I saved £850 with Cult Beauty's 'unmatched' advent calendar (original) (raw)

I saved more than £850 on high end products with Cult Beauty's 'unmatched' 2024 advent calendar

With one of the Cult Beauty calendars already sold out, this one is sure to follow suit. Worth more than £1,100, it contains 42 premium beauty heroes - more than any other calendar we've seen this year

Bethan's top picks from the Cult Beauty advent calendar 2024

Beauty advent calendar season is in full swing, and for makeup and skincare enthusiasts like myself, these huge hauls are better than any other festive feast one might devour throughout December. While many of these Christmas countdowns feature 25 doors with a treat behind each number, there’s one brand who goes above and beyond each and every year: Cult Beauty.

Not content with one item per day, Cult Beauty’s calendar stars a whopping 42 products , of which 19 are full sized, which means there are plenty of double and even triple doors to discover. Priced at £235 , it’s got an incredible value of more than £1,100 , with each item working out at less than £6. Seeing as one product is worth £146 alone, there are some serious savings to be had here.

There are two versions of the Cult Beauty advent calendar, with the Scent With Love option having already sold out, so I do recommend you move quickly if you want to get the Curated With Love calendar , which is likely to follow suit. The latter is the calendar I received, and I truly believe that - while it is one of the more expensive calendars launched this year - it’s one of the best value money can buy, and is worth every penny.

The variety and high-end brands inside, like Charlotte Tilbury, Sunday Riley, and Pat McGrath Labs , are some of the most coveted. Many of these products on their own are worth a significant portion of the calendar’s price, making it feel incredibly luxurious. Some of the products inside I’d never dreamed of owning due to the cost - like the celeb-loved Rich Cream from Augustinus Bader, which retails at £146 - while others I’ve certainly had my eye on, but could never justify purchasing at their full price, like the Summer Fridays Lip Butter Balm for £23, or the £22 travel sized Hourglass setting powder .

The Rich Cream from Augustinus Bader is worth £146 alone

I absolutely love the fact that this calendar includes 19 full-sized products and isn’t just full of samples. Some of my personal highlights include the Medik8 H.E.O Mask , a deeply hydrating and rejuvenating overnight treatment, and the Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Matte Beauty Blush Wand in ‘Pink Pop’, which is a stunning, universally flattering shade that adds a pop of colour to my cheeks.

But even the travel and deluxe samples are incredibly generous sizes, like the Sunday Riley C.E.O. 15% Vitamin C Brightening Serum , valued at £28, and the Gisou Honey Infused Hair Oil, worth £19 . Some of the lower value items are Cult Beauty exclusives, such as the Anti-Drip Wrist Bands and Cult Beauty Hair Clips, and what they lack in monetary value, they more than make up for in practicality. These types of products come in so handy when doing skincare and makeup, and they’re such a great addition to the haul.

Beauty fans will be thrilled to see Charlotte Tilbury makes an appearance

While the calendar is undeniably packed with amazing products, there are a few things that didn’t quite hit the mark for me. One thing I noticed is the lack of any fragrance items. I was hoping for a mini perfume or at least a scented body mist, but there’s nothing like that included. While there is a mini Vyrao Witchy Woo Candle, Jo Loves hand cream and Phillip Kingsley hair treatment which all smell delicious, I would have loved a travel-size perfume or rollerball to explore a new scent. I guess that’s why the Scent With Love version exists - but perhaps one calendar with a mix of everything may have been better.

Another drawback for me is that there are a couple of repetitive items. For instance, there are multiple eye masks – the 111SKIN Rose Gold Eye Mask and the Decree SOS Revitalising Eye Mask . While I love a good eye mask, it feels a bit redundant to have two similar products when there could have been more differentiation in the product selection.

