By Sabine Wiesel

Copyright independent

John Lewis’s beauty halls are treasure troves of both classic and trending beauty brands, and I love that this shines through their beauty advent calendar. Inside, you’ll find products from brands we love and trust, from the likes of Elemis and Elizabeth Arden to cult favourite Le Labo and buzzworthy Laneige.

The retailer has also balanced all the beauty categories well with skincare, body, hair, fragrance, and make-up all well represented, unlike its competition. Liberty’s advent calendar tends to lead with a heavy skincare offering, and Selfridges’ calendar is packed with make-up this year. Instead, John Lewis’ calendar offers excellent products from every category.

The skincare line-up is made for targeting signs of ageing. Highlights include 15ml of the luxe Elemis pro-collagen marine cream (£38, Boots.com). I included it in my ranking of the best anti-ageing day creams for the second year in a row, as it instantly hydrates your skin. For your evening routine, there’s a full-size Medik8 advanced night restore rejuvenating multi-ceramide night cream(£60, Spacenk.com), for waking up with well-hydrated, smoother skin.

I found plenty to give your eyes a little extra sparkle. It’s a little excessive, but there are three eye creams to choose from, including a full-size Clinique all about eyes rich (£26.25, Lookfantastic.com) for defence against dark circles and puffiness.

For awakening tired eyes in the rush of the festive season, there’s also Shiseido vital perfection uplifting and firming express eye mask (£72, Lookfantastic.com). If you want a fluttering full set of lashes to match, I loved The Ordinary multi-peptide lash and brow serum (£14.20, Boots.com).

The calendar also delivers a perfect balance of make-up. Staying with eyes, I enjoyed the popular Trinny London eye2eye cream eyeshadow (£20, Johnlewis.com) in suit-all chocolate shade “wisdom”, as well as an expensive full-size Chantecaille faux cils mascara (£52, Spacenk.com) to really spoil you.

For your lips, there are a few options, including my favourite, a full-size Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood vixen matte revolution lipstick (£29, Cultbeauty.co.uk) for painting the town red. It’s the close cousin of the brand’s matte revolution red carpet red (£29, Johnlewis.com), which came out on top in the IndyBest guide to the best red lipsticks, so you know you’re in good hands.

Hair-wise, I found plenty to leave you with smooth, shiny locks. I’m a huge fan of Philip Kingsley products, and you get a travel-sized moisture-balancing shampoo and conditioner (£50, Lookfantastic.com) made for hydrating dry hair. Another standout comes from hairdresser of the moment Larry King. His spoilt for choice hair oil (£28, Cultbeauty.co.uk) is a real multi-tasker that can be used as a hair mask, scalp hydrator and finishing product.

If it’s fragrance you’re after, you’ll be spoilt for choice too. There are 5 miniatures to choose from, including the modern classic rose scent Frederic Malle portrait of a lady (£62, Johnlewis.com). My pick of the bunch is the Le Labo the noir 29 eau de parfum 15ml (£75, Johnlewis.com). This woody scent is one of my absolute favourites, so it’s nice to see a relatively big bottle. A full-size 100ml bottle costs £238, so it’s well worth getting your hands on this mini at a discount.

Best of all, John Lewis hasn’t skimped on pampering body products, which I find so many calendars are skipping this year. The highlights are a travel-sized, magnesium-rich This Works deep sleep beauty soak (£28, Marksandspencer.com) to help you relax body and mind before bedtime, and the now iconic, heavenly-scented Sol de Janeiro bum bum cream (£21, Spacenk.com) for chest-to-toes nourishment.