23 Beauty Advent Calendars That'll Earn You the Title of ‘Best Gift Giver’

When it's coming from Saks Fifth Avenue, you know the inside is going to be a treat. Valued at $560, the Saks 25 Days Of Beauty Advent Calendar features some of our favorite high-end beauty brands, including Aesop, Augustinus Bader, Diptyque, Dr. Barbara Sturm, and Gucci. All in all, this grand 25-piece collection has your bougie friend's name all over it. Or…we can't think of a more deserving person than you.

The more scents, the merrier. Trust us when we say the friend who always has a candle lit up as soon as the temperatures dip below 60 degrees will be talking about the Diptyque Holiday Advent Calendar for years to come. And with 25 candles — including the brand's best-selling scents, such as the berry-forward Baies and fireside-inspired Feu de Bois — perfumes, and even some hand-care items tossed in, I don't think they'll mind sharing the wealth with you. After all, you made a huge investment in your friendship. Wink wink.

This Alo Yoga Advent Calendar is one of the best-kept secrets of the holiday season. Your wellness-loving friends will adore the array of skin care (e.g. Magic Multi-Balm), hair care (e.g. Clean Dry Shampoo), accessories (because you can't go wrong with gifting socks and claw clips), as well as a subscription to Alo Moves and $25 Alo E-gift card. This calendar takes the phrase "the gift that keeps on giving" to the next level, and that's the truth.

Clarins' 12 Days of Christmas Calendar is a fabulous, under-$100 option for any skin-care fiend in your life. Each of the 12 products hidden within address every part of one's skin-care routine — and then some. The highlight? It has to be the Clarins Lip Comfort Oil (a 2023 Best of Beauty Award winner!), a sheer tint that gives lips the plumping, conditioning, and non-sticky shine they deserve.

La Mer, 'nuff said. OK, fine, we'll indulge you a bit. This mesmerizing blue and green treasure trove is stuffed with 12 La Mer skin-care and body-care treatments that are valued at $720. Of course, this lineup includes the famous Créme de La Mer but there's plenty more they'll enjoy, including The Revitalizing Hydrating Serum and The Hand Treatment — essential for treating dry skin and hands during the bitter winter months.

A Voluspa advent calendar means comforting scents all winter (and year) long. Seriously, the range is there, too. Does your loved one take PSL season very seriously? They'll love cozying up with a good read alongside a lit Spiced Pumpkin Latte candle. Celebrating a housewarming or birthday? That's an occasion for Sparkling Cuvée. Whatever the mood, all 12 scents (1.25-ounce candles)will hold a special place in their heart.

P.S. Upgrade to Voluspa's Japonica Advent Calendar ($158), which houses 12 2.5-ounce candles, if you're feeling extra generous.

For skin-care and body-care devotees, you can't wish for much more than The Body Shop's annual collection of advent calendars. The Big Advent of Change is packed with 25 full- and travel-size face and body products to keep skin feeling its best in the dead of winter. Treat yourself to the fruity-scented Strawberry Shower Gel during your showers before slathering on the complementary Strawberry Body Butter for ultra-soft, supple skin. In the mood for an everything shower? Toss in the Tea Tree Shampoo, Avocado Body Scrub, and Charcoal Facial Mask for good measure.

Bonus: The packaging also suggests a little act of kindness to carry out, which is quite an adorable touch.

The Guerlain Hive of Wonders Advent Calendar is the ultimate Christmas countdown. The jeweler-inspired design is chock full of the brand's most adored, bee-approved products, including minis of the KissKiss Shaping Cream Lipstick, Parure Gold 24K Radiance Primer Miniature, and six miniatures of their divinely scented candles. If your loved one isn't already a Guerlain die-hard, this advent calendar is the dreamiest introduction possible.

You've got mail! This watercolor mailbox-inspired advent calendar from Eve Lom has everything you need to pamper your skin this season. Dry, irritated skin? We don't know her. Some of the brand's most beloved offerings included in this festive set include the Cleanser (a cleansing balm that's paired with a muslin cleansing cloth to gently buff and rinse away the product), Renewal Treatment Oil, Radiance Repair Retinol Serum, and Rescue Mask.

It's all about going on a festive beauty journey with Christian Louboutin's locomotive-themed 24-piece Advent Calendar. Each "train car" contains a mini makeup item (lipstick, mascara, and eye shadow, oh my!), perfume, or charm. We don't want to give too much away but these cute gifts will make their way into your daily rotation.

Priced at $17, the 12 Days of ChapStick Advent Calendar is easily the biggest steal of this list. The classic lip balm is reimagined in holiday-inspired flavors like candy cane, graham cracker, and vanilla icing. If you're anything like us, you know the pain of not having a lip balm on hand, which is why this advent calendar will stock up your various inventories — at least one for every purse, travel bag, car compartment, and anywhere else you need them.

