Forget chocolate countdowns, beauty advent calendars are the festive tradition that add a touch of luxury to the Christmas period. From Liberty and Harrods to Lookfantastic and Elemis, these calendars can include everything from premium skincare and cult make-up to pampering staples and men’s grooming essentials.
Treating you to a beauty gift every day of December, it’s a decadent way to countdown the season – and unsurprisingly, most don’t come cheap. Enter M&S’s offering. A sell-out hit year after year, the high street stalwart is an indulgent edit of winter beauty essentials from household names such as Benefit, Clinique, Ren, Percy & Reed and Living Proof.
This year, it costs just £50 when spending £30 in-store or online on beauty, home and clothing (easily done thanks to M&S’s stellar autumn fashion collection). Spanning haircare, skincare, body care, fragrance and make-up, the line-up boasts an overall value of more than £300. Plus, it’s packaged in a velvet vanity case that’s far more useful than the boxes that most advent calendars come in.
From the full line-up (spoilers ahead) to its launch date, here’s everything you need to know about the M&S beauty advent calendar for 2024.
M&S beauty advent calendar: £50 (when you spend £30 on clothing, home or beauty), Marksandspencer.com
What is inside the M&S beauty advent calendar for 2024?
M&S’s curated line-up of 25 beauty gifts includes haircare, make-up, body care, skincare and fragrance, with 11 full-size products and 14 travel-sized minis. Unlike other advent calendars, M&S’s offering is packaged in a velvet vanity case that can be repurposed as storage or for travel, adding to its overall value.
There is a lot to get excited about here. Haircare obsessives are sure to be delighted with travel-sized versions of Color Wow’s colour security shampoo (£21.50 for full-size, Marksandspencer.com) and conditioner (£21.50 for full-size, Marksandspencer.com), a travel-sized version of Percy & Reed’s tame that mane smoothing blow dry cream (£20 for full-size, Marksandspencer.com) and a 40ml Philip Kingsley’s elasticizer (£21 for full-size, Marksandspencer.com), as well as a 15ml Aveda botanical repair strengthening masque (£40 for full-size, Marksandspencer.com) and a 60ml Living Proof PhD five-in-one styling treatment (£28 for full-size, Marksandspencer.com).
Meanwhile, the M&S calendar doesn’t scrimp on premium brands for skincare lovers. From Clinique’s take the day off balm (£34 for full-size, Marksandspencer.com) to a 15ml version of Emma Hardie purifying pink clay detox mask (£45 for full-size, Marksandspencer.com), there are plenty of products to make you feel your best self during December and beyond.
When it comes to make-up, you can expect Benefit’s fan fest mascara (Marksandspencer.com) that’s worth £27 alone, Pixi’s eyeliner (£12, Marksandspencer.com) and Dr PawPaw’s ultimate red tinted lip balm.
Supplying you with pampering heroes to get you through the festive party season, there’s also a Formula sleep cream (£9.50, Marksandspencer.com), L’Occitane shea hand cream 30ml (£9.50, Marksandspencer.com) and Cowshed relax bath and body shower duo (£38, Marksandspencer.com), as well as Bloom & Blossom’s keep dancing foot and leg mist (£24, Marksandspencer.com).
Helping your nails look fresh, you’ll also find Nail Inc polishes in a range of colours, as well as a cuticle serum. M&S hasn’t held back on the fragrance front either, with a Floral Street vanilla orchid eau deu parfum (£29, Marksandspencer.com) and a Discover velvet amber (£10, Marksandspencer.com), which is said to be reminiscent of Chanel’s iconic no5 scent.
From fragrances and make-up to elevate your festive party looks to skincare and body care to combat the effects of one too many parties, the M&S calendar is a steal for just £50. Put the 24 October in your diary to avoid missing out when the calendar launches.
Is LOOKFANTASTIC’s beauty advent calendar this year’s best value for money?
