The best beauty advent calendars are coming in thick and fast, and if you’ve been holding out for Space NK’s drop, the wait is finally over. Joining Harrods, Liberty, Selfridges and Harvey Nichols’s, the beauty retailer has released the full line-up of its calendar for this year, and, as someone who’s been unboxing 2026’s must-have calendars, I’d argue that the Space NK beauty advent calendar 2026 is on track to be this year’s top offering.
Inside the 25 days, there are 35 products spanning make-up, skincare, haircare, fragrance and body – 31 of which are exclusive to this advent calendar, so you won’t find them elsewhere. There’s a pleasing number of full-size items (26) and sought-after brands like Augustinus Bader, Refy, Hourglass.
According to Space NK the £275 calendar is worth more than £1,200, but that’s still a lot of money to drop, so read on for my verdict after opening every drawer.
Read more: An exclusive first look at the Sephora beauty advent calendar 2026
Space NK beauty advent calendar 2026
Price: £275 (up £15 year on year)
Worth: £1,200+ (up £50 year on year)
Number of days: 25
Number of products: 35
Avaliable: 10 September in store and online
Why we love it
- Hero products from sought-after brands
- Lots of full-sized items
- Only a few filler products
- Wearable shades
Take note
- Some items for body feel a bit surplus
At £275, the Space NK beauty advent calendar is £15 more expensive than last year's edition, but the retailer says its contents is worth more than £1,200 (£50 extra than 2025’s), which still leaves you with an extra £35 of savings up for grabs.
Showing off the variety of its beauty department, the calendar isn't overwhelmingly skincare, make-up, or fragrance. It's a good balance and has a lot of “I want to try that” products. If you’ve been dying to test out the likes of Medik8, Sunday Riley, Tatcha, La Mer, Augustinus Bader, this is your chance before you fork out on an individual product.
Importantly Space NK has chosen to include real hero products like Vieve’s skin nova primer, Lisa Eldridge’s liquid liner, Charlotte Tilbury’s beauty light wand and a Kosas mascara – not niche items in obscure shades. The bright pink liquid blush from Hourglass caught my eye, while the one brow product, Rare Beauty’s brow gel, is bound to suit all.
Haircare is surprisingly standout with a mix of products from cult brands that don’t overlap, delivering heat protection, fragrance, intensive treatment, bond repair and styling across the board. You’re getting a combination of the best new products like Olaplex’s reformulated No.3 plus, and cult favourites like Philip Kingsley’s elasticiser, the Color Wow dream cocktail, and K18’s heatbounce (which senior shopping writer Lucy Smith praised in her review).
Skincare-buffs will be satisfied, too, with handfuls of hard-working products from accessible, cult, luxury and advanced brands. The hero product is Medik8’s exo-PDRN prismatic+, which supports skin rejuvenation. Elsewhere, you've got skin barrier repair with Byoma’s hydrating milky toner, dark spot treatment in the shape of Caudalie’s vinoperfect brightening dark spot and a luxury ultra- rich moisturiser, La Mer’s creme de la mer (worth £85).
You’ve got three fragrance items, which are pretty universal with unisex scents – from the peppery debasser in bloom from D.S. & Durga and the floral musk of missing person from Phlur. There’s also Gisou’s favourited vanilla spray for your hair. There are a few products I’m not that fussed about like the Space NK bubble bath and Patchology’s eye gels, but the quality of brands, variety and desirable hero products give plenty to gloat about.
The calendar itself has been given a festive makeover, with pastel pink and blue nutcracker-splashed packaging that's – according to Space NK – also more environmentally conscious. It's made from 100 per cent recyclable FSC-certified paper, printed using vegetable-based inks and designed to be reused or recycled after Christmas.
Whether you’re waiting for the full list of contents or dead set on securing the Space NK advent this December, you’ll want to join the waitlist sooner rather than later. Rather than giving everyone access at once, Space NK has declared that “the sooner you join, the earlier you can shop on preview day,” which implies that links to the live calendar will be sent based on when signees joined the waitlist. So, an earlier place in the queue could improve your chances of getting hold of one before it sells out. And, in my experience, it definitely will sell out.
Buy now £275, Spacenk.com
Is the Space NK beauty advent calendar worth £275?
On the face of it, I’m really impressed by Space NK’s 2026 advent calendar. Opening the doors, it felt like the products from must-have brands kept on coming, with many of them being full-sized. I’d say this is a pretty universal calendar that takes you on a tour of the best brands and cult products in wearable shades and usable sizes. It’s definitely an investment, but if you can spot more than a handful of products you’ve been wanting to try, you may well make your money back quickly.
What’s inside the Space NK beauty advent calendar?
How I tested
After getting my hands on Space NK’s 2026 advent calendar, I swatched and sprayed my way through the contents, paying attention to
Why you can trust IndyBest reviews
Alice Reynolds covers a wide range of beauty reviews and new launches for IndyBest from advent calendars to fragrance, make-up and more, so she knows what’s worth your time and money. Elsewhere, she consulted senior shopping Lucy Smith who has been reviewing advent calendars for IndyBest for three years.
