Teens are notoriously challenging to shop for, with hyperfixations moving on quicker than you can say TikTok. Which is why the shopping elves called on the daughters of the team to curate our gift guide. But the gifting woes begin far beyond the big day.
It’s a tradition that goes on into adulthood; advent calendars are to be supplied by parents. We don’t make the rules. But the category has evolved so much in recent years, it’s difficult to know where to start.
Advent calendars for teens are no longer limited to flimsy cardboard filled with mediocre chocolate. The possibilities are truly endless, from stationery to sweets, serums to socks.
While the discerning teen in your life may be perfectly content with a supermarket selection, for the 2026 holiday season, you can enhance the seasonal countdown with a selection far more unique, unexpected and special.
The social media-savvy teen in your life will already be familiar with the latest drops, whether that’s a viral Korean skincare launch or the foundational element in their favourite creator’s GRWM routine on YouTube. And a beauty advent calendar will tap into this.
The -approved teen advent calendars will mark the December days with skin, hair, make-up and fragrance treats and timeless jewellery keepsakes tucked behind each door, drawer or window. These are items not destined for the landfill but to be applied, worn and treasured.
Shop ’s edit of the best advent calendars for teens below
- Best for: Quantity of products
- Release date: Available now
- Number of products: 40
- Number of days: 25
- What’s inside? Discothèque Lola at Coat Check Candle, Summer Fridays Blush Butter Balm and Medik8 Niacinamide Peptides
- Why it’s As soon as you start to unbox the Sephora Advent Calendar, you will understand why it’s so weighty. Like a trunk, it opens to reveal 40 products, 10 of which are retailer exclusives, including Tower 28, Makeup by Mario, Haus Labs, Topicals, and Tarte.
- In terms of full-size products, there is Danessa Myricks Beauty’s Yummy Skin Glow Serum (RRP £39), Discothèque’s Lola at Coat Check Candle (£54 and currently sold out), the cult K18 Leave-in Molecular Repair Hair Mask that is beloved by the team (£70), the Kosas Shiny Objects Wet Glisten Powder Highlighter (£32) and most awe-inducing of all, the Makeup by Mario Ethereal Moonlight Eyeshadow Palette (£69). These five products alone are worth £264, making the advent calendar’s £235 price very appealing, especially with 35 additional make-up, skincare, hair, and fragrance items. Honourable mention goes to the inclusion of the viral ONE/SIZE Beauty On ’Til Dawn Mattifying Waterproof Setting Spray (£32), Sol de Janeiro body wash (£23) and Rare Beauty Brow Harmony Flexible Lifting Eyebrow Gel (£19), all of which are also in full size.
- Best for: Excellent return on investment
- Release date: Available now
- Number of products: 27
- Number of days: 25
- What’s inside? Medik8 Total Moisture Cleanser, Clinique Moisture Surge 100H Auto-Replenishing Hydrator and LANEIGE Vanilla Lip Glowy Balm
- Why it’s To create its three advent calendars for 2026, beauty retailer Lookfantastic has taken an interesting approach. It has reached out to 25 beauty experts – from big beauty names to its own buying team – each of whom has selected an inclusion. These include the likes of hairstylist Sam McKnight and Dom Seeley, and creators Ash Holme and Gary Thompson. In The Beauty Advent Calendar, there are 27 products with a value of £665 and brands like Medik8, Clinique, Laura Mercier and Elemis. The edit leans on cult buys like Medik8 Total Moisture Cleanser, Elemis Pro-Collagen Marine Night Cream and Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder, as well as hyped heroes like Sol de Janeiro Cheirosa 40 Perfume Mist and Color Wow’s Kale Cocktail.
- The Fragrance Advent Calendar, which sold out in three days last year, has a reported worth of £530 and costs £150. The brands to know include Jo Malone, YSL and Rabanne. Enduring bestselling aromas include Jo Malone London’s Pomegranate Noir Cologne, Issey Miyake’s L’Eau d’Issey Eau de Parfum and Juliette Has A Gun Not A Perfume.
- Last but the most value-packed of all, The Grooming Advent Calendar costs £90 and has £469 worth of products inside, according to the retailer.
Space NK Beauty Advent Calendar
- Best for: The ratio of full-sized products
- Release date: Available now
- Number of products: 35
- Number of days: 25
- What’s inside? Color Wow Dream Cocktail, LANEIGE Water Sleeping Mask, Ole Henriksen Peptide Lip Treatment, Summer Fridays Pink Dew Gel Cleanser
- Why it’s Space NK always impresses with its ratio of full-size to minis in its annual advent offering – and 2026 is no different. The calendar itself is weighty and when you start to open the drawers, you’ll see why. First and foremost, there is a full sized Naturium The Booster Hyaluronic Acid Body Wash (RRP £19), one of the team’s favourite body washes in an epic 500ml. There is also the Color Wow Carb Cocktail in its full size (£26.50), Augustinus Bader’s The Body Cream (£92), the newly launched Medik8 Exo-PDRN Prismatic+ (£79), Olaplex’s No.3 PLUS Complete Repair Treatment (£32) and Summer Fridays Pink Dew Gel Cleanser (£28), so that each step of your skin and bodycare routines is accounted for. Purchasing the aforementioned items individually would set you back £276.50, which makes the remainder of the items – including the Skin Rocks The Cleansing Balm (£58) – free. No girl maths even needed.
