If you know anything about beauty advent calendars, then you know that the window to actually buy one narrows as we close in on December, with some iterations already sold out (yes, really – Harrods’s edition for this year is already out of stock).
Considered one of the biggest purchases you can make during the Christmas season, with prices ranging anywhere up to £400, Black Friday is a clever time to think about shopping your beauty countdown of choice, with a surprising number of calendars slashed in price in celebration of the sales event.
While some of the most sought-after beauty advent calendars sell out fast, others – including launches from Charlotte Tilbury, Mac and Boots – have historically been discounted once the Black Friday sales begin.
With that in mind, I’ll be keeping track of which beauty advent calendars are still available, which ones are dropping in price and, crucially, whether the price (even after an extra Black Friday discount) actually makes them worth buying. I’ve unboxed and tested more than 20 of 2026’s biggest calendars for IndyBest, while researching upwards of 50 launches in total, so I already know which boxes deliver on value, product selection and full-size contents – sale or no sale.
Having covered beauty advent calendars for IndyBest for three years, I also know which brands routinely discount their Christmas countdowns and which are far less likely to hang around until Black Friday. Here’s what I know so far.
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When will Black Friday beauty advent calendar deals start?
Beauty advent calendars tend to be discounted later than many other Black Friday buys. While retailers such as John Lewis and Boots increasingly launch their wider sales weeks in advance, many hold back advent calendar reductions until Black Friday itself (27 November), when stores and brands have a better idea of how much stock remains.
There are exceptions, of course. Some brands start cutting prices from the Monday of Black Friday week – Charlotte Tilbury did exactly that last year – so it’s worth keeping an eye out from 23 November in 2026, or checking in on this guide. I’ll be tracking calendar prices throughout the month and adding any rare early reductions as they pop up.
Will there be Cyber Monday beauty advent calendar deals?
Yes, I’d expect any beauty advent calendars still in stock after Black Friday weekend to remain discounted for Cyber Monday (which falls on 30 November this year), and there could even be further reductions as brands look to clear their remaining units.
Although, as the following day will be 1 December, unless you can pick up your calendar in-store or secure next-day delivery, an order placed on Cyber Monday is unlikely to reach you in time to open door number one on schedule. If that, as well as a diminished number of advent brands on offer, doesn’t bother you, Cyber Monday could be a good opportunity to pick up one of the remaining calendars at a discount.
What Black Friday beauty advent calendar deals can we expect?
If last year’s Black Friday sales are anything to go by, I’ve a pretty good idea of the brands we can expect to see reducing their beauty advent calendars in 2026. Most notably, Black Friday 2025 brought reductions on advent calendars from Mac, Boots, Next and Debenhams. It might surprise beauty buffs to learn that Space NK’s fragrance calendar was also discounted, despite the main Space NK advent selling out weeks beforehand. Elsewhere, Clarins, Real Techniques, L’Occitane and Soap & Glory all cut their prices around the sales.
For 2026, I’ll also be keeping an eye on some of the newer launches, including John Lewis’s first fragrance advent calendar and Selfridges’s debut fragrance countdown. However, it’s worth noting that waiting for Black Friday discounts always comes with a gamble. K-beauty brand Pure Seoul went live with its first-ever advent calendar this year and, unsurprisingly, it’s already sold out. Likewise, Harrods’s fragrance calendar disappeared rapidly on launch day, and Selfridges’s main beauty calendar is now unavailable to buy. In other words, I’d expect plenty of advent deals this Black Friday, just not necessarily on the year’s most in-demand calendars.
Which beauty advent calendar is the best value for money?
After reviewing dozens of beauty advent calendars, I can confidently say that Sephora’s 2026 iteration is one of the best picks available this year. Not only did it win top spot in my review of the best beauty advent calendars, but it offers huge savings of £771 and comes with a total of 40 different products (27 of which are full-size).
While Glossybox technically offers the best value on paper, at £90 with a contents value of more than £645 across skincare, make-up, haircare and fragrance, Sephora’s calendar is still a standout choice in my opinion. It combines substantial savings with a generous selection of beauty favourites that make it well worth the investment. I’ll be sure to let you know if either drop in price when Black Friday rolls around.
Why you can trust IndyBest’s Black Friday coverage
Not only has Lucy Smith been heading up IndyBest’s guide to the best beauty advent calendars since the first countdown dropped in July, she’s also been working across Black Friday sales professionally since 2023. This means she knows how to spot a dud deal and, in the world of advent calendars, she’s well aware of the products that are repetitively thrown in to help make up numbers; the new launches that make an advent exciting, and the formulas that truly perform time and again. Here, she’ll be on hand to monitor which advent calendars become discounted first, updating this guide as stock levels fluctuate and, as always, informing you on the pros and cons of purchasing each and every one she features.
Read more: The best beauty advent calendars are selling out – here are my tried-and-tested top picks
