For most people, the countdown to Christmas begins on December 1. But for beauty lovers around the world, the holiday season begins when the first beauty advent calendar hits the shelves.
And that’s it for now.
It may only be September, but if we’ve learned anything from the last few years, it’s that beauty advent calendars always sell out. In other words, it pays to get started quickly. From this month on, you can expect a range of beauty advent calendars from perennial favourites like Liberty, Charlotte Tilbury, Cult Beauty and Jo Malone, as well as new launches from the likes of luxury skincare brand Sisley.
Believe it or not, the 2023 advent calendars are set to be bigger and better than those that came before them, covering everything from viral scents and makeup to TikTok-famous skincare. Whether you’re looking to treat yourself (well deserved) or a loved one, below you’ll find the best beauty advent calendars for your 2023 Christmas shopping.
Fortnums 2023 Beauty Advent Calendar, £260
Fortnum & Mason Beauty Advent Calendars are as luxurious as it gets. This year’s 30 products include Acqua di Parma fragrances, Cult51 skincare and Aromatherapy Associates body care, 22 of which are available in full size. Fun fact: if you bought each product separately, it would cost you more than £1,020. It’s already online, but will be shipped after September 21.
2023 Liberty Beauty Advent Calendar, £250
The Liberty Beauty advent calendar is arguably one of the most magical calendars on the market, so it’s no surprise that it was one of the first to be snapped up. This year’s box is adorned with a moving illustration of a snow-covered Liberty store, but it’s what’s inside that will really pique your interest. Skincare from Augustinus Bader and Paula’s Choice, perfume from Le Labo and lipsticks from Byredo are just a few of the 25 exciting products. Here’s the waiting list.
Harrods Beauty 2023 Advent Calendar, £175
The Harrods Beauty Advent Calendar features 25 high-quality beauty products from beauty editors’ favourite brands including Charlotte Tilbury, NARS, Bobbi Brown, Gisou, Acqua di Parma and Dr. Barbara Sturm. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. You can join the waiting list here.
Cult Beauty 2023 Advent Calendar, £225
A product that beauty fans are excited about is coming and you can join the waiting list now. Cult Beauty’s highly anticipated advent calendar includes all your favourite products like Glow Recipe Plum Plump Hyaluronic Acid Cream, Olaplex No.3 Hair Perfector and Sunday Riley Good Genes Glycolic Acid Treatment, the latter of which is enriched with a multi-ingredient size. It’s worth over £1,000.
Selfridges 2023 Beauty Advent Calendar, £220
Selfridges is back with another £1,094 advent calendar. This time there are 32 beauty products – four more than in 2022 – and 16 full-sized treats. Lisa Eldridge, Plessine von Gisou and Harry Styles join Augustinus Bader (a luxury skincare brand beloved by beauty directors), Charlotte Tilbury and TikTok virologist PHLUR. Join the Selfridges waiting list to be first in line when it opens on September 21.
Harrods Fragrance Advent Calendar, £175
It’s every perfume lover’s dream. TikTok-famous Parfums de Marly Delina EDP, Maison Francis Kurkdjian Gentle Fluidity Gold and Byredo Gypsy Water are just three of the 12 scents now available in the Harrods collection. Fragrances from Escentric Molecules and Bvlgari are also available.
MAC Matte Madness 2023 Advent Calendar, £170
This year’s MAC advent calendar features 21 – yes, 21 – full-sized products. These include Retro Matte Lipstick, MAC Stack Mascara and Hyper Real Serumizer (all of which were spotted backstage at London Fashion Week this season).
Dior Beauty Le 30 Montaigne 2023 Advent Calendar, £570
There’s no prettier advent calendar than this. It features a unique look at the Dior 30 Montaigne boutique, which sells everything from fragrances (including Miss Dior and J’adore Eau de Parfums) to skincare and makeup.
There are also four candles and Christmas decorations.
Lookfantastic 2023 Beauty Advent Calendar, £99
The Lookfantastic Advent Calendar will save you £466, with an actual value of £565 (best value ever). This year there will be 27 products on display, not 25. Without completely spoiling the fun, think brands like NARS, MAC,
Elemis and Coco & Eve. Pre-sale starts on September 1, with the official release on October 1.
