Christmas has come early in the beauty world – all the biggest retailers and brands have unveiled some of this year’s best beauty advent calendars. While heavy hitters like Harrods and Harvey Nichols come with a hefty price tag, there is one favourite that will set you back less than £100, and it’s M&S’s beauty advent calendar.
The high street stalwart’s beauty advent calendar just launched today (9 October), but I had an early look and have reviewed it already. Spoiler: it doesn’t disappoint. Its packed with household names – think Clinique, Percy & Reed and This Works – and the roster has an overall value of more than £300. And fresh from her sell-out fashion collaboration with M&S, British fashion designer Bella Freud has designed the packaging.
I’ve been reviewing beauty advent calendars for years, testing brands from John Lewis and Lookfantastic to Boots and Selfridges. However, M&S remains my favourite. Not only is it affordable (the calendar costs £60 when spending £35 in-store or online), but the contents include brands you can really trust and crowd-pleasing variety – with products that appeal to both my mum, grandma, and me.
Here’s everything you need to know about M&S’s beauty advent calendar – including my review of the 2025 line-up.
How I tested
Opening each drawer ahead of December (someone had to do it), I sought to see how the M&S calendar compares to previous years, as well as against stiff competition from the likes of Lookfantastic, Boots, Selfridges, Liberty and more. I considered:
- Value for money: Considering the size of each product and the cost of the calendar, I weighed up whether the M&S line-up offered excellent value for money. The brand claims you’re saving more than £200 on the contents of the calendar.
- Sizes: Similarly, I noted the size of each beauty product, assessing whether they were full-size or deluxe, while considering how long each formula would last beyond the Christmas period.
- Variety: I looked for variety among the products in the calendar to make sure each day of December was special. Whether it was a luxury hair product or a party-ready mascara, I wanted the products to invite a feeling of festivity.
M&S beauty advent calendar 2025
Worth: £330
Number of days: 25
Number of full-size products: 8
Advent calendar highlights: Color Wow hair treatment, Clinique mascara, Benefit benetint, Living Proof shampoo and conditioner duo, Cowshed body care
Available: Now
Why we love it
- Premium brands
- Impressive haircare offering
- Everyday make-up products
- Good variety of products
Take note
- Lots of minis
M&S beauty advent calendar packaging
As always, M&S’s calendar includes 25 products – this year, there are eight full-size and 17 travel-size. A departure from its usual packaging (a velvet vanity case), the 2025 calendar has been designed by Bella Freud, who collaborated with M&S on a sell-out fashion collection last year. The box is full of nods to the designer’s signature aesthetic, from the recognisable typography to the gold stars. The categories in the calendar – haircare, skincare and make-up – are divided into themes, including “relax”, “rich”, “silky and “radiance”, which are written on various boxes.
The numbered boxes are layered on top of and among each other, making it easy to count down to Christmas. After day 25, you can repurpose the calendar as storage owing to the sturdy, evergreen design.
What’s inside M&S’s beauty advent calendar for 2025?
Packaging aside, there’s a lot to be excited about. Spoilers ahead, but this year’s calendar is particularly strong for haircare and body care. The perfect tonic during party season, there’s Cowshed’s relax bath and shower gel (£22, Marksandspencer.com) and calming body lotion (£22, Marksandspencer.com) – which boast a relaxing lavender and eucalyptus scent. I also enjoyed using the This Works deep sleep body cocoon (£25, Johnlewis.com), which is a nightly moisturiser that is scented with lavender.
The 30ml L’Occitane almond hand cream (£10, Marksandspencer.com) is the perfect size to throw in your bag for nourishing your hands on the go, while Nuxe’s famous multi-purpose dry oil (£33, Marksandspencer.com) is similarly travel-sized for extra hydration while on the go.
When it comes to haircare, it’s your chance to try 75ml travel-sized versions of Color Wow’s dream cocktail carb infused thickening treatment (£25, Colorwowhair.com), a leave-in treatment that adds volume to flat hair. Another hair highlight is the Living Proof full shampoo (£14, Marksandspencer.com) and conditioner (£14, Marksandspencer.com). The duo works wonders on flat hair, giving extra oomph to strands and leaving hair shiny and sleek.
