Gone are the days when advent calendars meant 24 tiny squares of mediocre chocolate. Need some new advent calendar ideas? You're in the right place.
Advent calendars have seriously levelled up — and right now, students can get their hands on some genuinely impressive options such as beauty ones packed with skincare minis, full-size makeup, wellness goodies, and haircare heroes. This year we've also rounded up a few non-beauty picks, because not everyone wants another lipstick.
Better yet, Student Beans has student discount codes for most of the brands on this list, so you can either treat yourself or sort your Christmas gifting in one go.
Here's our pick of the best advent calendars for 2026.
In this article:
Best luxury & beauty advent calendars
LOOKFANTASTIC Advent Calendar 2026
This is one of the most talked-about beauty advent calendars every year — and 2026 is no exception (made even sweeter with a LOOKFANTASTIC student discount).
Priced at £120 and packing in 27 products worth over £665 (19 of them full-size), it's still one of the strongest value options on the market, even with the price bump from last year's £105. Behind each drawer you'll find a mix of full-size and deluxe products across skincare, body, hair, makeup, and fragrance — featuring names like Elemis, Clinique, Aveda, Sol de Janeiro, Benefit, Color Wow, and MAC.
Pre-orders dispatch from 2 October, so this is one to lock in early if you want it. Check out our ultimate guide to the LOOKFANTASTIC student discount for the top picks students are snapping up right now.
Shop the LOOKFANTASTIC Beauty advent calendar now.
Cult Beauty Advent Calendar — Signature Edition 2026
Cult Beauty has earned its name by curating some of the most sought-after products in skincare, haircare, and wellness — and the 2026 Signature Edition is the most ambitious yet. Priced at £245 (worth over £1,100), it packs 33 products, including 19 full-size pieces from Westman Atelier, Augustinus Bader, VIEVE, Hourglass, Sunday Riley, LANEIGE, Charlotte Tilbury, and Sol de Janeiro. There are also three "golden ticket" prizes hidden inside worth £1,000 in Cult Beauty credit each. Note it can't be shipped to the US, Canada, or Argentina.
Students get up to 20% off most items at Cult Beauty year-round, not just at Christmas. For more on what students are loving from Cult Beauty, check out this article.
Shop the Cult Beauty advent calendar now.
Charlotte Tilbury Advent Calendar 2026
Charlotte Tilbury's Hollywood Beauty Wonderland advent calendar is the one that gets beauty fans genuinely excited, and the 2026 edition is priced at £170 (worth £325.50). It's packed with 15 makeup and skincare icons, including 4 full-size products for the first time plus 2 accessories — a mini Pillow Talk Velvet Organiser bag and a Magic Sculpting Gua Sha. Expect Charlotte's icons like Matte Revolution in Pillow Talk, the Beauty Light Wand, and travel sizes of the Magic Cream and Magic Serum. Already a Charlotte Tilbury devotee? Our roundup of the best Charlotte Tilbury products to grab with a student discount has all the hero picks worth adding to your basket
Students can unlock 21% off at Charlotte Tilbury via Student Beans.
Shop the Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Beauty Wonderland advent calendar now.
Sephora Advent Calendar 2026
This year's Sephora pick is specifically the Sephora Collection (own-brand) edition — a sequined vanity case worth of makeup, skincare, and accessories at £99.99. Inside you'll find 17 full-size products, 2 travel sizes (hello summer glow), and 5 accessories, including a mascara, cream blush, cleansing jelly, and a mattifying blotting-paper kit. The case doubles as a makeup bag once it's empty.
Students can unlock 15% off at Sephora with Student Beans.
Shop the Sephora Collection Premium advent calendar now.
Debenhams Advent Calendar 2026
Debenhams has entered the beauty advent calendar game with a genuinely strong debut: £120 for products worth £528, with a 1960s-inspired keepsake design. Inside are 29 beauty products (13 full-size) from Lancôme, Benefit, and Shiseido, alongside newer names like Glow For It and Lumene. Three lucky customers will also find a "golden ticket" worth a £1,000 Debenhams gift card.
Students get 10% off at Debenhams with Student Beans. Discover what else is trending with students from Debenhams.
Shop the Debenhams Beauty advent calendar now.
