The Sephora beauty advent calendar was my favourite last year, so when I saw everything inside the 2025 edition, I could barely contain my excitement. With the Christmas calendar going on sale early this month, the beauty conglomerate was one of the later retailers to launch its offering. In fact, Boots, Harrods, Selfridges and more dropped theirs back in August – browse my full selection of the best beauty advent calendars 2025 for all the intel.
As the saying goes, good things come to those who wait and, based on the brand’s incredible haul of luxury and trending cosmetics, it looks like we’re in for a truly indulgent December. However, it’s worth noting that this Sephora favorites advent calendar (£225, Sephora.co.uk) and the Sephora Collection advent calendar (£89.99, Sephora.co.uk) are two entirely different products, so make sure you’ve landed on the right page. For context, the Sephora Collection variety features inclusions solely from its own brand, Sephora Collection. I like it, but my full review of the Sephora Collection advent calendar found that it’s best suited to teens.
Instead, this Sephora favorites calendar is the retailer’s multi-brand offering, with a range of products from some of my favourite tried and tested brands.
It costs £225, but it’s worth £1,025, and on top of that, it has an extra product compared to 2024, with 24 full-size picks. After rifling through each and every one of these 41 items, I collated my thoughts to bring you an in-depth rundown of everything you need to know. Scroll on to get stuck in.
How we tested
It might not be in the spirit of Christmas to reveal all 41 items in September, but I’ve spoiled it for myself in the name of journalism. This meant pulling out every drawer, opening every bottle and putting every product through its paces, all so you can make an informed decision about which beauty advent calendar is best for you. Here are some of the things I considered while testing:
Why you can trust IndyBest reviews
Not only is Lucy Smith heading up The Independent’s 2025 guide to the best beauty advent calendars overall, but she’s reviewed a large selection of the most popular ones individually, too. From Next to Liberty, Asos to Harrods, she’s unboxed a whole host of high-end and affordable beauty picks, so she knows how the advent calendar landscape is looking for 2025 and, more specifically, the calibre of premium offerings from Sephora’s competitors.
Looking for more inspiration? Space NK’s beauty advent calendar has the most full-size products – but is it the best?
Sephora favorites beauty advent calendar 2025
Worth: £1,025
Number of days: 25
Advent calendar highlights: Malin + Goetz dark rum, K18 astrolift restorative volume spray, Ilia limitless lash mascara
Available: Pre-order now for delivery on or before 31 October
Why we love it
- Has the most products total of all the calendars I've spotted for 2025
- Great selection of newer beauty brands, e.g. Clomana, K18, Rare Beauty
- Excellent attention to current beauty trends, with hypochlorous acid, cica cream and Korean skincare
Take note
- A few product misses, including bar soap, a 2016-esque eyeshadow palette and a glut of fragrance minis
- Underwhelming packaging
Last year’s packaging was a slick silver with cerise accents. For 2025, the beauty retailer has opted for glitzy gold with neon light-style motifs. While this doesn’t compare to the festive elegance of Liberty, Sisley, Neal’s Yard and Fortnum and Mason, the foil wrap isn’t unattractive and is likely to slot into most home decor schemes seamlessly.
Unfortunately, my box fell apart upon sliding the drawers, so I’m not sure you’d look to reuse this calendar in future years. Thankfully, what Sephora’s offering lacks in the design department, it most certainly makes up for on the filling front.
In the retailer’s pre-launch teasers, we were promised “lots of exclusives”. Once revealed, I was shocked to discover that 31 of the items featured are unique to the Sephora calendar, so you won’t find them in any other advents.
The 41 products are a mix of new and returning brands, with Medik8 and Glow Recipe (among others) having featured in last year’s line-up, but there are new brands, too. Merit was only onboarded with Sephora over the past year, and the company is the only retailer stocking them.
As it happens, Merit’s beauty flush balm (£26, Sephora.co.uk) was one of my favourite items in the calendar; I loved how creamy and smooth the pigment applied, with the colour giving my cheeks a flattering pop of colour without sticking to any dry patches.
In the skincare department, there’s plenty to get excited about, with Elemis’ green fig pro-collagen cleansing balm (£13.50, Cultbeauty.co.uk), Laneige’s water bank blue hyaluronic cream (£15.60, Johnlewis.com), and Tower 28’s daily rescue SOS facial spray (£11, Revolve.com) all stars of the show. It’s great to see a hypochlorous acid spray make the cut.
The make-up offering is bountiful, too, with Gisou’s fan-favourite lip oil in the shade glazed plum (£24, Sephora.co.uk). TikTok lovers will appreciate the inclusion of the viral Clomana marshmallow make-up sponge (£10, Sephora.co.uk), while my personal highlight was the Ilia limitless lash mascara (£28, Sephora.co.uk).
If you’ve not tried it, the imitless lash wand has two layers of different bristles to ensure that every length of lash – from the roots to the tips – is stacked with formula to create ‘limitless’ volume and length without clumping. I’ve been using it exclusively for months and can’t recommend it enough.
While 2025 has seen a handful of dedicated fragrance calendars from the likes of Lookfantastic and Harvey Nichols, Sephora’s offering isn’t to be overlooked. I think its selection of Malin + Goetz, Kayali, Sol de Janeiro and Commodity (plus more) provides a varied perfume library for fans of scents sweet, fresh and floral.
The only caveat is that the size of the featured fragrances is slightly underwhelming, and five fragrance minis might be seen as clutter. Thankfully, the single full-size scent – Sol de Janeiro’s Rio radiance (£24, Sephora.co.uk) – is one of my ongoing body spray must-haves, earning four and a half stars out of five in my review.
Lastly, the haircare products. If you’re in search of a solution to dry strands and dull locks, look no further. With both Color Wow and Amika in the mix, plus K18’s hype-worthy astrolift volume spray (£44, Sephora.co.uk), you can expect a December of bouncy and silky blow-outs.
As much as Sephora’s offering is my pick for 2025, its product selection won’t be for everyone. There are arguably a handful of let-downs here, with a bar soap from Topicals (one included, but it’s £25 for two, Sephora.co.uk) and a set of shimmery eyeshadows from Tarte (not for sale, rough value of equivalent items is £26).
While the latter feels a bit dated, the former isn’t fitting of a £200+ advent calendar. That said, even after you remove those lacklustre items, you’re left with 39 items to explore. This advent has sold out three years in a row and is set to do so again.
Read more: Boots’ beauty advent calendar is one of the cheapest – here’s what’s inside
Buy now £225.00, Sephora.co.uk
Is the Sephora favorites beauty advent calendar worth £225?
Yes, the Sephora favorites beauty advent calendar is worth significantly more than £225 – and that’s not just based on its estimated £1,025 value. Not only are the featured products a great selection of current beauty trends, but with 41 items to choose from, you’ll have the freedom to be picky. Every beauty advent calendar has its downfalls, but it seems Sephora has accounted for this with a calendar packed with options.
The fact that 31 of the inclusions are exclusive to the retailer is a definite bonus, and I loved the number of cult products, from Malin + Goetz’s dark rum fragrance (£34, Sephora.co.uk) to Rare Beauty’s soft pinch liquid blush (£24, Sephora.co.uk). After getting my hands on it, it’s one of the top three calendars going and, personally, it’s the one I’m most excited about.
Read more: Everything inside the John Lewis beauty advent calendar 2025
