Advent calendars offer a healthy dose of nostalgia and the opportunity to try new products one by one. Advent calendars harken back to a time where magazines had samples and listed out dates ahead of time to buy certain products.
They allow you to navigate holiday shopping without feeling overwhelmed. Normally, in segments of 12 or 25 days, advent calendars give you samples or even full-size products, and each item is designated a date for sampling. Many advent calendars reserve what's all included as a surprise.
Advent calendars truly amp up the excitement of just having fun and enjoying treats and novelty during the holiday season.
Here are the top 8 that Cassandra loves.
Currently sold out, but this is one of our absolute favorites, and it's definitely some thing to keep your eye out on for next year.
Trader Joes 12 Days of Beauty Advent Calendar (Available at Trader Joe's): $19.99
Even though Trader Joe's is a grocery retailer, don't sleep on the skincare! Some of it is actually really good, and plus, it's super affordable. As for the advent calendar, a few highlights are the cleansing face balm, the Rose Glow Facial Oil, and the Illuminating sunscreen. Yes, SPF is still essential to your skincare routine in the winter!
Includes:
-Rose Glow Facial Oil
-Hydrating Rice Facial Essence
-Orange Ginger Ultra Moisturizing Hand Balm
-Cranberry Orange Lip Balm
-Forest Fig and Blackberry Ultra Moisturizing Hand Cream
-Stonefruit Scented Body Butter
-Fireside Velvet Scented Body Butter
-Rosemary Mint Scented Bath Fizzer
-Beverly Hills Hair Mask
-Cleansing Face Balm
-Candy Cane Scented Shimmer Body Wash
-Illuminating Daily Facial Sunscreen SPF 40
Revolve Beauty Advent Calendar
Currently sold out, but be on the lookout!
e.l.f cosmetics Advent Calendar (best value): $95
Includes:
- Each day reveals a new makeup or skincare item for a total of 24 products
- Limited-edition holiday shades
- Ideal for pampering your skin and creating a range of festive looks
- The ultimate skincare and makeup gift for the holiday season
- $95 (a $140 value!)
IPSY Advent Calendar 25 Days of Glam
Includes:
25 full-size surprise samples.
Fenty Advent Calendar (Amazing, may difficult to find but available on ebay and Mercari)
Includes full-size samples of:
-Gloss Bomb Universal Lip Luminizer
-Highlighter
-Cheeks Out Cream Blush - PETAL POPPIN
-Hella Thicc Mascara Volumisant
-Volumizing Mascara
-Mini Match Contour Stix
-Fenty Icon Red Velvet Liquid Lipstick
Includes:
-BYOMA Mini Gel Cream Moisturizer
-Cetaphil Moisturizing Lotion
-CeraVe Healing Ointment (CeraVe is not cruelty-free, and we'd always suggest using a cruelty-free alternative such as Ceremedx.)
-CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser
-Curel Ultra Healing Lotion
-E.l.f. Holy Hydration! Makeup Melting Cleansing Balm
-Good Molecules Yerba Mate Wake Up Eye Gel
-No7 Hydraluminous+ Day Gel
-Olay Super Serum
-Pacifica Glow Baby Brightening Face Wash
-Plush Wrist Bands
-Zit Sticka Undercover Blemish Patches
As you all know, we love Zitsticka, Pacifica, E.l.f, Good Molecules, and BYOMA! This is like a holiday gift basket with some of our favorite brands!
Purdy's Chocolate Braille Advent Calendar, 24 pc (includes vegan options) - $30
Finding vegan milk chocolate, especially rich-tasting chocolate can definitely be a challenge. Plus, this meets accessibility standards for sight impairment because it has braille.
Advent calendars that were not great.
So, not all advent calendars are nostalgic. Some of them just serve as a reminder of inflation and size reduction. For instance, these advent calendars did not meet the mark, and here's why.
La Mer Advent Calendar: $600
Many of these products are made with the La Mer “miracle broth” and “comforting ferment.” We’re still not sure what that means, and it would probably be helpful for customers to know if they're paying $600.
This includes:
- The Essence Foaming Cleanser, 1 oz.
- The Treatment Lotion, 1 oz.
- The Regenerating Serum, 0.17 oz.
- The Concentrate, 0.17 oz.
- The Eye Concentrate, 0.17 oz.
- The Lip Polish, 0.5 oz.
- The Lip Balm, 0.3 oz.
- The Body Cream, 1 oz.
- The Hand Treatment, 1 oz.
- The Moisturizing Fresh Cream, 0.5 oz.
- The Moisturizing Soft Cream, 0.5 oz.
- Crème de la Mer, 0.5 oz.
Victoria's Secret Advent Cal: $53.70
The brand itself has several ethical issues, and the products within their advent calendar are highly over fragranced. Yes, there’s perfume, but you wouldn't want the fragrance to completely inundate you.
Kylie Cosmetics $200
People really like the products’ colors within this advent calendar, and it seems like good value in comparison to some others. But, it's 12 products that don't even offer a full makeup routine, and in reality, we're sure the markup is huge versus the cost of production just because it's Kylie Jenner.
Chanel Advent Calendar
Chanel bombs again this year. The Chanel advent calendars are not known for being the best. This year's includes a few minis, some full-sized samples, but also cheap looking trinkets like a key chain and a small plastic snow globe of perfume.
Dior Advent Calendar: $800
The Dior calendar supposedly offers a variety of “minis” too for $800, but we would argue that they were more like sample sizes. And for the price, it just seems unethical. But, to say the least, the product certainly doesn't offer that holiday cheer and excitement, mostly because it was so underwhelming.
@yannalinnaa $800 DIOR ADVENT CALENDAR UNBOXING 😭
♬ original sound - Yana ✨