Best Beauty Advent Calendars 2026 Under £100

It is late October, you have a £100 ceiling, and you want a calendar you will actually use rather than one that looks good on the box. The shortlist below runs from £44 to £98, and every price, door count and full-size count comes from the retailer pages or the publications listed in the references.

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Quick answer: which beauty advent calendar under £100 should you buy?

For most people, Boots 24 Days of Skin (£70) is the safest pick if you want products you will finish, because 21 of its 24 items are full-size. Here is the one-line verdict on each option.

• Skincare: Boots 24 Days of Skin, £70.
• Variety: M&S Beauty Advent Calendar 2026, £75.
• Premium mixed selection: Anthropologie 24 Days of Beauty, £98.
• Tight budget or charity: Boots x Macmillan 24 Doors of Joy, £44.
• Shorter countdown: Anthropologie 12 Days of Beauty, £58.

The shortlist at a glance

This table puts the five calendars side by side so you can compare price, doors and full-size counts in one look.

Calendar	Price	Doors	Products	Full-size	Focus	Stock note
Anthropologie 24 Days of Beauty	£98	24	25	17	Mixed, one makeup item	Stock can change
Boots 24 Days of Skin	£70	24	24	21	Skincare	Page may show online sold-out notice
M&S Beauty Advent Calendar 2026	£75	25	26	10	Skincare, makeup, hair, fragrance	Price and stock can change
Anthropologie 12 Days of Beauty	£58	12	Not confirmed	Not confirmed	Skincare, makeup, fragrance	Stock can change
Boots x Macmillan 24 Doors of Joy	£44	24	24	Not confirmed	Mixed, charity link	Check availability

One detail worth noticing: M&S has 25 doors but 26 products, so the door count and product count are not always the same.

Anthropologie 24 Days of Beauty (£98): best for a premium mixed selection

This is the most expensive calendar on the list, and it is the one The Guardian recommended in its under-£100 category after testing 20 calendars for 2026. It suits someone who wants classic, easy-to-use products rather than a trend-heavy line-up.

What is inside?

Anthropologie lists 25 products across 24 days, 17 of them full-size. Highlights include an L’Occitane hand cream, a PHLUR fragrance, a Freck cheek product and a Hair Syrup hair oil.

What is the catch?

The Guardian’s testers noted that there is only one makeup product. If you hoped for a makeup-heavy calendar, look elsewhere.

Anthropologie states a value of £400. That is the brand’s own figure, so read the section on value claims below before treating it as your saving.

Boots 24 Days of Skin (£70): best for skincare fans

If your routine is mostly cleanser, serum and moisturizer, look at this calendar first. Boots says 21 of the 24 items are full-size, the highest full-size share on this list.

The line-up includes brands such as Anua, Haruharu, The Inkey List, Byoma and Mediheal. Boots states a value of £303.56 if the items were bought separately.

Here’s the catch: the Boots page can show a temporary online sold-out notice, so confirm stock before you plan around it.

M&S Beauty Advent Calendar 2026 (£75): best for variety

M&S gives you the widest spread of categories: skincare, makeup, haircare and fragrance. It has 25 doors and 26 products, with 10 of them full-size, and M&S states a value of over £450.

The trade-off is simple. You get more variety and more minis, but fewer full-size items than Boots. If you like trying things before committing, that is a feature rather than a flaw.

M&S also publishes a full list of what is inside, so you can check it against your routine before you buy.

Boots x Macmillan 24 Doors of Joy (£44): best on a tight budget

At £44, this is the cheapest option here. The Independent lists it with 24 doors and 24 products, and says £2 from every sale goes to Macmillan Cancer Support.

I could not confirm an official Boots product page for this one, and its full-size count is not confirmed either. Check availability and the contents list at the retailer before buying.

Anthropologie 12 Days of Beauty (£58): best for a smaller, shorter countdown

This is a 12-day calendar at £58, with items from L’Occitane, Patchology, Freck and Boy Smells. It is a smaller commitment than the 24-day version.

It suits a short pre-Christmas treat, or a gift for someone who would find 24 doors overwhelming. It is a smaller set, so it will not feel like a full countdown.

How to read the “value” claim

A big value number tells you what the brand or retailer adds up, not what you save. If you would never use half the items, they are worth little to you.

Why does £400 or £450 not mean you save that much?

The totals are calculated by the seller. Anthropologie (£400), M&S (£450 or more) and Boots (£303.56) each use their own figures, and products may be discounted elsewhere.

How do you do your own sum?

MoneySavingExpert adds up the contents itself and takes discounts into account. It advises counting only the products you would genuinely use. Try the same: list the items you would buy anyway, price them at current retailer prices, and compare that total with the calendar’s price.

Which calendar suits you?

Match the calendar to how you actually use beauty products, not to the biggest number on the box.

• Skincare routine builder: Boots 24 Days of Skin.
• Likes to try a bit of everything: M&S Beauty Advent Calendar.
• Fragrance and hair fan: Anthropologie 24 Days, with its PHLUR fragrance and Hair Syrup oil.
• Budget or charity buyer: Boots x Macmillan 24 Doors of Joy.
• Gift for someone else: Anthropologie 12 Days if a shorter set suits them.

If makeup is your main interest, remember that The Guardian found only one makeup item in the Anthropologie 24-day calendar. Of the calendars with a confirmed makeup mix, M&S is the better fit.

Checklist before you buy

Run through these five checks on the retailer page before you pay.

1. Read the full ingredient lists if you have sensitive skin, allergies or avoid fragrance. Editor reviews are personal experience, not a guarantee for every skin type.
2. Count full-size versus mini products, not just the headline number of items.
3. Check that doors and products match, since M&S has 25 doors and 26 products.
4. Confirm delivery dates and stock.
5. Recheck the price on the official page, because prices and discounts change.

FAQ

Are bigger value claims better?

Not necessarily. A larger figure only means the seller’s own total is larger, and it counts items you may never use.

Are these calendars skincare-heavy or makeup-heavy?

Boots is clearly skincare. M&S is a mix, and Anthropologie’s 24-day calendar has just one makeup item.

Is it too late to buy one now?

It is late October, so stock may be limited. The Boots page can show a temporary online sold-out notice, so check each retailer directly.

Can I return an opened calendar?

I did not confirm return terms for opened calendars. Check the retailer’s returns policy before you open it.

Are minis worth it?

They are if you like testing products before committing to a full size. If you want products to use up, favor calendars with a higher full-size count, like Boots.

Final verdict and next step

Boots 24 Days of Skin is the best fit for skincare users, M&S is the best for variety, and Anthropologie’s 24-day calendar is the premium pick if you can live with one makeup item. The Boots x Macmillan calendar is the budget and charity option.

Today, open the retailer page for your pick, check stock and the full contents list, and buy only if most items fit your routine.

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