by the number of products. The value figures come from each retailer or brand, so treat them as a guide.
How to tell if a beauty advent calendar is worth it
Every listing comes with a big “worth” figure. It’s the number brands want you to look at, and it’s the least reliable one on the page. It adds up the full RRP of everything inside, including things you’d never pay full price for, and outlets don’t agree on the total. LookFantastic is billed as worth over £665 in its launch coverage, yet MoneySavingExpert’s tally came out at £519. M&S gets anything from £400 to £460 depending on who’s counting.
Two numbers are harder to fudge. The first is cost per product. The second is how many of those products are full size. A calendar full of 5ml minis is a sampler, and a nice one, but it’s a different thing from 20 full-size products you’ll actually use up.
One more check before you buy: overlap. Clinique, Benefit and Color Wow turn up in more than one calendar here, so if you’re tempted by two, compare the contents first.
The best beauty advent calendars under £200
These four are where I’d start looking. Between them they cover most budgets and tastes.
M&S Beauty Advent Calendar 2026 (£75)
Launched 13 October (Sparks members, free to join, had early access from 1 to 7 October) | Claimed value: £400 to £460 | 26 products, 10 full size
M&S is the easy one to buy, especially as a gift. It comes in a red and pink candy-stripe box and covers make-up, skincare, haircare, fragrance and bath and body, with brands including Estée Lauder, Clinique, Benefit, Aveda, ESPA, PRAI, ICONIC London, bareMinerals, Color Wow, Philip Kingsley and Nails Inc. At about £2.88 a product it’s the cheapest per product of the seven.
The full-size highlights are the Benefit BADgal Bounce Mascara (£28), bareMinerals Complexion Rescue Blonzer (£25.50), Estée Lauder Double Wear Smooth & Blur Primer (£39) and a Sweed Le Lipstick (£22). Those four come to £114.50 at the values reviewers list, which already covers the price. The rest leans on minis, including the Aveda shampoo and conditioner and the Clinique eye cream, and a few reviewers felt parts of the line-up were familiar from other years. Reviewers expect it to sell out, so check stock first.
LookFantastic Beauty Advent Calendar 2026 (£120)
Launched 1 September | Claimed value: £665+ | 27 products, 19 full size
On paper, this is the one I’d point most people to. At £120 you get 27 products, 19 of them full size, across skincare, make-up, haircare and fragrance, for about £4.44 a product. It’s £15 more than last year’s £105, and it’s online only.
The twist for 2026 is that the products were picked by guests instead of set by the brand. The picks come from The Girls Bathroom podcast hosts Sophia Tuxford and Cinzia Baylis-Zullo, hairstylist Sam McKnight, Gary Thompson, Dom Seeley and Saffie Khan, plus Molly-Mae Hague and Olivia Attwood. What’s been revealed so far includes a full-size Medik8 Total Moisture Cleanser (£29), a full-size Laneige Vanilla Lip Glowy Balm (£17.50), LookFantastic eye patches exclusive to this calendar and an MZ Skin Golden Facial Treatment Mask. Brands include Clinique, Elemis, MAC, Laura Mercier, Hair by Sam McKnight, Made By Mitchell and Kanzen.
Delivery is free on orders over £25 (2 to 3 days tracked) or £5.95 for next day, and LF Beauty Plus+ members got early access.
I have this calendar and here is my full unboxing.
Boots 24 Days of Luxe Beauty Advent Calendar 2026 (£150)
Claimed value: £709.59 | 27 products, 19 full size
Boots has dozens of advent calendars, but this is the beauty one worth knowing about. It’s £150 for 27 products worth £709.59 by Boots’ own count, with brands including Sol de Janeiro, Rituals, Huda Beauty, Clinique, Estée Lauder, NARS, Benefit, Amika, Color Wow and Fenty. The Fenty Gloss Bomb Stix comes in a random shade. At roughly £5.56 a product it isn’t the cheapest, but the claimed saving is over £550, and you can click and collect if you’d rather not wait for delivery.
Watch the overlap. Clinique, Benefit and Color Wow also appear in the M&S calendar, and Clinique and Laura Mercier are in LookFantastic’s too, so don’t buy two of these without comparing the contents.
Stylist x Latest in Beauty Advent Calendar 2026 (£169)
Claimed value: almost £650 | 34 products, 31 full size
This is a collaboration between Stylist and the retailer Latest in Beauty, and the full-size count is the headline: 31 of the 34 products, more than any other calendar here. At the £169 full price that’s about £4.97 a product, which puts it just over the £150 mark. The price moves around, though. You can find it for £99 to £115 on TikTok depending on the day, which drops it to roughly £2.91 to £3.38 a product, and Stylist has also promoted a 20% off code (STYLISTAC26) on Latest in Beauty’s own site, so check whether that still works. The claimed value of almost £650 comes from Stylist and the brand, and I haven’t been able to verify it.
The line-up mixes premium and high street names. Skincare includes the Drunk Elephant C-Luma Hydrabright Serum, a Laneige Bouncy & Firm Serum and hydrogel masks from Emma Hardie and Bioeffect. Hair and body get Gisou’s Honey Infused Hair Perfume, a Monday Repair Hair Oil and a Rituals Ayurveda candle. Make-up runs from Sweed’s Lash Lift Mascara, Morphe’s Jet Setter Complexion Trio and a Made by Mitchell Blursh blusher to Rimmel, Maybelline and Max Factor basics. There are a few oddballs too, including an ice roller and whitening strips.
I have this calendar and a hands-on review will follow.
