Treat yourself: the beauty advent calendars topping our Christmas wish list

Best for: Replenishing your beauty bag staples

Featuring four full-sized Benefit heroes and 18 makeup and skincare minis, Hotel Beneville is a perfectly pleasant place to spend the holidays. The 2026 line-up leans heavily into the brand’s flagship brow, mascara, cheek and Porefessional products, making it a genuinely useful proposition for Benefit die-hards in particular.

Days: 24
Beauty products: 22
Full-size inclusions: 4 (BADgal Bang! Mascara; 24-Hr Brow Setter Invisible Brow Gel; Benetint Cheek & Lip Tint; Cookie Golden Pearl Highlighter)
Bonus items: Mirror + hair clips
Claimed value: $500+
Price: $355 at Adore Beauty
Also stocked at: LOOKFANTASTIC ($289); Selfridges ($367); The Iconic ($372); ASOS ($383)

Best for: A makeup overhaul without breaking the bank

Containing 24 products from lip oils, liners, shadows and highlighters through to beauty tools and accessories, the Revolution 2026 Advent Calendar is a fun way to inject some colour into your makeup routine. The minis are a fab way to update your on-the-go makeup bag, so you’re always ready for that day-to-night top up (because we’re all doing a smokey eye before we go out for Christmas celebrations after work, right?)

Days: 24
Beauty products: 24
Claimed value: $235+
Price: $97 at LOOKFANTASTIC
Also available at: ASOS ($130)

Best for: Quality over quantity

Charlotte Tilbury has resisted the urge to stretch this one to 24 days, instead packing 15 drawers with a particularly strong edit of makeup and skincare that won’t leave you feeling short-changed. Four full-sized colour products provide most of the value here, but the fun-sized items are so damn cute, they could charm the Grinch himself.

Days: 15
Beauty products: 13
Full-size inclusions: 4 (Matte Revolution lipstick; Unreal Blush creme glow stick; Beauty Light Wand liquid highlight; Lip Cheat Contour Duo lip liner)
Bonus items: Gua sha + mini makeup bag
Claimed value: $620+
Price: $389 at FWRD
Also stocked at: Selfridges ($416); Revolve ($449); ASOS ($459)

Best for: Maximum beauty per buck

For true beauty obsessives, the exciting variety and staggering value of this year’s ASOS calendar makes it the one to beat in 2026. As if 15 full-size products isn’t compelling enough, an eclectic multi-brand line-up that spans such niche and prestige names as Sunday Riley, Sol de Janeiro, ELEMIS, Gisou and Sam McKnight means endless hours of discovery, and a consistent source of dopamine for the first 25 days of December.

Days: 25
Beauty products: 25
Full-size inclusions: 15 (Gisou Honey Infused Lip Oil; Medicube Pink Peptide Serum; Biodance Rejuvenating Caviar Mask; Patchology Rosé Eye Gel Patches; Charlotte Tilbury Beauty Light Wand; Morphe Signature Lip Pencil + more)
Bonus items: None
Claimed value: Approx. $850
Price: $257, exclusively at ASOS

Best for: A beauty haul on a budget

At less than 75 bucks, MCoBeauty’s 12-day experience is an affordable gateway into the beauty advent calendar game. Unsurprisingly for the price point, almost everything comes in miniature form, so don’t expect to come away with a fully restocked beauty bag. But if you’re looking to establish an instant travel makeup kit – or to trial a dozen MCoBeauty formulas – there are less-fun ways to do it.

Days: 12
Beauty products: 12
Full-size inclusions: 1 (Blush & Go Cream Stick in Warm Terracotta)
Bonus items: None
Claimed value: Not stated
Price: $73 at The Iconic
Also stocked at: The Warehouse ($65)

Best for: Your bounciest skin by Christmas

The beauty equivalent of locking in, Laneige has no interest in hopping between makeup, fragrance and body care. Its hobby is hydration – yours, specifically – hence what amounts to a complete, ultra-hydrating skincare regime, dressed up in its festive best.

