Advent Calendars Make the Best Gifts for Your Beauty-Loving Friends—We Found All the Best Ones
Our favorites start at $20.
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I used to think that advent calendars were reserved for trinkets or chocolates from your local grocery store. But the best beauty advent calendars of 2025 are giving all of that a run for its money. If you thought opening up a new mini bottle of wine every day was fun, get a load of this. These beauty gift sets aren't just filled with a few sample sizes for every day—they've got full-size makeup, skincare, and hair products at values upwards of $888 (yes, seriously). We've been scouring all the biggest retailers—like Nordstrom, Amazon, and Sephora—and these 12 sets are easily the best.
Our top picks for the best beauty advent calendars of 2025:
We found a range of options for all budgets, containing a mix of categories. You're bound to find one for yourself or to give away as a gift. We believe in instant gratification, but you can totally wait until Dec. 1 to start opening them up. But if you wanna get them in time for the holidays, you'd better shop our favorites now.
Meet the advent calendar that made our beauty director gasp. Dermstore put together this absolutely massive advent calendar containing 12 full-size products. You read that right: full-sizes. It's got so many of our fave brands, like Medik8, U Beauty, Skinceuticals, Tarte, Paula's Choice, and BioEffect—all of which come together to an $888 value. I, personally, have never seen an advent calendar at such an amazing value.
Features at a Glance
| Number of products included | 12 |
| Value | $888 |
This would be the perfect gift to give to someone who wants to cut down on their salon bill in 2026. With 24 full-size products, you get legit everything you need to do an at-home manicure, including a mix of sheer and opaque polishes, the "Active" nail range from Manucurist that helps strengthen brittle nails, a few glitters, and even a top coat. Make sure you click on the coupon option before you add to cart to save an extra $20.
Features at a Glance
| Number of products included | 24 |
| Value | $359 |
This advent calendar is so good, it already went out of stock. Luckily, though, just before Black Friday, it's restocked on Glow Recipe's site. Featuring 12 products (a mix of full sizes, travel sizes, and minis), this set has legit everything you need for the glowiest skin of your life. The hero? A full-size Watermelon Hue Glow Drops, one of our faves to put on before makeup or as a quick glowy base.
Features at a Glance
| Number of products included | 12 |
| Value | $200 |
Charlotte Tilbury’s calendar will forever remain one of the most glamorous and glitzy chests to covet. While the calendar doesn’t contain as many products compared to others in this edit, it’s the ultimate chest to secure if you’re a through-and-through Tilbury fan. It contains five full-size goodies and seven travel-size goodies. Not to pick faves or anything, but we can’t wait to open the full-size Exagger-Eyes Volume Mascara and full-size Pillow Talk Beauty Light Wand.
Features at a Glance
| Number of products included | 12 |
| Value | $305 |
No other advent calendar we’ve seen in 2025 combines 24 beauty goodies with a game that you can play (literally). This Rubix-cube-style calendar houses 24 Benefit makeup essentials, including a full-size Benetint and full-size BADgal BANG! mascara.
Features at a Glance
| Number of products included | 24 |
| Value | $292 |
This one's for all you fragrance fanatics out there – and trust us when we say, this coveted chest is worth the splurge. Why? Because behind 24 doors sits 25 (!!) Jo Malone London faves that will last you throughout the festive season and beyond. Priced at $495, 2025’s calendar contains a generous bundle of Jo Malone candles, body lotions, and, of course, the brand’s legendary colognes (hello, English Pear & Freesia and English Pear & Sweet Pea Cologne). There is also the seasonal favourite Orange Bitters Cologne in a generous 30ml bottle.
Features at a Glance
| Number of products included | 25 |
| Value | Not specified |
I fully intend to bring one of these to every holiday party I attend this year because it's a fantastic affordable gift. For less than $50, there's practically everything a beauty lover could want inside—all from brands I looove as a beauty editor. We're talking Origins, TULA, Tarte, Fenty Beauty, Clinique, Divi, and more.
Features at a Glance
| Number of products included | 12 |
| Value | $139 |
LUSH has gone above and beyond in 2025 by launching not one, not two, but three advent calendars. Is this about to be the sweetest-smelling Christmas ever? We think so!! The first is the Advent Calendar which contains 25 vegan goodies, including year-around icons like Sticky Dates shower gel and the Sleepy bubble bar, as well as festive editions like the Yule Log soap and Reindeer bath bomb. Now if the sound of that doesn’t make you want to indulge in a bath every day and smell like a candy cane throughout the entire festive season, what will?