The bigger spends: £235 and up
Sephora Favourites Beauty Advent Calendar 2026 (£235)
Pre-orders opened 8 September | Claimed value: £1,000+ | 41 products, 27 full size
Sephora’s calendar is £235 this year, up from £225, and for the first time you can buy it in store as well as online. It has 41 products, 27 of them full size, which is the highest full-size count of the pricier calendars. That works out at about £5.73 a product.
Last year leaned heavily on Sephora exclusives. Reviewers say this year goes more niche, with formulas that make-up artists and beauty editors tend to rate. Stock has been tight, and the pre-order window was the hard part, so check availability before you decide anything else.
Cult Beauty Advent Calendar 2026 (£245)
Launched early September | Two editions, same price | Both claimed at over £1,100
Cult Beauty has gone with two calendars this year, both £245 and both in a storybook design of flowers and engraved ornaments by the studio Swindler & Swindler.
The Signature Edition has 33 products, 19 of them full size, and is the skincare and make-up mix. The Special Edition has 38 products, 17 full size, and swaps some of those for fine fragrance and extra haircare, including names like Davines, Amika and Color Wow. That’s about £7.42 and £6.45 a product respectively.
Both editions include 12 products launched in the past year, so they suit anyone who likes trying what’s new. There are also three golden tickets hidden across the calendars, each worth a £1,000 Cult Beauty spending spree. Promo codes can’t be used on them. You can pay in four instalments of £61.25, but I’d save up rather than borrow for an advent calendar.
Space NK Beauty Advent Calendar 2026 (£275)
Launched 10 September | Claimed value: £1,200+ | 35 products, 26 full size
Space NK’s calendar is the one beauty editors fight over, and last year’s edition sold out in about two and a half weeks. This year it’s £275, which is £15 more than 2025, and it has no repeats from last year’s line-up, which matters if you bought it then. At about £7.86 a product it’s the priciest here, but the brand list is strong. Names include Augustinus Bader The Body Cream, BYOMA Hydrating Milky Toner, Caudalie’s Vinoperfect dark spot serum, VIEVE Skin Nova Instant Radiance Primer, Votary Super Renewal Serum and Tatcha’s Dewy Milk Moisturiser, with La Mer, Medik8, PHLUR and K18 also in the coverage.
One reviewer said they’d choose it over spending £275 on their own picks. New customers have been getting a first-order discount, so check the current code at checkout.
I have this calendar and a full rundown is coming.
Which beauty advent calendar should you buy?
If you want the most full-size products for your money, Stylist x Latest in Beauty wins on paper, especially at the TikTok price. If you want a wide mix of big brands for £120, it’s LookFantastic. M&S is the cheapest per product and the easiest to give as a gift.
For the full luxury experience, pick Space NK if you want the big names and Sephora if you want exclusives. Cult Beauty’s Special Edition is the one for fragrance and haircare, and Boots 24 Days of Luxe suits you if you like a big claimed saving and the convenience of click and collect.
If you’re torn between two, read the contents and count the products you’d actually use. That number matters more than the price.
The honest downsides of beauty advent calendars
Even the good ones come with catches, so it’s worth knowing them before you pay.
- The claimed value is flexible. The same calendar can be worth £519 or £665 depending on who’s adding it up. Use cost per product instead.
- Not everything is full size. LookFantastic has 8 minis out of 27 products, Space NK has 9 out of 35, and Sephora has 14 out of 41. That’s fine, as long as you know going in.
- Prices keep creeping up. LookFantastic is up £15 on last year, Space NK up £15, Sephora up £10 and Cult Beauty up £5.
- Stock goes quickly. Space NK’s sold out in under three weeks last year, so the pricier ones can be gone before you’ve decided.
- You will get duplicates and duds. Almost every calendar has a few doors you’d skip if you were shopping for yourself. Gift them or swap them with a friend.
Frequently asked questions
When should I buy a beauty advent calendar?
As early as you can. Most of these launched between early September and mid October, and the pricier ones tend to sell out well before December. Retailers like Space NK, Sephora, Cult Beauty and LookFantastic open waitlists weeks before launch, so join them for next year.
Are beauty advent calendars worth it?
Usually, if you’d use the products. Beauty is now the second most popular advent calendar category after chocolate, according to Ipsos research reported by Cosmetics Business, and 40% of 18 to 34 year olds have bought a cosmetics one. The headline saving is based on RRP though, so count the full-size products you’d actually use and add up what you’d pay for them.
Which advent calendar has the most full-size products?
Stylist x Latest in Beauty has the most, with 31 of 34. Sephora is next with 27, then Space NK with 26.
What’s the cheapest good beauty advent calendar?
M&S at £75 has the lowest cost per product, about £2.88. LookFantastic at £120 is the better pick if you want a wider range of brands. Stylist x Latest in Beauty at the TikTok price of £99 to £115 is only a little more per product than M&S, with far more full-size products.
Do beauty advent calendars ever go on sale?
Some retailers have discounted calendars around Black Friday in past years, but the popular ones often sell out first. I wouldn’t wait for a deal.
Do I have to open one door a day?
Nobody’s checking. If you want to open three on a Sunday, that’s your business.
Hands-on reviews as I open them
I’ll link each hands-on post here as it goes live:
- LookFantastic Beauty Advent Calendar 2026 unboxing and review
- Space NK Beauty Advent Calendar 2026 rundown
- Stylist x Latest in Beauty Advent Calendar 2026 review
Prices, stock and line-ups change through the season, so I update this page as they do.
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If you like the sort of recommendation that still holds up six months later, leave your email below and I'll write to you on Sunday.
Most Sundays, once the house has gone quiet and it's edging towards nine, a letter goes out. It's the one I'd write to a friend with good taste and not nearly enough time: one thing worth reading, one thing worth buying, and one thing to skip. No noise, no pressure to spend, just the considered version of what I've actually been using, loving, or quietly sending back.
