Beauty Advent calendars for 2021 including £184 of No7 products for £47
The Body Shop, Holland & Barrett, M&S and Aldi also out now
Beauty Advent calendars are significantly pricier than chocolate ones, but they've become increasingly popular in the last few years as a way of bagging beauty products at a fraction of the normal cost. They often sell out early, but can also be heavily discounted later if they don't, so here's a round-up of some of the best I’ve seen.
While they’re marketed as Advent calendars, even if you’re not intending to open them day-by-day, they can be worth it to get products for much cheaper than you'd normally buy them for separately. They're also great for dividing up as gifts for multiple friends/family members in hampers for Christmas or as birthday gifts throughout the year. I’ll update this list as more become available, reduced or sold out over the next few months.
No7 – £184 of beauty products for £47 or another No7 calendar with £384-worth for £120
Available now
No7 beauty Advent calendars are mega-popular with MoneySavers. This year, there are two No7 calendars – one which No7 says has £184 of products for £47, and a second 'Ultimate' calendar it says has £384-worth for £120.
The £120 calendar* is available online, but the £47 calendar* is online and in stores, depending on stock – both were released to all on Tue 26 Oct. Last year, the calendar sold out within two days of release so it's worth going quickly, especially if you'd like the more expensive calendar as it proved to be very popular, selling out during the pre-sale, and has been restocked.
What's in the No7 beauty Advent calendars?
The £47 No7 beauty Advent calendar is similar to previous years. We have the full list of contents below, five of which you can see in the image of the calendar below.
M&S – £226 of make-up & skincare for £40 when you spend £30 or more on other items
Sold out online, but limited stock available in stores
This year's 25-piece M&S* beauty Advent calendar was released online and in stores on Thu 28 Oct. It's now sold out online, but M&S says limited stock is still available in some stores.
It costs £40, but to be eligible to buy it, you need to spend £30 or more on other beauty, clothing, or home items – so you'll be spending at least £70 to get the calendar. Simply add it to your bag online, then once you've added the eligible £30+ spend of items it will automatically reduce in price to £40. In-store, you'll need to pick up the calendar along with the £30+ of eligible items you'd like and take it all to the till.
M&S says it includes a whopping £300-worth of products, including brands such as This Works, Eyeko and Ren – see below for a full list. We found you could get the products individually for £226, which is still good value.
Latest in Beauty – £327 of well-known beauty brands for £74 delivered
Available now
MSE Update, Thu 11 Nov at 10.21am: In this week's MSE email we included a Blagged code for £10 off plus free delivery. This deal proved popular with MoneySavers, and all 3,500 codes have now gone.
Bespoke beauty box retailer Latest in Beauty* is offering a 24-piece beauty Advent calendar including Molton Brown, Elizabeth Arden, Murad and more for £70 plus £3.95 delivery.
Latest in Beauty says the contents would normally cost about £360 if bought individually (it came to £327 when we did our calculations, based on the cheapest prices we could find).
Aldi – £400+ of make-up, perfume, skincare & candle 'dupes' for £55
Available now in-store, sold out online
Aldi* released its 24-piece Lacura cruelty-free beauty Advent calendar on Thu 28 Oct, and it sold out online by 2pm the same day, but stock is available in some stores.
It's full of many of the beauty dupes MoneySavers know and love for £54.99, with contents we reckon are worth £47 (we couldn't get pricing information on two items, but have asked Aldi and will update here when we know more). If you'd like one, it's worth checking your local store, but as with all 'Special Buys', stock isn't guaranteed.
Although it might be slightly cheaper to buy the same amount of the products separately, as they are 'Special Buys' many are not in stock, or not due to be in stock any time soon. The MoneySaving attraction of this calendar is that our calculations show it would cost £433 if you bought the same amount of the equivalent big brands, eg, Benefit, Urban Decay, Sisley Paris separately.
Dupes are lookalike products with similar (though likely not the same) ingredients where it’s often hard to tell the difference, though some say the pricier brands last longer. Remember, as with all new make-up, if you have any allergies it's worth checking the ingredients on the Aldi site before buying to be sure it's suitable for you. See my Beauty dupes blog for more info on dupes.
Ciaté – £150 of nail polish for £59 delivered
Available now
If Ciaté is the original nail polish Advent calendar you wait for every year, then it's out now to buy online at Ciaté* for £59 delivered.
It's entirely vegan and cruelty-free, with 22 mini 'plant-pot' polishes, and one full-size 'plant-pot' polish, plus a watermelon burst hydrating primer. If bought separately, Ciaté says the contents would cost £150.
It's definitely worth looking out for discounts on this calendar – signing up for the MSE weekly email is probably the best way to do this. In 2019, we saw the calendar discounted by 50% in early December, so it's up to you whether you wait to see if it's discounted further later.
The Body Shop – three including £77 of Body Shop products for £55, or £119-worth for £80, or £204-worth for £140
Available now
The Body Shop* has three calendars at varied price points – £55, £80 or £140. Two of the calendars are slightly pricier than last year, and for all, the products included aren't worth as much if you were to buy them separately. But if you like Body Shop products then you can still make a decent saving with these beauty calendars.
The Body Shop Advent calendars include:
- £55 Share the Joy Advent calendar* – includes bath bubbles, body butter, sheet mask etc. It says the contents are normally £77.
- £80 Share the Love 'Big' Advent calendar* – includes body butter, shampoo, face masks etc. It says the contents are normally £119.
- £140 Share Love & Joy 'Ultimate' Advent calendar* – includes Drops of Youth concentrate, Vitamin C moisturiser, face mask etc. It says the contents are normally £204.