Features at a Glance
| Number of products included | 25 |
| Value | Not specified |
MAC fans, listen up! MAC has announced its 2025 beauty advent calendar, packed with 24 makeup and skincare goodies. Oh, and not to mention that half of the contents are full-sized items, including a M.A.Cximal Sleek Satin Lipstick, Lip Liner, Dazzleshadow Eyeshadow Stick and Squirt Plumping Gloss Stick. As for the travel-size inclusions, we’ve got products like the 4 Idol Lash Mascara and Strobe Cream. Now, close your eyes if you don’t fancy a spoiler, but the calendar will also include two MAC exclusives, one of which being the limited-edition gel eye pads. We can’t contain our excitement!
Features at a Glance
| Number of products included | 24 |
| Value | $498 |
We're huge drugstore makeup fans at Cosmo HQ, so this Target advent calendar featuring many of our favorites from e.l.f., Physician's Formula, Revlon, and Sally Hansen. While this isn't the most ~luxurious~ advent calendar I've opened, it's without a doubt the most affordable and filled with products I'd totally use or love to give away as stocking stuffers.
Features at a Glance
| Number of products included | 12 |
| Value | Over $86 |
The party szn is also the perfect time to get your pamper essentials in check – and there's no other brand we wanna cosy up with than Elemis. The brand's 2025 calendar features 25 of its beloved bestsellers, like the new Pro-Collagen Black Cherry Cleansing Balm, as well as two full size icons, one of which being the Pro-Collagen Marine Cream. Don’t say we told you so! And there’s more, hidden inside 15 Elemis advent calendars are £1,000 ‘Golden Tickets’ to spend at elemis.com. Now that’s your lifetime supply of skincare sorted.
Features at a Glance
| Number of products included | 25 |
| Value | $987 |
I've been testing advent calendars for a few weeks, and this one has me really excited. At $280, this gift set is filled with 24 different products that basically anyone could use, totaling up to a $450 value. Unlike so many others, though, the focus is on a mixture of wellness and beauty, including candles, a sweat-wicking headband, Magnesium Reset Spray, body oil, and even a $25 Alo gift card to buy whatever you want.
Features at a Glance
| Number of products included | 24 |
| Value | $450 |
How we tested:
The beauty advent calendar space is bigger than ever, so narrowing down the very best was no easy task. In this edit, you’ll find big-name retailers that consistently produce epic calendars—think Sephora, Alo, Anthropologie, etc—packed with a wide range of brands, alongside brand-specific offerings from LUSH, Charlotte Tilbury, and Jo Malone.
When selecting our top picks, we considered everything: price point, number of products, brand mix, the balance between full-size and travel-size items, packaging design, and any added extras like vouchers. We’ve also featured a range of calendars that keep their product inclusions broad, so that they suit a wide range of people, regardless of their skin type or concern. For makeup inclusions, we made sure shades are wearable and universal, and for skincare, we chose skin-kind products that target common concerns like dullness, dehydration, and barrier support. And because many of these beauty chests come with triple-figure price tags, we’ve also featured more affordable options, so there’s something for every budget.
Why trust ‘Cosmopolitan’?
Lia Mappoura is the beauty writer at Cosmopolitan UK and Clare Stephenson is the senior beauty ecommerce writer at Cosmopolitan UK. Together, they have seven years of combined experience testing skincare, haircare, and makeup. In other words, they know exactly what makes a great beauty advent calendar – from the products and brands included inside to the balance of full-size versus travel-size goodies. Over the past three years, both Clare and Lia have tested countless advent calendars, so they can recommend the perfect one for any budget, preference, or skin type.
Beth Gillette is the beauty editor at Cosmopolitan with seven years of experience researching, writing, and editing beauty stories that range from vitamin C serums to butt acne.
Lia Mappoura (she/her) is the Beauty Writer at Cosmopolitan UK. Covering everything from viral celebrity hair and makeup news to the latest trend predictions, she’s an expert in recognising the season’s next big beauty look (before it ends up all over your social media feeds). You’ll usually find her putting TikTok’s recent beauty hacks to the Hype Test, challenging the gender-makeup binary and social stereotypes, or fangirling over the time Kourtney Kardashian viewed her Instagram Story (yes, it’s true). Find her also on LinkedIn.
Beth Gillette is the beauty editor at Cosmopolitan, where she covers skincare, makeup, hair, nails, and more across digital and print. She can generally be found in bright eyeshadow furiously typing her latest feature or hemming and hawing about a new product you "have to try." Prior to Cosmopolitan, she wrote and edited beauty content as an Editor at The Everygirl for four years. Follow her on Instagram for makeup selfies and a new hair 'do every few months.
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