If you’re after a budget-friendly beauty advent calendar that packs in excellent value for money, LookFantastic is definitely a top contender to know about. For 2024, LookFantastic’s offering includes 27 coveted beauty products that together are worth a whopping £565, yet it can be all yours for just £100.
To put this in perspective, Liberty’s advent calendar retails for a lot more at £260 (and is worth £1,205), Fortnum & Mason‘s is £265 (worth £1,080) and Harrods ‘offering this year that was by far the best value luxury calendar that retailed for £250 (worth £1,599), but has already sold out online. So, beauty calendars really are selling out fast and we expect LookFantastic’s to be no different.
To compare the calendar to more affordable options, Boots’ popular Macmillan 24 Doors of Joy Advent Calendar retails for £90 and the contents worth is unknown. Liz Earle’s advent calendar costs £79 but only includes products worth up to £265. Lastly, Boots’ Limited Edition Beauty Advent Calendar costs £99 but is only worth £365.87 – so there’s no denying LookFantastic’s excellent value for money.
LookFantastic
Filled with luxury products that add up to a whopping £565, there’s no denying that this beauty advent calendar is one of the best on the market this year.
- More affordable than most
- Filled with a great variety of luxury products
- Lots of items come boxed, so you could give some items as gifts
- The box itself is flimsier than more luxury options
- Includes a £30 Foreo voucher you probably won’t use
The calendar features an array of luxury products from some of the biggest beauty brands such as Shiseido, ESPA, Medik8, Estée Lauder, and Elemis, which is comparable to those found in way more premium options. Plus, out of the 27 beauty must-haves, 13 are full-size, which really does solidify its great value.
Standout products include Estée Lauder’s best-selling Advanced Night Repair Serum (travel size, worth £35) that’s enriched with hyaluronic acid to help smooth and plump the skin, as well as Elemis’s Pro-Collagen Marine Cream (full size, worth £63), a rich, creamy moisturiser that hydrates and soothes the skin.
What’s inside LookFantastic’s Beauty Advent Calendar 2024?
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10 skincare products
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6 make-up products
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3 haircare products
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2 bodycare products
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2 make-up tools
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1 fragrance
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1 candle
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1 sleep mask
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1 voucher
The first thing you’re probably wondering is, what’s the most expensive item in the calendar? After all, we all love knowing we’ve snagged a bargain.
The top three are all full-sized, taking the top slot is the Avant Skincare Pro Perfecting Collagen Touche Éclat Primer, which is worth a whopping £84 (more on if I think it’s worth that price tag in a bit). Next is the coveted Elemis Pro-Collagen Marine Cream, which usually costs £63, and coming in third is the Anastasia Beverly Hills Soft Glam Palette, which has 14 party-ready shades and is worth £48.
⭐ My 5 Liberty Beauty Advent Calendar highlights ⭐
I’ve spent the last week testing every single item to find out which ones in the calendar are truly worth the money and might even be worth repurchasing. Coming in as strong contenders is the Ultrasun Face SPF30, which is unscented and honestly made me enjoy putting SPF on. The Anastasia Beverly Hills Soft Glam Palette, which has a ton of wearable shades I’m sure to get tons of use out of over Christmas party season and The Ordinary Multi-Peptide Eye Serum, which I’m patiently waiting to see if it can work miracles and help with my dark under-eye bags.
1. Elemis Pro-Collagen Marine Cream | retails for £63
I am already a firm fan of Elemis’ Pro-Collagen Marine Cream, it’s a lightweight gel-cream that glides effortlessly onto the skin and quickly sinks in and leaves no oily residue. The award-winning moisturiser is a best-seller for a reason and helps to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles due to its super hydrating formula with powerful marine and plant actives.
This calendar arrived at the perfect time, as I had been sparingly using what was left of my existing cream. If for no other reason, I would buy the calendar purely because you get this luxurious £63 moisturiser bundled with 26 other goodies for just a bit more than the cost of the Elemis product alone.
2. Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair Serum | retails at £35 for 15ml
I have always wanted to try Estée Lauder’s Advanced Night Repair Serum, the well-known serum has over 15,000 five-star reviews and has a legion of celebrity fans thanks to its peptide formula that helps promote your skin’s natural renewal cycle. Elizabeth Hurley once told British Vogue: “I’ve used Estée Lauder’s Advanced Night Repair – an excellent serum – since the 1990s. It really is a beauty and I have used it twice a day for 20 years.”
The smallest bottle you can buy in stores is the 30ml, which costs a whopping £65, so I was glad to try the travel-sized serum without shelling out a ton of money. While I haven’t been using it long enough to see the longer-term benefits, I have been enjoying using the lightweight serum morning and night to help hydrate my skin. The good news is, a little goes a long way, so I think I’ll be surprised at just how long this little bottle lasts me.
3. Medik8 Press and Glow Tonic | retails for £28
Medik8 has shot up in popularity over the past few years and is now one of the buzziest brands in the beauty world. While members of the Yahoo UK team are already firm fans of a number of products, I’m still very new the brand, so was excited to try this Daily Exfoliating PHA Tonic.
First off, I love a good toner, I have used Ren’s popular toner for two years, but often find it a bit stingy on my skin and can dry it out, especially in winter. I don’t know how they’ve done it but, there’s none of that with this Medik8 toner. It gently removes dead surface skin cells, making my skin feel fresh, tighter and gives it a glow. I think this may be my new favourite and will definitely be repurchasing.
4. Peter Thomas Roth Stem Cell Anti-Ageing Gel Mask | retails for £20
Peter Thomas Roth is another more high end skincare brand I love, but don’t buy often. Boasting a cooling jelly texture, it can be used as a 10 minute or overnight mask and when they say it’s ‘cooling’ it really is. I have been loving using it in the morning to wake up my face and to give it some hydration and radiance. Some reviews I’ve read have suggested putting it in the fridge overnight to make it extra icy, which I’m definitely going to try.
5. Color Wow Raise the Root Thicken and Lift Spray | retails for £12
Chris Appleton, hair stylist to Kim K, Jennifer Lopez swears by Color Wow and numerous of the brands products have gone viral on TikTok for their effectiveness to leave hair frizz-free and voluminous. So, I was definitely intrigued to test of this Root Thicken and Lift Spray, especially because my hair is very thin and very much lacking volume.
It can be used on damp or dry hair, I’ve tried both and really wasn’t expecting much, but I ended up being super impressed. First off, unlike other sprays I’ve tried it doesn’t make your hair stiff or shiny. In fact, it somehow made my hair feel super soft and sleek, as if i’d just had a blow dry. As for the lift, it definitely made my hair feel and look thicker and more voluminous all in the space of a few easy seconds, so I am absolutely converted.
🪫 My 3 Liberty Beauty Advent Calendar lowlights 🪫
1. Avant Skincare Pro Perfecting Collagen Touche Éclat Primer | retails for £84
Being the most expensive item in the calendar and full size, I wasn’t expecting the product to be A. so tiny and B. a primer, which you can easily pick up for a lot less. In fact, I was so perplexed by this product I went on a bit of a mission to figure out who on earth was even buying it. While, for me, it was a non-offensive primer that does the job but there’s nothing that screams luxury about it. I may change my mind after using it a bit longer as one five-star review states “I was skeptical at first because it is quite pricy but this product really surprised me”. Another shopper said “I have had lots of compliments about how clear my skin looks, yes it’s an expensive product but it’s now a firm favourite for me.”
2. Iconic London Prep-Set-Glow Spray | retails for £25
This multi-tasking mist is meant to set make-up, as well as ‘contains light-reflecting particles that leave you with a gorgeous glow’. In short, it’s like spraying your face with a glittery spray you picked up from Claire’s Accessories when you were 8 and wanted to be a sparkly Princess, so while fun to try out, I don’t think I’ll be using it unless I’m at a festival.