You're limited to one calendar per transaction, so if you're buying for gifts you'll need to make additional transactions, although delivery's free on all the calendars.
In 2020, limited extra quantities of its three calendars were released at the start of November. Last year, as in previous years, all calendars completely sold out before Black Friday. Yet in 2018, we spotted the £45 and £99 calendars reduced by 20% around Black Friday, so you might be able to save later on if they do release more stock, but this seems unlikely.
Boots – 50% off selected beauty Advent calendars
More are likely to be discounted later on
For the past few years, Boots has offered deals on beauty Advent calendars, including as part of a 3for2 promo in 2019 and up to 50% off last year. For 2021, it has already started offering deals on some calendars, and we expect to see more deals later on.
Advent calendars with 50% off when we checked on Thu 11 Nov:
- £20 Baylis & Harding 'For Him' 24-piece calendar* (norm £40) – includes shower gel, body lotion, face wash and more.
- £42.50 Macmillan '24 Beauty Treasures' 24-piece calendar* (norm £85) – includes brands such as No7, Botanics, Soap & Glory, Liz Earle, Sleek and more, containing both make-up and skincare products.
- £42.50 Macmillan Advent Calendar For Him 24-piece calendar* (norm £85) – includes brands such as No7, Ted Baker, Champneys, Liz Earle and more, containing both skincare and grooming products.
Advent calendars available now, but not included in any offers:
- £20 Beauty Crush 25-piece calendar* – includes bath fizzers, bath confetti and more.
- £30 Profusion Cosmetics '25 Days of Euphoric' 25-piece calendar* – includes brow gel, eye shadow, highlighter and more. Last year, we saw reduced to £22.50.
- £42 Soap & Glory '24 Days To Prep Into Christmas' 24-piece calendar* – includes body butter, body scrub, make-up remover and more.
- £45 Ted Baker 24-piece calendar* – includes bubble bath, body wash and more.
- £59 NYX Professional Makeup 'Gimme Super Stars' 24-piece calendar* – includes face, eye, and lip products and more.
In 2019 we saw Boots launch a ‘50% off’ deal in the last week of November, so we think 50% off might be the best discount available before these items sell out.
Superdrug – up to 50% off beauty Advent calendars, some discounted further
There are currently a few Advent calendars available at Superdrug’s website, and some are included in its up to 50% off promo. Prices range from £10 to £100, and calendars currently in stock include:
- £10 (was £20) Disney Minnie Mouse 12-piece calendar – includes body wash, body lotion, hand cream etc.
- £40 (was £80) Revolution advent calendar 2021 – includes eyeshadow, lipsticks, make-up brushes etc.
- £40 (was £80) Revolution Ultimate Glamour 12 Days of Christmas calendar – includes eyeshadow, lipstick, lipgloss etc.
- £80 (was £100) Revolution Deluxe Advent calendar – includes eyeshadow, lipstick, lipgloss, highlighter etc.
- £100 Studio London 24-piece calendar – includes lip gloss, nail polish, eyeshadows etc. Last year we saw this reduced to £40.
For the past couple of years, Superdrug released its beauty Advent calendars with an up to 50% off deal, before the calendars were discounted further during Black Friday and the Christmas sales, so it might be worth waiting to pick one up for a bigger discount.
L'Occitane – several calendars including £100 of beauty for £55 or £236-worth in £160 reusable calendar
Available now
This year, L'Occitane is offering calendars ranging from £55 to £160, which includes the following:
- £55 Classic 24-piece calendar* – L'Occitane says contents are worth £99.50, including shampoo, body lotion, hand cream etc.
- £99 Luxury 24-piece calendar* – L'Occitane says contents are worth £141.50, including shampoo, face cream, hand cream etc. Out of stock
- £160 Reusable 24-piece calendar* – L'Occitane says contents are worth £236, comes with a fabric reusable Advent calendar plus shower oil, cleanser, perfume etc.
- £120 Reusable Advent calendar refill 24-piece* – contains similar products to the reusable calendar, eg, perfume and shampoo. It says this calendar is worth £199, and is available online only. Useful if you already have a reusable Advent calendar.
Last year, some of L'Occitane's calendars sold out by the start of November. Whilst £100+ for an Advent calendar isn't especially MoneySaving, if you usually buy L'Occitane products and it includes some of your favourites, it may be a good way to save money on what you'd buy normally.
Holland & Barrett – £170 of vegan & cruelty-free beauty for £45
SOLD OUT
MSE Update, Tue 9 Nov: This calendar has now sold out.
This isn't the first year Holland & Barrett* has released a beauty Advent calendar, but if you're looking for something 100% vegan and cruelty-free that isn't mostly nail polish, you might want to check this one out. It costs £45 delivered, with contents H&B says are worth £170.
It's a 25-piece set containing brands such as Ren, Dr Pawpaw, Sukin, Q&A and more. It includes skincare, haircare, and other items such as candles, a detangling mini hairbrush, and a make-up brush.
Beauty Advent calendars may be cheaper after Christmas…
While they’re clearly marketed as pre-Christmas items, these beauty Advent calendars can sometimes be found at heavily reduced prices after Christmas – so if you’re not in a rush, you may be able to make a bigger saving in the New Year.
However, stock will be limited and popular calendars such as No7 and M&S have sold out long before Christmas in previous years. Whether you buy now or risk waiting, there are some serious savings to be had compared with buying the same products separately.
Will you be buying a beauty Advent calendar? Which is the one you wait for? Do you make your own? Let me know in the comments below or on Twitter at @MSE_Deals.
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