Days: 12
Beauty products: 12
Full-size inclusions: 5 (Bouncy & Firm Sleeping Mask; Water Bank Blue Hyaluronic Cream; Glaze Craze Tinted Lip Serum; Lip Glowy Balm; JuicePop Box Lip Tint)
Bonus items: None
Claimed value: Not stated
Price: $283 at Harrods
Also stocked at: Adore Beauty ($304); Sephora NZ ($320); ASOS ($346)

Best for: Saving nearly 60% per-ml on some very bougie skincare

Days: 12
Beauty products: 12
Full-size inclusions: None
Bonus items: None
Claimed value: $430, however this is based on full-size RRPs in the US. Cost-per-ml value in NZ (according to Mecca price-list) is $525+
Price: $285 at ASOS
Also stocked at: Revolve ($235, currently sold out)

Best for: The family member most likely to rescue a ribbon from the rubbish bag

Days: 12
Beauty products: 12
Full-size inclusions: 1 (The Melting Lip Balm in Reddo)
Bonus items: None, however if purchasing directly from Tatcha, you can choose to have your calendar wrapped in the traditional Japanese furoshiki style, which involves the precise folding and knotting of a limited edition keepsake cloth to represent the meaningful bond between giver and recipient.
Claimed value: $695
Price: $355 at Tatcha
Also stocked at: Selfridges ($496)

Best for: Affordable, low-stakes fun for teens

Days: 24
Beauty products: 18
Full-size inclusions: 13 (Firming Micro Masks; Moisturising & Smoothing Lip Mask; Moisturising & Glowing Face Mask; Transformation Glow Mask; Quick Clear Patches; Love the Lift Mascara; 12H Colourful Waterproof Eye Contour Pencil; Gloss Balm; Glossed Lip Gloss; Blush & Go; Gleam & Go; Colourful Blush; Vanilla & Almond Milk Bath Bomb)
Bonus items: 6 (make-up sponge; pencil sharpener; sequin scrunchie; sequin hair clip; pompom; blotting papers)
Claimed value: Not stated
Price: $125 at Sephora NZ (currently sold out)

Best for: A daily reminder that it’s not that deep – just breeeaaaathe.

Days: 24
Beauty products: 24
Full-size inclusions: 1 (Balance Essential Oil Roll-On)
Bonus items: None
Claimed value: $460
Price: $269 at Adore Beauty

Best for: A full-noise festive season

Days: 12
Beauty products: 12
Full-size inclusions: 6 (Gloss Bomb Stix; Fenty Cheeks Suede Powder Blush; Hella Thicc Mascara; Killawatt Freestyle Highlighter; Fenty Treatz Lip Oil; Plush Puddin’ Lip Mask)
Bonus items: None
Claimed value: $635
Price: $425 at Fenty Beauty

Best for: Flexing on your friend that bought the ASOS calendar

Days: 25
Beauty products: 26
Full-size inclusions: 19 (Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Freeze; Medik8 Total Moisture Daily Cleansing Gel; Clinique Moisture Surge 100H Hydrator; Benefit Roller Lash Mascara; MAC Fix+ Setting Spray; Aveda Cherry Almond Shampoo & Conditioner; The Ordinary UV Filters Serum + more)
Bonus item: LOOKFANTASTIC reusable eye patches
Claimed value: $1,565
Price: $233 at LOOKFANTASTIC

Best for: If your annual leave is already in deficit

Days: 12
Beauty products: 13
Full-size inclusions: 7 (Anua Zero-Cast Sunscreen; SKIN1004 Centella Ampoule; Medicube Zero Pore Pad; Biodance Bio Collagen Mask; Beauty of Joseon Revive Eye Serum; Tocobo Glass Tinted Lip Balm; ISNTREE PDRN Firming Cream)
Bonus items: None
Claimed value: $330
Price: $97 at LOOKFANTASTIC

Best for: “The World’s Best Pen!” (*not independently verified)

