For me, the anticipation of the Christmas season doesn’t begin at the annual illumination of London’s legendary street lights, nor when Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas starts its domination of radio stations. It’s much earlier, usually back in August, when the first email lands in my inbox declaring that pre-orders have opened for this year’s beauty advent calendars.
- Best for: Trialling Sephora-only beauty labels
- Worth: £1,025
- Release date: Available now
- Number of products: 41
- Number of days: 25
- What’s inside? (Highlights): K18 Astrolift Volume Spray, Malin+Goetz Cannabis Votive Candle and Summer Fridays Sweet Mint Lip Butter Balm
- The Vogue verdict: Sephora has concealed more products in its advent calendar than any other retailer or brand this year – and among the 41 included, 24 of them are full-sized and 31 can only be found in this iteration. The gold exterior opens like a treasure chest and reveals a Tetris-like combination of boxes numbered and ready to open come December 1. The selection includes beloved viral labels like Merit, Tower28 and Glow Recipe, as well as cult products like the UKLash Eyelash Serum, Topicals Faded Brightening & Cleansing Bar and Sol de Janeiro Brazilian Bum Bum Body Cream. You may even find a golden ticket stashed within, where you can win Caudalie goodies, from a treatment to a hamper.
- What the team say: Dom Kelly, Vogue’s group creative director, said, “I like that there are multiple items per box,” while associate director Milly Tritton observed, “It’s really jam-packed. There are so many products inside. It feels like it really gives you real bang for your buck.”
- Find out more about the Sephora Advent Calendar here
- Most amount of products within
- Valued over £1,000
- All sought-after brands
- Wish there was Makeup by Mario inside
For me, this has been the case for the last eight years, and more often than not, it is Liberty that sounds the klaxon. But while the luxury department store still offers one of the most coveted calendars on the market, in recent years the competition has become fiercer, with almost every brand or retailer curating its own edition in a bid to become our official festive season countdown.
The Sephora Advent Calendar is deserving of that moniker.
The retailer may be the newest beauty mecca to open its doors in the UK, but what it lacks in longevity it makes up for in its repertoire of brands, which includes some of the most hyped labels on the market, such as Makeup by Mario, Tarte and Ilia.
For 2025, Sephora has taken its edit to the next level, stashing 41 products to create its biggest and best advent to date. Within the gold, chest-like design, there are 25 full-size goodies, and many of them you’ll only find in the calendar. That extends to Merit Beauty, Tower 28 and, of course, its own Sephora Collection inclusion.
The total value is £1,025 with hero items like the Elemis Pro-Collagen Cleansing Balm in the addictive fig aroma, the Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow Niacinamide Hue Drops and Laura Mercier Translucent Setting Powder. But then there are the discovery labels Discotheque, Topicals and Clomana.
How we tested the Sephora Advent Calendar 2025
When the Sephora Advent Calendar landed on my desk, I couldn’t wait to open it up. There was no waiting for 1 December here – the boxes were speedily decanted and contents closely analysed. After reviewing the selection, I wanted to open it out to the wider Vogue team and get their thoughts. My expert panel were impressed. Dom Kelly, Vogue’s group creative director, said, “I like that there are multiple items per box,” while associate director Milly Tritton observed, “It’s really jam-packed. There are so many products inside. It feels like it really gives you real bang for your buck”.
What’s inside the Sephora Advent Calendar 2025?
The varied selection of products inside the Sephora Advent Calendar is worth calling out. There are goodies across the spectrum of beauty, from hair to fragrance, skin to body.
Among the calendar’s contents are holy grail items with the Vogue team’s seal of approval. Global beauty director Jessica Diner adores the Merit Beauty Flush Balm Cream Blush down to the very last drop. Daniel Rodgers, fashion news editor, is a huge fan of Discotheque’s fragrances, while the COLOR WOW Chris Appleton Money Masque has a permanent place in my shower.
The Sol de Janeiro Brazilian Bum Bum Body Cream, one of the brand’s bestsellers adored for its sumptuous caramel scent, also features. What’s more, Amika’s sellout Perk Up Dry Shampoo comes in a travel size to make it easy to slip into your everyday or holiday wash bag.
The full contents of the Sephora Advent Calendar:
- Amika Perk Up Dry Shampoo travel size
- Augustinus Bader Eye Patches 1 pair
- CLOMANÁ Beauty Marshmallow Sponge Duo
- COLOR WOW Chris Appleton Money Masque travel size
- Commodity Juice Expressive Travel Spray EDP travel size
- DISCOTHÈQUE Lola at Coat Check EDP travel size
- DRUNK ELEPHANT C-LumaTM Hydrabright Serum full size
- ELEMIS Pro-Collagen Green Fig Cleansing Balm travel size
- Fugazzi Fragrances Magic Mango travel size
- GISOU Honey Infused Lip Oil in Glazed Plum full size
- Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow Niacinamide Hue Drops in Sun Glow full size
- Grown Alchemist Polishing Exfoliator full size
- Hello Klean Body Wash travel size
- Huda Beauty Easy Bake Setting Spray travel size
- Ilia Limitless Lash Mascara in After Midnight full size
- K18 Astrolift Volume Spray full size
- KAYALI Fleur Majesty Rose Royale 31 Eau de Parfum travel size
- Kevin Aucoin In Perspective Eyeliner Pencil black full size
- LANEIGE Water Bank Cream Moisturiser travel size
- Laura Mercier Translucent Setting Powder travel size
- L'Occitane Almond Supple Skin Oil full size
- M.A.C M.A.Cximal Sleek Satin Lipstick in Crème D'Nude full size
- Malin + Goetz Dark Rum Perfume Oil full size
- Malin + Goetz Cannabis Votive Candle travel size
- Medik8 Crystal Retinal Ceramide Eye 3 full size
- Merit Beauty Flush Balm Cream Blush in Cheeky full size
- Neom Organics Perfect Night's Sleep 1 Wick Candle
- Rare Beauty Soft Pinch Liquid Blush in worth full size
- Rodial Bee Venom Hydrogel Sheet Mask
- Rodial Dragon's Blood Hydrogel Sheet Mask
- Sephora Collection Cream Lip Stain Matte Liquid Lipstick in Cherry Moon full size
- Sephora Collection Hydrating Cica Cream Express Repair Care full size
- Sol de Janeiro Brazilian Bum Bum Body Cream travel size
- Sol de Janeiro Cheirosa 62 Perfume Mist deluxe
- Spacemasks Orange Self-Heating Eye Mask
- Summer Fridays Sweet Mint Lip Butter Balm
- Tarte Tartelette Palette
- Tatcha The Dewy Skin Cream travel size
- Topicals Faded Brightening & Cleansing Bar full size
- Tower 28 SOS Daily Rescue Facial Spray travel size
- UKLash Eyelash Serum full size
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