3. Foreo £30 voucher
Foreo is a popular beauty device brand, creating the world’s first soft silicone facial cleansing brush and in recent years has gone into the world of microcurrent devices that are designed to lift, firm and tone your face and neck for a tighter and more contoured complexion from the comfort of your own home. I should add their devices range from £265 to £717, so if you have been wanting to invest in a device to supercharge your skincare routine then the voucher is a nice saving, however otherwise it’s fairly useless.
Finally, is LookFantastic’s Beauty Advent Calendar worth buying?
Considering you get 27 products for just £100, this calendar really is epic value. That works out at just £3.70 per product and considering it’s packed with 13 items over £20 it really is worth the money. So, if you’re looking for a beauty advent calendar that doesn’t cost a fortune but still delivers, whether as a lovely treat for yourself to get through the stressful Christmas season or for a loved one to enjoy, I can’t fault LookFantastic’s 2024 beauty advent calendar.
LookFantastic Iconic Beauty Advent Calendar 2024 | £100 from LookFantastic
Liberty London
Price: £260
Worth: £1,205
Product count: 28
Product highlights: Inside you’ll find a great selection of high-end products, 18 of which are full-size, from some of the biggest and best names in beauty, such as Augustinus Bader, La Mer, Ren, Sunday Riley, Lisa Eldridge and more. Not just that, a select number of golden tickets worth £1,000 have been hidden in a handful of calendars.
The 2024 Liberty Beauty Advent Calendar has been tried and tested by the Yahoo UK team – read our full review here.
Elemis
Price: £199
Worth: £537
Product count: 25
Product highlights: If you’re a Elemis fan, don’t miss this calendar filled with plumping Pro-Collagen best-sellers, illuminating Dynamic Resurfacing favourites, deeply nourishing Superfood formulas and skin-softening, sensorial Frangipani Monoi bodycare.
The 2024 Elemis Beauty Advent Calendar has been tried and tested by the Yahoo UK team – read our full review here.
Cult Beauty
Price: £235
Worth: £1,100
Product count: 40
Product highlights: Cult Beauty’s advent bonanza has the most products you’ll find in any calendar this year, with 19 full-size items, six exclusive items only available with the retailer and 15 minis. The Summer Fridays Lip Butter Balm, Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Matte Beauty Blush Wand and Paula’s Choice Clinical 1% Retinol Treatment are top of our list.
Fortnum & Mason
Price: £265
Worth: £1,080
Product count: 30
Product highlights: Enjoy luxurious treats such as the Sol de Janeiro Bum Bum Cream, Aromatherapy Associates De-Stress Muscle Bath & Shower Oil and a Baobab Paris Candle
Harrods
Product count: 16
Check out Harrods first-ever Hair & Body Advent Calendar, perfect for beauty lovers and bursting with 16 treats worth up to £310.
Boots
Product count: 24
Product highlights: Inside, you’ll find six No7 products, four popular Liz Earle items, and several highly recommended Boots skincare products – plus, £2 from every sale goes to Macmillan Cancer Support.
Boots
Number of products: 24
This 24-day advent calendar is filled with a mix of full-size and mini make-up, skincare and bathing goodies, including a sheet mask, lipstick, body oil, shower foam and hand cream. It’s the ultimate self-care treat you need for the festive countdown.
Boots
Product count: 24
If you want to upgrade your skincare routine, this is the calendar for you. There are 24 skincare products, 16 are full-sized, which includes a Pixi Glow Tonic, Byoma Hydrating Recovery Oil and a Weleda Skin Food Oil. There’s also minis of a No7 Hydrating Lotion, Bioderma Micellar Water, Dove Gradual Tanning Lotion and much more.
Boots
Product count: 12
This one is for the luxury beauty lovers. Every single product is full-sized, meaning this is fantastic value. Our top picks includes the Bobbi Brown Luxe Eyeshadow perfect for party season, Liz Earle Cleanser, Philip Kingsley Bond Builder Split End Remedy and Sol De Janeiro Body Wash.
John Lewis
Product count: 24
Enjoy a haul of vegan beauty treats with this 24-piece beauty advent calendar, featuring body care scented with vanilla, musk and pistachio.