The Cult Beauty Advent Calendar Special Edition
The Cult Beauty Advent Calendar Special Edition
- Best for: Multiple goodies a day
- Release date: Available now
- Number of products: x
- Number of days: 38
- What’s inside? Westman Atelier Eye Want You Mascara, Medik8 Advanced Pro-Collagen+ Peptide Cream and Allies of Skin Azelaic & Kojic Advanced Clarifying Serum
- Why it’s Cult Beauty’s seasonal advent calendar is a more pared-back design than previous years, but it is still packing an impressive quantity of beauty favourites with one of the largest selections for 2026. Among them are brands exclusive to the retailer like Saie and Patrick Ta, as well as products across the spectrum of hair, fragrance, make-up and skincare. There are 17 full-size products, and 12 of the selection were unveiled in the last year, so it provides a fantastic opportunity to get hands-on with new launches. I was excited to see the Westman Atelier Eye Want You Mascara (£42), Medik8 Advanced Pro-Collagen+ Peptide Cream (£82) and Allies of Skin Azelaic & Kojic Advanced Clarifying Serum (£94), which, between them, almost equal (£208) the cost of the calendar (£245).
- Best for: The number of products
- Release date: Available now
- Number of products: 41
- Number of days: 25
- What’s inside? Foreo UFO 3 Mini and Jo Loves Mini Candle
- Why it’s Where the John Lewis advent calendar excels this year is with the volume of products and brand selection, including the Foreo UFO 3 Mini (worth £129) that you can use alongside the Foreo UFO Mask to advance your traditional face mask experience. There are 41 included in the 25-day countdown, but it is worth noting that all are under 100ml. Enduring bestsellers like the Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish, L’Occitane Almond Shower Oil, Clarins Lip Comfort Oil and Charlotte Tilbury Beauty Light Wand have been stashed within in deluxe sizes, as well as excitingly La Mer’s The Lip Balm. In mini form, discover Shiseido, Sisley Paris, Gucci, Elemis and Estée Lauder too. Plus, one in 41 customers can win a prize like a Shark tool or Clarins Spa Treatment.
- For 2026 and for the first time for the department store, there is a 12-day fragrance advent calendar with brands like Memo Paris, Essential Parfums, Kilian Paris and Frederic Malle.
NEOM 24 Days of Wellbeing Advent Calendar
24 Days of Wellbeing Advent Calendar
- Best for: calming scents and nourishing bodycare
- Release date: Available now
- Number of products: 25
- Number of days: 24
- What’s inside? (Highlights): Real Luxury Essential Oil Blend, Ceramic Shooting Star Natural Diffuser and Great Day Magnesium Body Butter
- The verdict: Start the Christmas season as you mean to go on: enveloped in sumptuous scent. For the 2026 festive season, NEOM has housed a beautifully fragranced selection of candles, a diffuser, essential oils and bodycare in a daily advent calendar. One of the full-size candles (there are two!), alongside a mini candle, the diffuser, and a tree ornament, are seasonal limited-edition favourites with suitably festive scents, while the remainder are bestsellers like the magnesium-infused body butter and luxury bath milk. These come in mini form, which are great for curating a calming spa-like environment when you’re travelling or for sampling the collection with heroes from each of the Better Sleep, More Energy, Mood Boost and Less Stress collections.
- Best for: A mix of K-beauty and British brands
- Release date: Available now
- Number of products: 25
- Number of days: 25
- What’s inside? Charlotte Tilbury Beauty Light Wand, Sam McKnight Cool Girl Volume Blow Dry Foam, Medicube PDRN Peptide Serum, Gisou Honey Infused Lip Oil
- Why it’s In this advent calendar from ASOS, there is a combination of K-beauty bestsellers and homegrown British brands worth sampling. The Medicube PDRN Serum (RRP £20) is one of my favourite formulas for glass skin, especially when combined with the Biodance PDRN Sheet Mask (£5). Highlights include the Charlotte Tilbury Beauty Light Wand (£30), Gisou Lip Oil (£24) and Benefit Benetint (£23.50). The above bring you to £102.50, and then you have hero minis like the Haruharu Black Rice Probiotics Barrier Essence, Sunday Riley CEO Oil and Laneige Water Bank Blue Hyaluronic Cream Moisturiser to discover.
Kiko Twist ’n Twinkle Advent Calendar
Twist ’n Twinkle Advent Calendar
- Best for: Festive make-up
- Release date: 1 October
- Number of products: 24
- Number of days: 24
- What’s inside? (Highlights): Colour Kajal, Long Lasting Eyeshadow Stick and 3D Hydra Lipgloss
- The verdict: Kiko is known for its collection of high-performance make-up at bank-balance-friendly price tags, and the same is true for its advent calendar that opens like a vanity box to reveal 24 universally flattering products with a combination of cosmetics and skincare. Among the 24 included are cult favourites like the creamy eyeshadow sticks and beloved lip gloss. There are also new holiday launches in the form of a lipstick, lip balm, hair tie, mirror and comb.
The Body Shop Ultimate Advent Calendar
- Best for: Nostalgic hand and body favourites
- Release date: Available now
- Number of products: 25
- Number of days: 25
- What’s inside? (Highlights): Dewberry Body Butter, Shea Shampoo and Conditioner and Almond Milk Body Yogurt
- The verdict: In true The Body Shop style, there are two playfully decorated advent calendars on offer for 2026. The Ultimate Advent Calendar is the more indulgent of the two, prioritising full-size iterations of bestsellers like the Shea Body Butter, Camomile Cleansing Balm and sheet masks aplenty. Through this curation of products, the aim is to hydrate and rejuvenate the skin through to 2027. The standout inclusion is the newly revived Dewberry, a popular 90s aroma that comes in body butter form in the calendar. At a lower price point is The Core Advent Calendar (£65, worth £136). The same Dewberry aroma is included, but as a bath and shower gel, as well as many other minis.