The ultimate guide to 2014's beauty advent calendars

Yes, I know it's far too early to be talking Christmas already, but this is one post I don't mind writing! It's my birthday on the first day of advent, so when I found out about the variety of alternative advent calendars on the market, I got a little bit excited about adding them to my birthday wishlist! After hearing about Benefit's super gorgeous one soon to grace our presence (praying I'll be lucky enough to grab one of the 8000 released), I decided to have a nose to see what else was available...and here are the fruits of my Googling!

FYI, I've purposefully tried to include images that don't show the contents; let's not lie, we're all kids at heart and love the surprise factor!

First off, just in case you haven't heard about it yet (have you been hiding?), Benefit's Candy Coated Countdown advent calendar is priced at £60 but holds 24 mini treasures to the value of nearly £110, so it's definitely worthy!

Available from Boots on 29th October, No 7's 25 Days of Beauty Secrets is probably one of the most appealing ones, purely for its quality. At only £35, it packs a value of £130 worth of skincare and makeup goodies including the best-selling Protect and Perfect range. Tempted much?

W7 has only recently been on my radar but I've been pretty impressed by the budget brand and have reviewed a few of their products before (lipstick, chunky lips, mascara, nail art set). At only £19.99 (currently £16.99 on Fragrance Direct), their offering includes nail polishes, lip gloss, glitter pots, mascara and various other bits of make up, ideal for the festive season. This would make for a great calendar for the younger generation.

Selfridges Enchanted Spells advent calendar is available now at £85 and features 24 luxurious skincare, makeup, and fragrance treats from the likes of YSL, Kiehl's, Urban Decay and Lancôme. Not bad at all if you're a fan of high-end brands.

The Jo Malone advent calendar is like the Rolls Royce of calendars price-wise. At a hefty £250, it delivers 24 treats in a combination of creams and fragrances. For your dollar, you're gifted with a pretty Georgian townhouse design, and it's available nationwide on 10th November or earlier from Harrods.

The Elemis 12 Days of Beauty set offers slightly less excitement with only 12 gifts, but the sample sizes are quite generous so you're still in for high-end treats, especially since it's worth double the cost (£59.50, with a value of £113).

Ciaté's Mini Mani Manor is usually a super popular choice and features a gorgeous pretty Christmas house design, consisting of festive nail transfers and polishes for a reasonable £49. Personally, I'll be holding off on this and hopefully picking it up in the sales (I saw last year's on Fragrance Direct for a fraction of the price!).

Available now, 24 Days of Joy is one I'm definitely considering, as The Body Shop will donate 4p to their charity partner War Child (sending children in war-affected areas to school) for every one sold, which is a brilliant incentive and also applies to other selected gifts. It's £50 with a product value of £83, featuring creams, body butters, fragrance, oils and nail colour!

L'Occitane en Provence is another lower quantity offering. However, I do like their justification; it features not 12, but 13 products, in line with the Provençal tradition to present 13 deserts on the festive table! It's nice to tie it in to the brand, and obviously nice to know we won't be the only ones munching on cake and goodies at Christmas time. At £45, you have to wait until 3rd November for this one.

And this last one isn't necessarily beauty related, but it's one I can't help but share! It's a standalone 3D house (too cool!) full of Yankee tea light goodness at £24.99. Heaven! It seems to be out of stock on the official site, but it's sold on Temptation Gifts a little cheaper and on Amazon too.

Update:

I've also just heard about the 12 Days of Christmas from Lush (£49.95). I'm admittedly a tad late to the Lush bandwagon as I've only recently started using their products more frequently, but I bladdy love them! Again, this isn't necessarily beauty, but who can resist their gorgeous products? 

Will you be treating yourself to one of these beauties this winter? Which one is your top pick?

Like this post? Come on over and follow! Bloglovin, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook are just a few of the ways you can keep up to date!