Although it may seem a tad early to be talking about beauty advent calendars, Christmas 2022 launches are already landing.
Last year, advent calendars spanned selections from John Lewis, Aldi, No7, Cult Beauty, Mac, The White Company and more. One of our favourites, though, was from The Body Shop, especially as the colourful, recyclable calendars came complete with sweet festive illustrations. So, we were very excited to hear about the brand’s 2022 beauty advent calendars arriving.
The Body Shop’s box of wishes and wonders ultimate advent calendar and the box of wonders big advent calendar are both available online from 23 August. Meanwhile, the smaller box of wishes version lands on 20 September, when all three calendars will be available to buy in store too.
Inspired by The Body Shop’s community fair-trade partners, the calendars’ key messaging focuses on body-loving treats made from globally sourced ingredients. Plus, the company is celebrating Christmas, the season of giving, by pledging a minimum £500,000 donation to organisations helping young people worldwide.
Billed as being packed with both full-sized and mini favourites, as well as new product launches, we had to explore further. Read on for our review of the goodies found inside each advent calendar.
How we tested
Over a few days, we tested the two larger advent calendars in their entirety, and sampled the third one’s products ahead of its later launch. We looked at packaging, value for money and how much we liked the included goodies.
The Body Shop box of wishes and wonders ultimate advent calendar
As the name suggests, the green box of wishes and wonders ultimate advent calendar is an impressive size and comes complete with an upper tray, plus two large drawers and hessian handles. There are standout green and red images mimicking stickers covering the outside – from candy canes and snowflakes to the recycling symbol and stamps.
We opened the box’s lid to reveal a top section showing pop-up cardboard figures and a festive backdrop. Creating a charming stage effect, these illustrations include Christmas letters, a snowman and parcels, plus activism and recycling imagery.
We think the images would work well if cut out and used as gift tags for festive wrapping too. The level of design detail is beautiful, and we don’t think a written description can do it justice, as each intricate feature looks thoughtfully put together to link The Body Shop’s brand values with beloved Christmas traditions.
The calendar’s drawers, which can be pulled out using each looped handle, are removable for easy recycling. However, after repurposing the boxes from last year and using the mini chest of drawers for storage, we plan to do similar again. We also removed the drawers to use them as desk dividers, and they’re still going strong a year later.
There are 24 different-sized cardboard boxes to dive into throughout December, and each holds full-sized bestselling buys across new products and classic goodies. Our standout favourites include the brand-new soothing and hydrating peptide-infused edelweiss serum concentrate sheet mask. A cult classic favourite of ours is in there too: The Body Shop’s refreshing and moisturising vitamin E hydrating toner (£9, Thebodyshop.com). Other treats we were delighted to discover include the brightening pink grapefruit shower gel (£7, Thebodyshop.com); the recently launched and suitably comforting calming pillow mist (£18, Thebodyshop.com), and the iconic staple, shea body butter (£18, Thebodyshop.com).
Plus, we enjoyed trying the lavishly smoothing British rose body yoghurt (£12, Thebodyshop.com), delish-tasting almond milk lip care stick (£5, Thebodyshop.com) and clever avocado-scented body lotion-to-oil moisturiser (£12, Thebodyshop.com).
Bearing in mind these items are all full-sized, this calendar provides a veritable feast of The Body Shop buys. We mentioned repurposing earlier, and the green, white and red boxes would make gorgeous gift packaging, too. There’s so much product and packaging joy to be discovered, with special details at every turn.
Our favourite part is probably the little ‘wish for Christmas’ notes found on some boxes, such as one saying: “Lift each other up, invite the girls over to pamper, reconnect and relax.” And you definitely could, with this amount of high-standard advent calendar surprises, there’s enough to share around.
Buy now £145.00, Thebodyshop.com
The Body Shop box of wonders big advent calendar
A medium-sized version of the ultimate advent calendar, the box of wonders is still a generous offering, and this time centres around red imagery. There are two drawers to open and a top tray, which is underneath pop-up figures set against a background themed around The Body Shop. We spotted a snowman, Santa, and a Christmas post box, and loved the metallic detail adding that extra festive sparkle. Again, we saw seasonal stamps and key imagery throughout, homing in on activism as well as this special time of year.
When opening a box, we particularly appreciated one saying: “With love from London.” We will definitely be reusing the drawers to house trinkets or beauty products.
Among the calendar’s 25 treats were full-sized and smaller goodies. On the full-size front, favourites include the intensely nourishing shea shampoo (£8.50, Thebodyshop.com), refining skin clarifying night peel (£22, Thebodyshop.com) and the restorative breathe massage melt balm (£18, Thebodyshop.com). Meanwhile, smaller products we loved cover a travel-sized almond milk shower cream (£7 for full size, Thebodyshop.com), sweet-scented mango body butter (£6, Thebodyshop.com) and a mini treatment in the form of Himalayan charcoal purifying glow mask (£7, Thebodyshop.com).
There are skincare, haircare and body-care buys, as well as handy essentials – such as a hairband and muslin cloth. If you like stocking up on standard-sized buys and trying smaller newbies, this is the advent calendar to invest in this Christmas.
Buy now £95.00, Thebodyshop.com
The Body Shop box of wishes advent calendar
As smaller advent calendars go, this £55 buy serves up a tempting array of 24 beauties from The Body Shop. The blue box showcases decorative illustrations, pop-up cardboard figures and clever branding, plus a tray of boxed treats. We can’t fault this overall packaging style, and whether you fancy shopping the ultimate advent calendar or this smaller incarnation, there’s a lot of pleasing repurposing potential.
Our product favourites inside include the skin-boosting vitamin C glow sheet mask (£5, Thebodyshop.com), sweet and creamy vegan-friendly strawberry hand cream (£6, Thebodyshop.com), and a mini bottle of the uplifting pink grapefruit shower gel (£3, Thebodyshop.com). If you’ve yet to try the Himalayan charcoal purifying glow mask, there’s one for sampling, and we’re big fans of the body butter in the refreshing mango flavour (£6, Thebodyshop.com).
Buy now £55.00, Thebodyshop.com
The verdict: The Body Shop advent calendars 2022
The Body Shop advent calendars have once again wowed us with stunning, recyclable packaging complete with thoughtful designs and plenty of repurposing options. We loved being able to dive into full-sized buys or sample smaller offerings, depending on each calendar’s price point. These are extra special advent calendars, jam-packed with haircare, skincare and body care goodies, bringing festive joy and brilliant beauty treasures.
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