The gift of good smells is always sure to be a hit. Marvellous Mandarin & Spice? Coastal Cypress & Sea Fennel? Delicious Rhubarb & Rose? We'll take it all — thank you very much. Molton Brown's collection of 24 bath and body products spans fragrances, bath and shower gels, hand washes, hand creams, bath oils, candles, and hair-care products.

Ampoules are basically super-concentrated serums and they usually come in a small, sealed glass jar/vial — at least, in the case of Babor. The German skin-care brand's 24-piece Ampoule Skincare Advent Calendar is the perfect gift for someone looking to upgrade their skin-care routine with concentrated actives. Some ampoules are categorized by ingredients, such as the Power Serums for Hyaluronic Acid, Vitamin C, and Beta Glucan, while others are results-centric, like 3D Firming and Lift Express. In terms of application, give the vial a quick shake, snap it open, and apply it all over your face, neck, and décolleté.

While Dermstore's Holiday Beauty Box isn't technically an advent calendar — in that the products aren't hidden behind closed doors — we can't help but give it a shoutout. You already know Dermstore is the destination for efficacious skin care but let's get into some of our faves from this curated set, which is valued at — get this — over $750. The skin-care-obsessed people in your life will adore the Dr. Loretta firming face mask, Elemis resurfacing toner pads, and Kate Somerville SPF 50 setting spray, among so much more in this 21-piece box.

We're always hyped when L'Occitane unveils its annual holiday lineup of giftable sets. The créme de la créme of the French beauty brand's gifting section this year is, without a doubt, the Cultivators of Love Advent Calendar. Help your friends greet the new year with soft, dewy skin, thanks to fan favorites such as the Immortelle Divine Creme (one tub is sold every three minutes, like what?) and Shea Butter Hand Cream.

If you're sad you missed out on last year's advent calendar, the good news is that the 24-piece set is still available.

Best-selling skin care from a dermatologist to the stars? Sign us up. Harold Lancer, MD, a board-certified derm based in Beverly Hills, has treated Oprah, Beyoncé, Kim Kardashian, and Victoria Beckham, so by buying Lancer's 12 Days of Glow Advent Calendar, we must be a little closer to becoming Hollywood royalty, right? (Being a little delulu never hurt anyone.) This 12-piece skin-care treasure chest includes the signature 3-step Lancer Method, which consists of The Method: Polish, The Method: Cleanse, and The Method: Nourish, plus tons of other hydrating and nourishing treatments.

We might not have access to Cult Beauty stores stateside but this Advent Calendar is the next best thing. Weighing in at 39 beauty products with a combined value of over $1,127, including 20 full-size items, this is one of the most stacked lineups on this list. Whoever receives this will devour offerings from Dieux Skin, Glow Recipe, Medik8, Saie, and Cult Beauty itself (we love a satin pillowcase and sleep mask combo).

Plus, there are three golden tickets worth 1,000 Cult Beauty pounds each spread amongst all of the advent calendars — may luck be in their favor.

Despite what you may think, this isn't a life-size ornament. Bobbi Brown's 12 Days Of Glow Advent Calendar stocks you up with all of the tried-and-true makeup (shadow sticks, lip tints, highlighting powder, you name it) you need to be the diamond of the season. Of course, skin care always comes first, which is why you'll also find a few skin-care products to prep your skin and properly remove your makeup at the end of a long night of dancing.

We love what's inside Net-a-Porter's The Ultimate Gift Set but we have to take a moment to appreciate the presentation. This lantern-inspired box comes alive with LED lights, doubling as a chic piece of decor that is evidently not holiday-themed.

As for the luxury skin-care and makeup brands hidden within, some highlights include U Beauty's do-it-all Resurfacing Compound, Pat McGrath Lab's MatteTrance lipstick in Elson (the perfect party red, in our opinion), and even a few accessories such as a pair of Lié Studio earrings and Arch4 knitted gloves.

Before recycling it for good, we like to extend the lifetime of pretty packaging by using it as decor. Rituals knows how to make some serious eye candy à la its advent calendars, and this one is no exception. Once your giftee has unboxed all of their goodies — which stretch across a wide range of skin-care, hair-care, and fragrance products — they can place the tree just about anywhere in their home that could benefit from a touch of holiday cheer.

Have you ever seen such a breathtaking advent calendar? A thing of wonder? Yeah, that would be the Sisley-Paris Advent Calendar. Whoever gets this as a prezzie must've done amazing deeds for humanity in a past life. While this French beauty collection is definitely the splurgiest option on this list, the giftee does receive five full-size products, including a Sisleÿa L'Integral Anti-Age Eye & Lip Contour Cream + Ridoki, which retails for — wait for it — $245. Along with 24 additional skin-care, hair-care, fragrance, and makeup items — including one of the best luxury moisturizers on the market — they'll feel oh so very pampered from head to toe.