Sephora 2023 Beauty Advent Calendar, £189
The launch of Sephora’s multi-brand advent calendar has caused a lot of excitement among beauty editors, with products from Rare Beauty, Drunk Elephant, Glow Recipe, Tarte, Elemis and more… we could go on forever. Coming soon here
25 luxury original products to look out for. Don’t forget to join the waiting list.
ASOS Face + Body 25 Days 2023 Advent Calendar, £90
All the hottest brands are included in ASOS’s Face + Body advent calendar, which comes in 25 individual boxes and saves you up to 77%. Ordinary, Elemis, Sun, MAC, Ordinary, Growing Alchemist… need I say more?
The Fragrance Shop 2023 Advent Calendar, £85
Exclusive to The Fragrance Shop members, this £65 advent calendar includes fragrance brands such as Carolina Herrera, Marc Jacobs, YSL and Versace. If you don’t mind, you can also find some skincare here.
Boots 2023 Advent Calendar 24 Days of Premium Beauty, £99
Neal’s Yard Remedies 2023 12 Days of Beauty and Wellness Advent Calendar, £95
The Neal’s Yard Advent Calendar has everything you need to rest and relax before Christmas and the New Year, including pillow sprays, eye brighteners and bubble baths. You’ll also find a £15 voucher for a treatment at any Neal’s Yard Remedies treatment room in the UK. Join the waiting list for Neil’s Yard here.
Jurlique 2023 Advent Calendar, £110
On October 1, Jurlique is releasing a 24-piece advent calendar featuring all the products you could need for a gentle skincare routine. We’re talking about the Balancing Rosewater Mist, Hydrating Day Cream, and Nourishing Cleansing Oil, along with reusable makeup removal pads.
DQH Knowledge drop: In your 20s, your skin cell turnover decreases. (Cell turnover is a key component in keeping your skin youthful.) You know what else slows down? Your collagen production. Starting in your 20s, collagen decreases by about 1 percent per year. Should you want to prevent fine lines and wrinkles, start by eliminating behaviors that contribute to premature aging. “If it’s bad for you, it’s bad for your skin,” says dermatologist Michel Somenek.
“Cigarette smoking reduces blood flow to the skin and causes premature wrinkling and a dull skin texture. Making the repeated pursed motion to inhale can also cause smoker’s lines. Alcohol and recreational drugs are toxins for the skin that damage its cellular structure and DNA,” Somenek tells us. “The faster you eliminate vices while you are young, the better chance your skin and body have to recuperate.” Also, adopting an anti-aging routine in your 20s is key. After all, the best offense is a good defense. We spoke to Somenek and experts Joshua Ross and Audrey Kunin to find out more.
Keep reading for the best anti-aging products for your 20s, according to skincare professionals.
Sunscreen
“We all know that the sun is the number one cause of skin aging and starting the prevention in your 20s is very important,” Ross says. “The majority of your sun damage won’t start to appear until you’re in your 30s, so don’t wait until you see it surface or you’ll be behind the curve. Stay ahead of it with a good-quality zinc-based sunscreen worn daily.”
Farmacy Green Defense Daily Mineral Sunscreen
An invisible sunscreen with SPF 30, plus botanical extracts meant to protect skin with tons of antioxidants. Bonus: It’s clean and fine to use under makeup.
Bareminerals Complexion Rescue™ Tinted Moisturizer Broad Spectrum SPF 30
Although we recommend you use your SPF and moisturizer separately, we also understand moments when you don’t have time or energy for that extra step. For those times, this bareMinerals moisturizer is a great thing to have on hand.
Vitamin C Serum
“A great introduction to anti-aging is to start with a vitamin C serum in your morning skincare routine,” Ross says. “It’s a powerful antioxidant that will neutralize free radicals and brighten the skin.” He adds that it’s a great way to counteract the effects of the sun’s harmful rays, which, as previously mentioned, are among the biggest causes of premature aging.
