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Photo-Illustration: The Strategist; Photo: Retailer In 2014, Liberty London took the Advent calendar — a time-honored tradition of daily chocolate eating and twee Christmas scenes — and beautified it, swapping out candy for a selection of its best-selling products. It was a hit, and many beauty retailers quickly followed suit. Now, just about everyone has a gift-worthy Advent calendar, from Space NK (which is already sold out) to Anthropologie to Macy’s, each offering a curation of their greatest hits. This year is similar to last, but I’ve noticed a proliferation of fragrance and candle Advent calendars, which tracks given that the category has exploded over the past 12 months. As always, the deals vary. Some, like the Liberty Beauty calendar, contain lots of full-size products, making them well worth the money. Others offer an assortment of travel sizes and minis, a good way to discover new brands or stock up on TSA-approved versions of things you’re already familiar with. Below, I’ve curated the Advent calendars that feel worth it. If you’re planning on grabbing one, I recommend shopping early, as these tend to sell out. I’ll also be regularly updating this story as stock fluctuates and more are released, so check back often for new calendars. Saved View Want to be emailed when products you’ve saved are over 20% off? Success! You'll get an email when something you've saved goes on sale. Yes New! You can now save this product for later. The Liberty Beauty calendar is the diamond of the season. As always, it’s filled with a nice assortment of full-size items, including a La Mer eye cream and Augustinus Bader lip balm. On their own, these two products are fairly pricey, so at a little less than $400, the calendar’s well worth the money. Saved View Want to be emailed when products you’ve saved are over 20% off? Success! You'll get an email when something you've saved goes on sale. Yes New! You can now save this product for later. The 24-day version of this is already sold out, but the truncated, 12-day calendar is still up for grabs. These are all minis, but it’s a mix of this year’s most popular brands and products, like Vacation SPF body oil, Caudalie Vinoperfect serum, and Youth to the People’s beloved cleanser. Saved View Want to be emailed when products you’ve saved are over 20% off? Success! You'll get an email when something you've saved goes on sale. Yes New! You can now save this product for later. Dermstore is known for its excellent skin-care curation, and this year’s Advent calendar reflects that. Everything included in this is full-size — from the Medik8 C E Ferulic vitamin C serum to Paula’s Choice Mandelic and Lactic Acid Liquid Exfoliant. There’s also a glycolic-acid treatment from Skinceuticals, which, if you know how rarely Skinceuticals goes on sale, makes this a compelling gift. Saved View Want to be emailed when products you’ve saved are over 20% off? Success! You'll get an email when something you've saved goes on sale. Yes New! You can now save this product for later. $350 In addition to an assortment of Oak Essentials skin-care products, there’s a gua sha, a pair of cashmere socks, and an alpaca eye mask. Saved View Want to be emailed when products you’ve saved are over 20% off? Success! You'll get an email when something you've saved goes on sale. Yes New! You can now save this product for later. This year’s calendar design is inspired by Bloomingdale’s flagship store on 59th Street. The window displays are filled with numbered boxes that count down to Christmas. It’s very giftable. Inside, there’s a mix of luxury beauty items like SK-II treatment essence, Augustinus Bader eye masks, and a sample of Maison Francis Kurkdjian’s classic Baccarat Rouge, which our friends at The Cut named the scent of 2021. Saved View Want to be emailed when products you’ve saved are over 20% off? Success! You'll get an email when something you've saved goes on sale. Yes New! You can now save this product for later. Saks is also taking cues from its brick-and-mortar for this year’s box, depicting a hand-painted version of the Fifth Avenue store. Similarly to the Bloomingdale’s calendar, this one also features Augustinus Bader, but it includes both the mask and the eye cream and leans more fragrance than skin care, with items from Byredo, Parfums de Marly, Maison Francis Kurkdjian, and Mind Games. Saved View Want to be emailed when products you’ve saved are over 20% off? Success! You'll get an email when something you've saved goes on sale. Yes New! You can now save this product for later. M.A.C. 24 Mystery Must Haves Advent Calendar $208 $245 now 15% off $208 This set is great if you’re looking to revamp your lip wardrobe — there’s M.A.C Lipglass (my first lip gloss) and two shades of the brand’s iconic lip liners, which have been the best available option since the ’90s. There’s also an assortment of M.A.C’s skin-care line, a good opportunity to test it before jumping into the full-size versions. $208 at Macy's Buy with code: FRIEND Saved View Want to be emailed when products you’ve saved are over 20% off? Success! You'll get an email when something you've saved goes on sale. Yes New! You can now save this product for later. $280 Typology makes a pretty Advent calendar — it feels like the kind of gift you might see underneath a Nora Ephron Christmas tree. As always, it includes 24 of the brand’s products, half of which