Its that time of the year again! This is my second year reviewing advent calendars – thank you so much for your feedback last year. A special shout-out to those of you in the Nordic countries!
My aim is to enable you to decide whether a calendar is providing you with value for money (because contrary to what retailers tell you), its not always apparent.
My method is simple: I allocate a monetary value to each item in the calendar starting with the actual retail price for a full-sized product and then making an adjustment for the size in the calendar. E.g., if a 4g lipstick retails at £20 and a calendar contains a 2g travel size, then the value I attribute is £10.
The second step is for you to decide how much of the calendar you will actually use. I never use make-up in calendars, so the face skincare has to be excellent. And honestly, a US$ 100 candle is plain dumb.
Purchasing details
- Retail price: £215 (vs £199 in 2020)
- Expected value given by cultbeauty: £975 (I calculate it as £988)
- Join waitlist by clicking on this link
- Goes on sale in October 2021
- Free worldwide shipping!
- My review of last year’s calendar: click here
Allocation between categories:
- Skincare for face: £596 (or 60%)
- Makeup: £252 (or 25.5%)
- Bodycare 4%
- Haircare 2.5%
- Other 8%
Monetary value of products
Assumptions: All prices are from UK website of Selfridges or cultbeauty, so VAT inclusive, “A” is the quantity of the full sized product. “B” is the price (£) for the full sized product. “C” is the quantity of the product in the Advent Calendar. “D” is calculated as (C/A)*B. “E” is calculated as D/F expresses as a percentage. P.S. As Alexander Pope wrote, “To err is human, to forgive divine” so my calculations may have errors. Don’t shoot me, tell me
What do I think?
The retail price is £215 (an 8% increase from last year), but there are 38 products this year vs. 33 products last year. If you’d like me to send you a side-by-side comparison, drop me a line.
Personally I prefer this year’s calendar.
If I buy this, I know I am going to use most of the skincare products – many I have never tried before, so I recoup my cost on the calendar. I am pretty sure I won’t touch most of the other products in the calendar. This is definitely a great buy – but only if you are going to use most of the skincare and/or make-up.
And there is free worldwide shipping! Wohoo!
Complete list of products
- Jordan Samuel Skin – full size Hydrate the Mist (120ml)
- Briogeo – travel size Scalp Revival™ Charcoal + Coconut Oil Micro-Exfoliating Shampoo (59ml)
- Victoria Beckham Beauty – full size Posh Lipstick in ‘Pout’ (2g)
- Glow Recipe – travel size Watermelon Glow PHA + BHA Pore-Tight Toner (40ml)
- FARMACY – travel size Green Clean Makeup Meltaway Cleansing Balm (50ml)
- Live Tinted – full size Hueglow in ‘Dawn’ (50ml)
- Shiseido – deluxe Vital Perfection Uplifting and Firming Cream (15ml)
- Augustinus Bader – travel size The Face Oil (10ml)
- Sweed Lashes – full size Pro Lash Lift Mascara (8ml)
- HUM Nutrition – full size Here Comes The Sun (30 softgels)
- Supergoop! – travel size Glowscreen™ SPF 30 (15ml)
- Odacité – full size CaR Wild Carrot Serum Concentrate Vital Glow (5ml)
- Sunday Riley – full size Auto Correct Brightening and Depuffing Eye Contour Cream (15ml)
- SUMMER FRIDAYS – full size Cloud Dew Oil-Free Gel Cream (50ml)
- Oskia – full size Isotonic Hydra-Serum (30ml)
- Briogeo – travel size Don’t Despair, Repair!™ Deep Conditioning Mask (59ml)
- The Ordinary – full size Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% (30ml)
- MOLTON BROWN – travel size Jasmine & Sun Rose Bath & Shower Gel (100ml)
- Dr. Barbara Sturm – travel size Glow Drops (10ml)
- fresh – travel size Sugar Strawberry Exfoliating Face Wash (50ml)
- IT Cosmetics – full size Complexion Perfection Buki Brush
- Laura Mercier – deluxe Translucent Loose Setting Powder in ‘Translucent’ (3.5g)
- NARS – deluxe Bronzing Powder in ‘Laguna’ (1.2g)
- Natasha Denona – full size Macro Blade Liquid Liner in ‘Black’ (0.55ml)
- Too Faced – deluxe Better Than Sex Mascara (3.9g)
- VIEVE – full size Lip Dew (6ml)
- Westman Atelier – full size Eye Pod in ‘Tabac’ (0.8g)
- RÓEN – full size 75° Warm Eye Shadow Palette (4.2g)
- THE INKEY LIST – full size Tranexamic Acid Night Treatment (30ml)
- Youth To The People – travel size Kale + Green Tea Spinach Vitamins Superfood Cleanser (59ml)
- Algenist – full size GENIUS Collagen Calming Relief (40ml)
- Charlotte Tilbury – full size Eyes To Mesmerise in ‘Amber Gold’ (7ml)
- Drunk Elephant – travel size T.L.C. Framboos™ Glycolic Night Serum (8ml)
- ESPA – travel size Modern Alchemy The Grounding Crystals (55g)
- Kate Somerville – travel size ExfoliKate Intensive Exfoliating Treatment (15ml)
- Medik8 – deluxe C-Tetra Luxe (8ml)
- Patchology – full size Serve Chilled Bubbly Eye Gels (1 x pair)
- Bella Freud – full size Loving Candle (Tuberose & Sandalwood) (190g)