The premium skincare offering is less impressive than previous years, but you can sample minis of some seriously good products – including Estee Lauder’s advanced night repair (£18, Marksandspencer.com) and Emma Hardie’s renewal treatment mask (Marksandspencer.com). Affordable favourites like Weleda’s skin food (£14, Marksandspencer.com) – the likes of Hailey Bieber and Victoria Beckham swear by this ultra-hydrating formula – and Dr Paw Paw’s hyaluronic acid-infused multi-purpose balm (£7.50, Marksandspencer.com) are also in the mix.
The make-up line-up is smaller but offers stellar value for money – Clinique’s high impact mascara (£26, Marksandspencer.com) is included and worth £26 alone. The voluminous brush helps give volume and length from root to tip, with the black and brown blended finish creating a doll-eye, soft-focused effect. The Stila gel brown eyeliner (£18, Marksandspencer.com), meanwhile, boasts a slightly rounded tip for lining along your lid and waterline, for a smoky eye – the formula is pleasingly long-lasting and waterproof, too. Benefit’s cult benetint (£26, Marksandspencer.com) completes the line-up, imparting a rosy flush on your lips or lids – simply dot and smudge with your fingers.
Helping your nails look fresh, you’ll also find a Nails Inc polish in a rich burgundy shade (arguably the perfect Christmas hue). Nails Inc’s polishes are some of the best drugstore varnishes you can buy, as they don’t chip as fast as other formulas.
M&S has gone viral for its perfumes (see the sold-out Le Labo santal 33 alternative), and the calendar gives you a taster, with the soft gardenia toilette (£7, Marksandspencer.com), which is reminiscent of the Marc Jacobs Daisy fragrance. Plus, you’ll find the Floral Street sweet almond blossom eau de parfum (£29, Marksandspencer.com) inside the calendar, which has a warm and sweet scent.
Topping things off, there are three beauty accessories and tools – my favourite is the gua sha (£8, Marksandspencer.com). The stainless steel tool is effective at massaging your face using lymphatic drainage techniques in the morning, cooling and de-puffing skin.
Buy now £60.00, Marksandspencer.com
Your questions on the M&S beauty advent calendar 2025 answered
Is M&S’s beauty advent calendar for 2025 worth it?
The M&S beauty advent calendar is packed with favourites – from fragrances and make-up to elevate your festive looks, to skincare and body care to combat the effects of one too many parties. It’s also surprisingly cheap for just £60.
Haircare and body care are where the calendar really excels, but the make-up offering offers great value for money with two full-size formulas from Clinique and Stila. Overall, I would have liked to see more full-size products across every category, so you can get your use long beyond the festive period. However, for the price, it’s a crowd-pleasing countdown to Christmas. Available now but be quick as it will inevitably sell out.
When did M&S’s beauty advent calendar launch?
The M&S beauty calendar launched on 9 October 2025, both online and in-store.
How much does M&S’s beauty advent calendar 2025 cost?
The calendar costs £60. It’s much cheaper than some of the competition – Liberty’s beauty advent calendar (£275, Libertylondon.com) costs more than four times as much. However, M&S’s offering is £10 more than last year.
The only caveat is that you can shop the calendar when you spend £35 in-store or online on beauty, home and clothing.
Why you can trust IndyBest reviews
As The Independent’s senior shopping writer, Daisy Lester has been covering beauty at IndyBest for years, from expert guides on brow pencils and fake tan to lip oils and lip liners. She’s reviewed the best beauty advent calendars since 2022, testing brands from Boots, Selfridges, John Lewis and Lookfantastic to Charlotte Tilbury and plenty more. When it comes to M&S, this is the third year in a row she’s tested the retailer’s offering – so she’s perfectly placed to see how it compares against previous offerings and competitors.
From Harrods to Liberty, beauty writer Lucy has rounded up all the best beauty advent calendars to know about in 2025