Drunk Elephant C-Firma™ Vitamin C Day Serum
The Drunk Elephant C-Firma is a lightweight serum that promises to give skin a glow by combining the brightening powers of vitamin C with ferulic acid, l-ascorbic acid, and vitamin E. The included sodium hyaluronate is meant to replace hydration loss, so you shouldn’t have to deal with any irritation.
Sunday Riley C.E.O. Rapid Flash Brightening Serum
This potent serum is jam-packed with vitamin C (15 percent, to be exact), which means it’s a potential superstar at both brightening skin and dousing it in antioxidants.
Peptides
Using peptides on your skin has many benefits, says Somenek. “The skin barrier is what defends the body against pollution, UV rays, bacteria, and toxins. It can be damaged by several everyday factors. Using topical peptides aids in building a stronger barrier,” he says. “Peptides comprise elastic fibers, which are a type of protein. These fibers help to make skin appear taut and firm. Peptides can also help repair damaged skin, relieve inflammation, and even out skin tone. Some peptides can kill acne-causing bacteria that is common in 20-somethings.”
Kunin agrees, saying, “Peptides are an excellent entry point for supporting collagen.” She recommends looking for face and eye treatments that contain these collagen-boosting powerhouses.
Charlotte Tilbury Magic Eye Rescue Cream
This Charlotte Tilbury super-emollient eye cream has a base of coconut oil and shea butter (read: it’s incredibly hydrating). Botanicals plus peptides are meant to help reduce dark circles and boost collagen, respectively.
This creamy moisturizer serves up potent collagen-boosting peptides and pycnogenol, and antioxidant-rich vitamin C. “Instead of sitting on top of the skin, peptides penetrate the outer layer so they go deep. The ‘signals’ they send tell the cells to produce elastin and collagen, which are needed for youthful-looking skin,” explains Somenek.
At-Home Peel Pads
Remember that skin cell turnover fiasco we talked about earlier? One way to help support it is by exfoliating. “Exfoliation is important to help keep skin fresh and luminous,” Kunin says. She recommends using at-home peel pads as an easy and effective way to exfoliate.
“The goal in your 20s is to fight the slowing pace of cell turnover. It is wise to use products that gently exfoliate, yet still remove oil and other impurities. Products that have Alpha Hydroxy Acids (AHA) or Beta Hydroxy Acids (BHA) are a good choice.”
According to Somenek, you should only exfoliate two to three times a week. “People of all ages are guilty of over-exfoliating and that can be too much of a good thing,” he says.
Dermadoctor Kakadu C Intensive Vitamin C Peel Pad
A few swipes of this Derma Doctor powerful peel pad promise to leave your skin glowing and smooth, thanks to the seven (yes, seven) types of chemical exfoliants, including AHA and BHA. It also contains vitamin C via Kakadu plum extract for added brightening and antioxidant protection.
KEY INGREDIENTS Kakadu plum extract is sourced from the Kakadu plum, a fruit grown in northern Australia. It contains vitamin C, which restores the skin’s natural barrier, increases collagen production, and soothes irritation.
Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare Alpha Beta® Universal Daily Peel Pads
These are the gold standard of peel pads, with a cult following and over 900 five-star reviews on Sephora. They’re easy to use and contain a blend of anti-aging exfoliating acids.
Emollient Night Cream
“In your 20s, you need to start upping the hydration in your skincare routine. You may have been cautious of over-moisturizing because of acne in your teens, but as you enter your 20s, your skin transitions and becomes drier,” Ross says. “I recommend an emollient night cream added into your evening skincare regimen.”
“Twenty-somethings need to make sure that they are not using creams that will clog their pores and cause excess oil production,” says Somenek. Opt for non-comedogenic products.
Cerave Skin Renewing Night Cream
One great choice is the CeraVe Skin Renewing Night Cream, which is a non-comedogenic night cream that leaves skin soft and glowy. It combines the moisturizing powers of ceramides and hyaluronic acid.
RoC Retinol Correxion Max Hydration Creme
“The best night cream ingredients contain retinol, benzoyl peroxide, and/or salicylic acid or hyaluronic acid. The goal is to moisturize, yet remove excess oil,” says Somenek. This Roc Retinol Correxion cream fits the bill as it contains both hyaluronic acid and retinol so it promises to moisturize while also being non-comedogenic.