And if you’re yet to catch sight of the full contents, here’s everything inside the Curated With Love Cult Beauty advent calendar for 2024 :

Full Sizes

KraveBeauty Great Barrier Relief Serum (full size; 45ml)
Summer Fridays Lip Butter Balm in 'Vanilla Beige' (full size; 15g)
Paula's Choice Clinical 1% Retinol Treatment (full size; 30ml)
Saie Sculpt Multi Use Cream Highlighting Blush in 'Mauve Glow' (full size; 5.8g)
ISAMAYA Spur Stick Suede Lip Liner (full size; 0.07g)
Pat McGrath Labs Perma Precision Liquid Liner in 'Xtreme Black Coffee' (full size; 1ml)
Natasha Denona Baby Love Palette (full size; 4g)
PATRICK TA Major Dimension Precision Gel Liner (full size; 0.2g)
Cult Beauty Anti-Drip Wrist Bands (Set of 2)
BIOEFFECT EGF Serum (full size; 15ml)
Decree SOS Revitalising Eye Mask (full size; 1 Sheet)
MZ Skin Hydra Lift Gold Face Mask (full size; 1 Sheet)
BYOMA Moisturising Rich Cream (full size; 50ml)
Jo Loves Jo by Jo Loves a Hand Cream (full size; 50ml)
Medik8 H.E.O Mask (full size; 2 x 50ml )
Tower 28 ShineOn Milky Lip Jelly in 'XOXO' (full size; 3.9ml)
Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Matte Beauty Blush Wand in 'Pink Pop' (full size; 12ml)
Ceremonia Guava Rescue Spray (full size; 200ml)
Cult Beauty Hair Clips in 'Pink/White' (Set of 2)

Deluxe Sizes

LANEIGE Cream Skin Cerapeptide Toner and Moisturiser (deluxe size; 15ml)
Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare Alpha Beta Peel Pads (deluxe size; Pack of 3)
111SKIN Rose Gold Eye Mask (deluxe size; Single Sheet)
OUAI Scalp and Body Scrub in 'Melrose Place' (deluxe size; 30g)
L'OCCITANE Almond Milk Concentrate (deluxe size; 20ml)
Fable & Mane Saha Scalp Amla Soothing Serum (deluxe size; 14.4ml)
JVN Nourishing Shine Drops (deluxe size; 5ml)
amika Soulfood Nourishing Mask (deluxe size; 60ml)

Travel Sizes

Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow Niacinamide Hue Drops (travel size; 15ml)
Hair by Sam McKnight Cool Girl Volume Cleanse Shampoo (travel size; 100ml)
Hair by Sam McKnight Cool Girl Volume Nourish Conditioner (travel size; 75ml)
Kate Somerville ExfoliKate Intensive Treatment (travel size; 15ml)*
Gisou Honey Infused Hair Oil (travel size; 20ml)
Dr. LEVY Switzerland Intense Stem Cell Eye Booster Concentrate (travel size; 7ml)
Huda Beauty One Coat Wow Mascara (travel size; 7ml)
Color Wow Money Mist (travel size; 50ml)
Augustinus Bader The Rich Cream (travel size; 15ml)
ELEMIS Pro-Collagen Energising Marine Cleanser (travel size; 30ml)
Sol de Janeiro Brazilian Bum Bum Cream (travel size; 75ml)*
Sunday Riley C.E.O. 15% Vitamin C Brightening Serum (travel size; 15ml)
Hourglass Veil Translucent Setting Powder (travel size; 2g)
Vyrao Witchy Woo Mini Candle (travel size; 30g)
Philip Kingsley Elasticizer 2024 Limited Edition Fragrance Lemon and Bergamot (travel size; 75ml)

Sunday Riley is a cult-loved brand that features in the calendar

With the Cult Beauty offering, it’s undeniable that you’re getting a lot of bang for your buck, as there are no other brands offering 42 products inside their calendar. Sephora comes close with 40, followed by Space NK with 35, but the sheer volume combined with the quality that Cult Beauty offers is unmatched.

Despite a lack of perfume in the Curated With Love edit , there is still a wide variety of products and brands spanning skincare, makeup, bodycare and haircare, which makes this a brilliant way to indulge in some of the best beauty brands out there, without spending a fortune compared to the RRP. Cult Beauty, take a bow, you’ve won Christmas and I don’t think any other beauty gift will compare this December. Snap yours up here before it sells out.