While you may not wish to think about Christmas just yet, if you want to have a luxurious festive countdown, we recommend that you start considering which luxury beauty advent calendar you want this year. And if it’s an indulgent advent you’re after, The White Company is the one to choose.
The quintessentially British lifestyle brand needs little introduction. The White Company is known for its crisp white homewares and accessories, but it also offers some of the most beautiful smelling skincare, fragrances, and of course, candles that transform your living space into a spa-like sanctuary.
As you’d expect, its 25-day calendar is brimming with all of the brand’s reliable favourites. Offering the perfect opportunity to seek moments of calm and self-care among the mayhem of a chaotic social schedule, it’s hardly a surprise that The White Company’s advent calendar is extremely popular. And boy will it feel like an upgrade from your Cadbury’s countdown.
Without giving too much away just yet, you can expect candles, hand creams and essential oils, all of which are housed in the brand’s signature white packaging.
But with so many luxury calendars on offer, all of which are packed full of hero products, how does The White Company’s offering fare? We got our hands on it to find out.
How we tested
Going against all the usual Christmas traditions (sorry, mum), we went full blasphemy and opened each of the 25 doors to consider the range of products and how well each one would create help a sense of calm during a busy fun-filled December. We also took into consideration value for money, as well as the overall presentation, luxury feel, and packaging.
The White Company beauty advent calendar: £175, Thewhitecompany.com
- Rating: 7.5/10
- Price: £175
- Worth: £269
- Number of days: 25
- Product highlights: The White Company Seychelles signature candle, The White Company jade gua sha, The White Company pomegranate hand cream, The White Company winter signature candle
- Available: Now
Packaging
The design is strikingly similar to yesteryear’s offerings – essentially a white box with a festive scene on the front, which admittedly feels a little done.
The traditional packaging is in keeping with the brand’s signature style though and sees a home (it’s giving Iris’s house in The Holiday) on the front. The magnetic strip on the doors means it closes firmly, so opening it feels particularly luxe.
The advent calendar opens out to reveal 25 individually numbered drawers, which feel particularly sturdy and high-end. Each of the products is nestled among shredded white tissue paper, which only adds to the luxe nature and the feeling of it being a real treat.
What’s inside The White Company advent calendar?
The White Company advent calendar is full to the brim with a charming range of products that will undeniably help you feel even more joyful in December and beyond. If you don’t want a spoiler, we’d recommend that you keep on scrolling until you reach our verdict, because it’s here that we go into detail about the contents of the calendar.
Advent kicks off with a bang. Unwrapping a full-sized winter signature candle (£20, Thewhitecompany.com) on day one is an absolute dream. If you’re yet to smell the brand’s scent, you’re in for a treat – if you imagine a Christmassy fragrance, this is it. With hints of cinnamon and all-spice, it feels as though it really warms the cockles, and with just a whiff you feel transported to a winter’s day by a roaring fire. The throw of the candle is particularly impressive, which you can smell long after the candle’s been blown out.
Other standout products include a miniature version of the pomegranate hand cream (£15, Thewhitecompany.com), which fits neatly into a clutch bag (ideal for festive party season) and smells divine. The scent is subtle and not overpowering and makes skin feel soft and supple, which is essential during the cold wintery months when hands tend to get dry and sore.
Similarly, as huge fans of an indulgent bath during the colder months, we thoroughly enjoyed the sleep bath shot. Packed with lavender and camomile, the scent throw was impressive – our bathroom smelled like the oil long after we’d drained the bath. Using this left us feeling rested and relaxed – an essential during a hectic festive party season, as well as for coping with the January blues.
Aiding our self-care routine even further was the white jade gua sha (£20, Thewhitecompany.com), which was a particularly lovely surprise to unwrap. The massage tool has a very cooling effect and works to tone, firm, and stimulate the skin. One thing we would’ve liked to receive is a face moisturiser or serum, either before or after the gua sha, so as to really complete the experience.
While a nice touch, some might find that the fireside fragrance oil (£10, Thewhitecompany.com) is a little bit redundant because it can only be used in an electric diffuser or potpourri.
It all comes full circle though on the big day itself when you unwrap the brand’s Seychelles signature candle (£20, Thewhitecompany.com). It’s a firm favourite of ours, thanks to its soothing scent, but we’d have liked to unwrap something a little more showstopping.
Value
Costing £175, but with a worth of £259, The White Company offers a dreamy selection of festive goodies that you’ll be able to enjoy through December and beyond. That being said, there’s a lack of variety in the range of products that have been included, for example, there are five body lotions and balms, three hand washes, and three shower gels.
Having said that, we did like the fact that it includes two full-sized versions of the brand’s bestselling candles, and the addition of the gua sha was also a firm favourite.
The verdict: The White Company beauty advent calendar
The White Company’s 2022 beauty advent calendar is all about making sure you feel as calm and tranquil as possible throughout December and beyond, and it certainly will help you be just that. However, we were surprised to unwrap quite so many of the same products – hand cream, body wash, and moisturisers – and would have liked to have seen a bit more variation.
While we understand that it is a beauty advent calendar, owing to the fact lots of the products are homeware focused, a pair of cashmere socks would’ve been lovely, or perhaps some of the full-size products could’ve been replaced with miniatures to make way for a diffuser.
Having said that, there’s no denying that the 25-day calendar offers a great way to sample the brand’s best smelling products, and enjoy moments of self-care in the lead-up to Christmas, as well as into the new year.
Looking for other recommendations? Read our guide to the beauty advent calendars to buy for 2022