Days: 12
Beauty products: 12
Full-size inclusions: 1 (Very Luxe Repair Mask)
Bonus items: Peach Pen; Mini Scrunchie x3 pack; Go-To x Alémais Shower Cap
Claimed value: Not stated
Price: $210 at Mecca

Best for: The most elevated camping shower, ever

L’Occitane does French self-care better than anyone, and this calendar goes hard on that heritage. Rather than chasing novelty, it celebrates the shower oils, hand creams and almond body care that made the brand famous in the first place. Nothing included is full-size, but that just means more space in your luggage. Forget the questionable toiletries at your New Year’s AirBnB. Your post-beach bathing ritual deserves better.

Days: 24
Beauty products: 23
Full-size inclusions: None
Bonus item: Cocon de Sérénité Pillow Mist
Claimed value: $438
Price: $195 at LOOKFANTASTIC
Also stocked at: L’Occitane NZ ($225); Harrods ($223)

Best for: Whoever’s hosting Christmas this year

The meat-free BBQ remains your problem to solve, but by the time you’ve opened every little candle, room spritz and hand cream in your Glasshouse calendar, at least your home will smell beautifully cohesive, and not at all like sham ham and vegan bug spray. Better still, you’ll have all the makings of some thoughtful little gift bundles, should you find yourself playing Santa to any last-minute guests.

Days: 24
Beauty products: 23
Full-size inclusions: None
Bonus item: Christmas 2026 ornament + keepsake booklet
Claimed value: Not stated
Price: $340 at Sephora
Also stocked at: Glasshouse Fragrances ($340); Life Pharmacy ($340)

Best for: Impressing even the fussiest vegan with a feast of bath and body treats

Days: 24
Beauty products: 23
Full-size inclusions: 1 (Fiery Pink Pepper EdP 30ml)
Bonus items: Gunmetal Fragrance Travel Case
Claimed value: $1,085
Price: $439 at LOOKFANTASTIC
Also stocked at: Selfridges ($539, sold out)

Best for: Never buying a beauty blender again

For the price of a below average Pad Thai, Kmart has turned the humble beauty blender into one of our favourite advent calendars of 2026. It’s gloriously unserious, undeniably useful, and proof that not every festive countdown needs to cost hundreds of dollars.

Days: 12
Beauty products: 12 beauty blenders
Full-size inclusions: Beauty blenders (12 of them)
Bonus item: Comedy
Claimed value: Not stated
Price: $18 at Kmart

Best for: Being not like other advent calendars

Days: 6 (Boxing Day to New Year’s Eve)
Products: 6
Full-size inclusions: 4 (Not a Bar Soap; Not a Hand Cream; Not a Body Lotion; Not a Hair & Body Mist)
Bonus items: None
Claimed value: $430
Price: $282 at LOOKFANTASTIC

Best for: Nostalgia hunters

Days: 24
Beauty products: 24
Full-size inclusions: 5 (Strawberry Lip Butter; Shea Lip Butter; Aloe Sheet Mask; Vitamin E Sheet Mask; Vitamin C Sheet Mask)
Bonus items: None
Claimed value: $283
Price: $117 at LOOKFANTASTIC

Best for: Bribing your nail tech for a Christmas Eve appointment

Days: 12
Beauty products: 12
Full-size inclusions: None
Bonus items: None. Suggest popping a bag or two of M&Ms in there if you actually need that appointment.
Claimed value: Not stated
Price: $110 at The Iconic

Best for: Substance over status-chasing

There are two types of luxury advent calendar: the ones designed to leave you with an empty bank account, a full recycling bin, and 24 tubes of very expensive moisturiser, and the genuinely excellent ones from brands with a passion for their craft, a reverence for the season, and too much respect for their clientele to turn a moment of celebration into a cynical cash-grab. Sisley’s stunning advent calendar is without a doubt the second one.