are full-size. Saved View Want to be emailed when products you’ve saved are over 20% off? Success! You'll get an email when something you've saved goes on sale. Yes New! You can now save this product for later. Admittedly, these products are mini (some are even pretty micro), but at $100, you can try out brands like Sol de Janeiro, Supergoop, Tatcha, Olaplex, and Osea. Saved View Want to be emailed when products you’ve saved are over 20% off? Success! You'll get an email when something you've saved goes on sale. Yes New! You can now save this product for later. Apotheke is known for its innovative takes on classic scents. The Advent calendar includes a nice selection, with over a dozen mini-candles along with three diffusers. Saved View Want to be emailed when products you’ve saved are over 20% off? Success! You'll get an email when something you've saved goes on sale. Yes New! You can now save this product for later. A mix of holiday scents and classic favorites, this Advent calendar from Voluspa is a good gift for the scent enthusiast. It also includes a Voluspa gold-plated wick trimmer so your giftee can ensure a clean burn. Saved View Want to be emailed when products you’ve saved are over 20% off? Success! You'll get an email when something you've saved goes on sale. Yes New! You can now save this product for later. $955 Byredo’s first Advent calendar has 24 products and is a mix of the brand’s greatest hits. There are two scented hand creams, lots of travel-size fragrances in popular scents like Gypsy Water and Bal D’Afrique, two candles, a lip balm, and Byredo branded tools like a hairbrush and candlewick trimmer. Saved View Want to be emailed when products you’ve saved are over 20% off? Success! You'll get an email when something you've saved goes on sale. Yes New! You can now save this product for later. There’s a proliferation of fragrance Advent calendars this year. This one from Parfums de Marly is particularly good. It has four formats of the ultrapopular Delina scent — a body cream, full-size perfume, candle, and purse spray — and an assortment of the brand’s other fragrances. Saved View Want to be emailed when products you’ve saved are over 20% off? Success! You'll get an email when something you've saved goes on sale. Yes New! You can now save this product for later. $495 Designed like a roulette game, this is one of the prettiest Advent calendars I’ve seen this season. It’s mostly full-size items, hence the price, and would make a good gift for the Jo Malone curious or the die-hard fan. Saved View Want to be emailed when products you’ve saved are over 20% off? Success! You'll get an email when something you've saved goes on sale. Yes New! You can now save this product for later. Belif’s Advent calendar approach is to assemble an entire glass-skin routine. Over half of the products are from the signature Moisture Bomb line, including the Belif Moisturizing Bomb, popular among celebrities and drag queens. RuPaul’s Drag Race alum Farrah Moan swears by it and has recommended it to a dozen of her friends. Saved View Want to be emailed when products you’ve saved are over 20% off? Success! You'll get an email when something you've saved goes on sale. Yes New! You can now save this product for later. $210 In years past, L’Occitane’s calendars were hand-cream–heavy, and while there’s still plenty of that, there’s also skin and body care. I like the brand’s Body Shower Oil in particular, which is so moisturizing it leaves my skin feeling hydrated post-shower. Saved View Want to be emailed when products you’ve saved are over 20% off? Success! You'll get an email when something you've saved goes on sale. Yes New! You can now save this product for later. Amazon’s 12 Days of Beauty calendar is as close to a Strategist-assembled calendar as I’ve seen. It includes the Elemis Cleansing Balm, which comes up in our celebrity shopping column at least once a year; a tube of Clinique Black Honey, which was our top-selling beauty product this summer during Prime Day; and Sunday Riley Good Genes, a skin-care treatment that helps to brighten and tone. There’s also a tube of Burt’s Bees lip balm, which was our top lip balm for many years. Saved View Want to be emailed when products you’ve saved are over 20% off? Success! You'll get an email when something you've saved goes on sale. Yes New! You can now save this product for later. If one tube isn’t enough, this Advent calendar has 12 in various tint-free scents. Saved View Want to be emailed when products you’ve saved are over 20% off? Success! You'll get an email when something you've saved goes on sale. Yes New! You can now save this product for later. For a little over $200, you can test-run a Tatcha skin-care routine. It has every step, from cleansing oil to face wash to serum. There’s even a tiny pot of the Kissu lip mask, one of beauty columnist Rio Viera-Newton’s all-time favorites. More From The Strategist I’ve Been Sleeping So Well Since I Started Spraying Magnesium on My Feet The Best Clean Anti-Aging Skin-care Routine, According to Experts An Advent Calendar for Every Kind of Person The Best in Class Hall of Fame See All The Strategist is designed to surface useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Every product is independently selected by our team of editors, whom you can read about here. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change. The Best Beauty Advent Calendars to Buy Before They Sell Out