Anthropologie Advent Calendar 2026
Anthropologie's 24 Days of Beauty advent calendar is a genuine cult favourite for a reason: £98 for 25 products worth £400 (17 full-size), illustrated by British-Filipino artist Nephthys Foster. Expect discovery-led picks from L'Occitane, PHLUR, Freck, Hair Syrup, This Works, and Malin+Goetz, plus a surprise bonus gift hidden in one door. It's on pre-order with an estimated ship date of 27 September.
Students can also enjoy 10% off Anthropologie with Student Beans.
Shop the Anthropologie 24 Days of Beauty advent calendar now.
P.Louise Advent Calendar 2026
P.Louise has built a devoted following among makeup lovers who aren't afraid of bold colour — and their 2026 calendar is their biggest yet. It's priced at £250 (worth £502) for 25 full-size products in a carousel-style box with 3D horses and illuminated details. If the price is a stretch, P.Louise offers an interest-free instalment plan through Partial.ly, letting you pay from £25 upfront and spread the rest until 2 November.
P.Louise offers a 15% student discount through Student Beans on most products — though the advent calendar itself is excluded.
Shop the P.Louise "What Glows Around" advent calendar now.
Space NK Advent Calendar 2026
If you want sheer luxury in calendar form, Space NK's offering is hard to beat. At around £275, it's a serious investment — but with a value of over £1,200 and 35 products behind 25 doors (26 of them full-size), the numbers genuinely stack up. Inside you'll find some of the most prestigious names in beauty: La Mer, Tatcha, Olaplex, Augustinus Bader, and Rare Beauty.
Shop the Space NK Beauty advent calendar now.
L'Occitane Advent Calendar 2026
L'Occitane's 2026 line-up has expanded to two calendars for the first time, and the Classic Edition is the one worth knowing about: £99 for 24 products worth £192. Expect French skincare and bodycare staples like the Almond Shower Oil, Shea Hand Cream, and Almond Milk Concentrate — no makeup, no fragrance, just proper pampering. It's been on sale since mid-August, so stock is worth checking sooner rather than later. There's also a step-up Prestige Edition at £169, worth £269, for anyone who wants to go bigger.
Available to buy from both LOOKFANTASTIC and Cult Beauty - make sure to review if you can use your student discount.
Advent calendars for men
LOOKFANTASTIC – The Grooming Advent Calendar 2026
Brand new this year, LOOKFANTASTIC has launched a dedicated grooming calendar for the guys in your life (or for yourself). At £90 for products worth over £469, it packs 25 doors of skincare, haircare, and fragrance from ESPA, Shiseido, Rituals, Murdock London, Elemis, Philip Kingsley, L'Occitane, and Bulldog. It dispatches from 22 September, so it's already shipping - plus your LOOKFANTASTIC student discount still applies.
Shop the LOOKFANTASTIC Grooming advent calendar now.
The Fragrance Shop Men's Advent Calendar 2026
A genuinely strong fragrance-discovery pick: 25 days worth over £400 in designer men's scents including Rabanne, BOSS, Valentino, Givenchy, Montblanc, Michael Kors, Lacoste, and Issey Miyake. It's £150 standard, or £120 if you join MyTFS membership first — worth doing given the saving more than covers the free membership itself. Also check out our The Fragrance Shop student discount which is giving you an extra 15% off Advent Calendars.
Shop The Fragrance Shop Men's advent calendar now.
Nivea Men Advent Calendar 2026
Another one for the gents: 24 days of bodycare and haircare for £60 RRP. We're talking antiperspirants, lip balms, moisturising cream, shower gels, and more to help you feel and look better than ever.
Shop this Nivea advent calendar from Boots now.
Best budget-friendly & drugstore advent calendars
Superdrug Advent Calendar 2026
One of our team's favourite brands - Superdrug- is doing an advent calendar worth £160 but on sale for £60. Covering everything from skincare and beauty faves - expect to see items from trending brands, from Beauty of Joseon to Aveeno, and Superdrug's own brilliant range, you'll be counting down to Christmas in style. And remember, you can get 10% off with your Superdrug student discount (you're welcome).
Shop the Superdrug 24 Days of Beauty advent calendar now.
