7 Skin-Care Advent Calendars Beauty Lovers Will Be Excited to Open in 2024

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Incredible sets from Dermalogica, L'occitane, Augustinus Bader, and more.

Some say the best things in life are free. If you ask me, the best things in life actually come in mini packages designed to be opened across 24 days (or 12, depending on your preference). Yes, I’m talking about the best skin care advent calendars, people!

If you’re not the best at holiday gift shopping, consider gifting a skin care advent calendar. It’s a fun way to treat the beauty lover in your life to a daily surprise leading up to Christmas Day. Since everyone’s skin is different and has its own specific concerns, advent calendars are basically a cheat code for product discovery, especially when trying to experiment with high-end formulas or stronger ingredients. Are you on the hunt for new treatment serums to delay wrinkles and boost radiance? Dermstore has a treasure chest of them from your favorite brands ready to perform. Perhaps your loved one is a huge fan of L’occitane’s offerings? The brand’s covetable holiday calendar has returned with bestsellers from the almond and shea butter line, along with a few staples from the Immortale collection. Even better, advent calendars allow you to dabble in whatever brand you desire for a fraction of a product’s retail price, which is particularly helpful if you’re not nearly done with holiday shopping.

Whether you’re shopping for the beauty novice or expert in your life or simply want an excuse to treat yourself to 24 days of beauty products, then the best skin care advent calendars are a good place to start. We sorted through our favorites and combed through customer reviews to find the seven ones you can shop early.

Each day of this L’Occitane Advent Calendar adds another gem to your full-body beauty routine. Featuring four full-sized options, including cult favorites like the Shea Butter Hand Cream and Almond Milk Concentrate along with hair care and skin care staples, this set invites you to explore 24 reasons why L’occitane formulas are on everyone’s wishlist.

Days: 24

Type: Skin care, hair care, and body

Amazon rating: 4.5/5 stars

An Amazon reviewer says: “So pleasantly surprised with quantity and quality of some of the products. All smelled amazing and all useable travel-sized products.”

While not technically an advent calendar, Dermstore’s beauty chest is still one you’d enjoy opening each day. Whether you’re a skin care expert or novice, each brand or formula included is one you’ve likely heard of—or dreamed of experiencing, from SkinCeuticals to Medik8 to BeautyStat. Beyond serums, creams, and lipstick, this chest also includes a face and full-body microneedling tool to help these formulas penetrate deeper.

Days: None

Type: Skin, hair, makeup

Dermstore rating: 5/5 stars

A Dermstore reviewer says: “Absolutely obsessed with this box! The variety of high-quality products is amazing. I cannot wait to try them all out. Some brands I am already familiar with and some not so much. I’m excited to try the new ones. Only disappointing thing is that it doesn’t include a product targeting any eye concerns.”

Dermalogica has your entire skin care routine covered across 24 days. While you won’t necessarily use all 24 products in one sitting, the options available treat a bevy of skin concerns, from texture (Daily Microfoliant) to dehydration and dullness (Circular Hydration Serum) and more.

Days: 24

Type: Skin

Dermalogica rating: 5/5 stars

A Dermalogica reviewer says: “I recently purchased the Dermalogica 2024 Advent Calendar, and I love the products inside! It was so much fun to open each of the 24 boxes to see the surprise inside. I use all of the full-size products in my daily skin-care routine. It was nice to get travel-size products and minis too, which I’ll take with me on vacations and while traveling! Just purchased another one to gift to my Mom for the holidays. Thank you Dermalogica!”

Treat your skin to the crème de la crème of bestselling offerings from Clarins. Packed inside the box are your antidotes for beating winter dryness—and the winter blues, too. The luxury range offers nourishing formulas for head-to-toe hydration, like the Tonic Body Treatment Oil and the Hydra-Essentiel Moisturizer.

Days: 24

Type: Skin, body, makeup

Clarins rating: 5/5 stars

A Clarins reviewer says: “Every day, a new little surprise to discover. Ranging from facial care to body products, including makeup, this Clarins advent calendar offers a real diversity of products. I particularly appreciate the mini formats, which are really practical to test or take on a trip. In addition to the diversity, the presentation is elegant, with attention to detail that makes opening each box a real moment of pleasure. This calendar is an ideal gift to give yourself a moment of well-being every day of December.”

If your foray into the world of Augustinus Bader started at The Rich Cream, this 12-day calendar will expose you to all the staples the luxury brand has to offer. Complete with an eye cream, moisturizer, retinol serum and more, this discovery set works to rejuvenate and plump the skin using the brand’s signature TFC8 complex.

Days: 12

Type: Skin, body

Self-care looks different to everyone, but at Ulta, it takes on the form of soothing eye patches, moisturizing face creams, fortifying hair oil, and whatever else you need to keep your skin and hair in tip-top shape.

Days: 24

Type: Skin, hair

Ulta rating: 5/5 stars

An Ulta reviewer says: “I love these sets. This is an amazing value for what you get. I keep my favorites for myself, and the others are favorites of friends so… stocking stuffers/gifts taken care of!”

So, the beauty lover in your life spends hours scrolling through makeup or hair tutorials? Here’s an advent calendar that basically packages the most viral brands in a cute pink tote primed for an unboxing video. Standouts include gems from Briogeo, Ouai, Summer Fridays, and Benefit Cosmetics.

Days: 24

Type: Skin, hair, body, makeup

Nerisha Penrose is the Beauty Commerce Editor at ELLE.com. Prior to joining the team, she was an Editorial Fellow at ELLE.com. In her current role, she helps lead coverage on makeup, skin care, hair, and fragrances. With over six years of experience in the world of beauty editorial, Nerisha enjoys delving deep into the complexities of fragrance notes, hunting for the best fixes for acne-prone skin, and advocating for daily sunscreen use. She regularly researches and tests the latest products, consults beauty professionals (including our Beauty Advisory Board) to determine the best expert-approved formulas to recommend, and conducts interviews with luminaries across the industry. Nerisha received her bachelor’s degree in Communication and Media Studies from Temple University before joining the editorial teams at Nylon and Billboard. In 2020, she co-launched our popular franchise The State of Black Beauty, an ongoing exploration of—and destination for—beauty at the intersection of Black culture.

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