Days: 25
Beauty products: 24
Full-size inclusions: 9 (Lyslait Cleansing Milk with White Lily; Phyto-Rouge Lipstick; Floral Toning Lotion; Phyto-Noir Mascara; Nutritive Lip Balm; Express Flower Gel; Fortifying Densifying Shampoo; Restructuring Conditioner; Sisleÿa L’Intégral Anti-Âge La Cure)
Bonus item: Scented ceramic ornament
Claimed value: $2,485
Price: $1,615 at Selfridges

Best for: Delayed gratification

Having practically invented scent layering, Jo Malone understands better than most the power of a good build up. It’s not surprising then, that this is one of the few advent calendars whose finale actually feels like one. We promise the full-size 30ml fragrance you unwrap on Christmas Day will smell 30% more gorgeous for the wait.

Days: 25
Beauty products: 25
Full-size inclusions: 3 (Tangerine & Honey Cologne 30ml; Wood Sage & Sea Salt Body & Hand Wash 100ml; Lime Basil & Mandarin Body & Hand Wash 100ml)
Bonus item: Keepsake tartan trunk
Claimed value: Approx. $1,180
Price: $908 at Selfridges
Also stocked at: Jo Malone ($1,111)

Best for: An EOY identity crisis with the glamour turned up to 11

Nothing says main character like making your Christmas crashout a multi-sensory affair. Ever the agent of chaos, YSL is playing delulu bestie to your fragmented sense of self, supplying six of its most distinctive fragrances and five full-size makeup favourites to ensure you never show up to a party wearing the same personality twice.

Days: 24
Beauty products: 22
Full-size inclusions: 5 (Couture Mini Clutch Eyeshadow Palette; Loveshine Candy Glaze; Loveshine Lipstick; Lovenude Lip Blusher; Libre Perfumed Body Balm 50ml)
Bonus items: YSL compact mirror + kabuki brush
Claimed value: $1,155
Price: $678 at Selfridges

Best for: Celebrity skincare aficionados

Days: 24
Beauty products: 22
Full-size inclusions: 2 (Body Glow Lotion 150ml; Ceramide Drops Face Oil 30ml)
Bonus items: Limited edition red bouclé vanity case, satin sleep mask and Christmas ornament
Claimed value: $2,615
Price: $995 at FWRD
Also stocked at: Revolve ($1,144); Selfridges ($1,073, sold out)

Best for: Someone with a VPN, a shipping proxy, and a friend at NZ Customs

Days: 25
Beauty products: 24
Full-size inclusions: 4 (Do Son Hair Mist; Eau Rose Refillable Solid Perfume; Perfecting Satin Oil for Body and Hair; Luxurious Balm for the Hands)
Bonus items: Decoration Set
Claimed value: Not stated
Price: $999 at Selfridges (sold out)
Also stocked at: Diptyque Paris ($899), which does not ship to New Zealand, however if you are an experienced online shopper with a bunch of tricks up your sleeve, this is your time to shine.

Best for: If importing the Diptyque calendar sounds like too much admin

Days: 25
Beauty products: 20
Full-size inclusions: 7 (Bal d’Afrique EdP 50ml; Blanche Body Mist; Mojave Ghost Hair Perfume; Rose of No Man’s Land Hand Cream; Bal d’Afrique Hand Cream; Rouge à Lèvres Liquide Vinyl in Fantôme; Rouge à Lèvres Satin in Earth Dust)
Bonus items: Scented Ceramic; Candle Wick Trimmer; Hairbrush; Leather Travel Case; Pocket Mirror
Claimed value: $1,839
Price: $1,735 at Selfridges

Best for: Diamond skin when you need that extra sparkle

Days: 11
Beauty products: 12
Full-size inclusions: 3 (Eye Lift Gel NAC Y²; Black Diamond Vitamin C Brightening Booster; All Day Radiance Face Mist)
Bonus items: Contouring Gua Sha
Claimed value: $1,595+
Price: $985 at FWRD
Also stocked at: Revolve ($1,133); Selfridges ($1,011)