PrettyLittleThing Advent Calendar 2026
PLT's first proper beauty advent calendar is a fun, budget-friendly pick at £80 for products worth £297. The 24 doors mix makeup, skincare, haircare, and fragrance from Revolution, ICONIC London, Nails Inc, Bloom & Blossom, and Dr. PawPaw — plus a Sabrina Carpenter Cherry Baby Eau de Parfum.
Students can unlock an extra 10% off at PrettyLittleThing.
Shop the PrettyLittleThing Beauty advent calendar now.
Liz Earle Advent Calendar (Boots) 2026
Priced at £79 with contents worth over £200, this is one of the most generous drugstore calendars around — several of the 12 products are full size, including the Mandarin & Nutmeg Botanical Body Wash, Skin Repair™ Hydrating Night Cream, and a supersize Superskin™ Moisturiser.
Students get 10% off at Boots with Student Beans
Shop the Liz Earle 12 Days Of Liz Earle Beauty advent calendar from Boots now.
Boots Advent Calendar 2026 (skincare)
You can count on Boots to do a good advent calendar. At £70 for over £303 worth of skincare, this is one of the strongest value picks in the whole roundup if you're building a skincare stash rather than collecting another make-up item.
Shop the Boots 24 Days Of Skin advent calendar now.
Boots Advent Calendar 2026 (fragrance)
A fragrance-only calendar at £90 for over £345 worth of product, mixing designer, niche, and celebrity scents including Givenchy, Kayali, Marc Jacobs, and a NEOM travel candle — across 14 treats behind 12 doors.
Shop the Boots 12 Days Of Scent advent calendar now.
M&S Advent Calendar 2026
Priced at £75 for products worth over £450, Marks & Spencer's offering consistently punches above its budget-friendly price point. With more full-sized products than previous editions, this calendar is set to be a steal. Behind the festive packaging, you'll find a well-edited selection from names like Cowshed, ICONIC London and Aveda. Arriving on 13 October 2026 – set your reminders today.
Shop the M&S Beauty advent calendar now.
Revolution Advent Calendar 2026
Revolution's calendar is back with 24 products (10 full-size) for £50 RRP, including 10 full-size items, 8 minis and 6 beauty accessories. For gorgeous skin and bold make-up looks (for a bargain) - this is the advent calendar for you.
Shop the Revolution advent calendar at Boots now.
The Body Shop Advent Calendar 2026
At £65 (worth over £120), this 24-door calendar is stacked with Body Shop bestsellers — body butters, shower creams, sheet masks, and lip butters — in Community Fair Trade-sourced formulas. With Student Beans, you can also enjoy 10% off The Body Shop items, so consider adding this one to your list.
Shop The Body Shop Classic Beauty advent calendar now.
Best non-beauty advent calendars
MyProtein Advent Calendar 2026
For the gym-goers on your list (or yourself), MyProtein's calendar swaps skincare for 24 doors of protein bars, snacks, whey and clear protein samples, supplements, and hydration — plus a few training extras. It's £79.99 (down from £115.99).
Students can unlock 13% off at MyProtein with Student Beans.
Shop the MyProtein advent calendar now.
Grind Coffee Pod Advent Calendar
A genuinely different pick: 26 home-compostable, Nespresso-compatible coffee pods across 17 speciality blends — from the signature House Blend to a single-origin Kenyan and a limited-edition Christmas Blend — for £29.95. Also available as ground or whole bean coffee at the same price. Grind is a B Corp and puts proceeds toward rescuing ocean-bound plastic. You can get your £5 student discount on Grind too from Student Beans.
Shop the Grind advent calendar now.
Which advent calendar is right for you?
If you're after the best value, LOOKFANTASTIC at £120 (worth £665) and Boots 24 Days of Skin at £70 (worth £303) are hard to argue with.
For outright luxury, Space NK, Anthropologie and Charlotte Tilbury, and Cult Beauty's Signature Edition deliver the most prestigious brand line-ups.
Charlotte Tilbury is the pick for fans who want to try everything in one go, while Debenhams and PrettyLittleThing are the newcomers worth watching this year.
If bold colour is your love language, P.Louise is calling your name — and if beauty isn't your thing at all, MyProtein or Grind might be a better fit.
Whatever you choose, make sure you've verified your student status on Student Beans first — the discounts available across these brands can make a real difference to what you pay, both on the calendars themselves and on anything else you add to your basket.
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