Why Fortnum & Mason's beauty advent calendar is the most luxurious Christmas countdown of 2023
It's filled with £1,020 of luxury treats, from ESPA, Aromatherapy Associates, as well as Fortnum's own products.
🛍️ Product reviewed: Fortnum & Mason Beauty Advent Calendar
💸 Cost: £260 (Worth £1,020)
💰 Product highlights: There's 22 full-size products, notable mentions include Aromatherapy Associates Revive Morning Bath & Shower Oil (£55), Bramley Bubble Bath (£18) and Charlotte Posner Spa Girls Canvas Wash Bag (£35)
✋ Biggest drawback: At £260, it's one of the most expensive beauty advent calendars available for 2023. If you're looking to spend less, check out our round-up starting from £45
With so many beauty advent calendars available for Christmas 2023, there's some fierce competition when it comes to which ones have the most luxurious products inside or are the best value for money.
While the most coveted launch for several years has been the Liberty Beauty Advent Calendar (you can read our review of the 2023 Liberty calendar here). In recent years, many luxury department stores including Harrods and Fortnum & Mason, have given it a run for its money.
Back for another year, the Fortnum & Mason's 2023 Beauty Advent Calendar is a sight to behold, costing £260 and containing a whopping 30 products - 22 of which are full-size. It's one of the biggest offerings we've seen this year.
In comparison, Liberty's 2023 beauty advent calendar contains 20 full-size products.
It's filled with luxury skincare, bodycare, make-up and fragrance brands.
Over the last three years, Fortnum's calendar has grown both in price and size. In 2020, it cost £195, in 2021 it was £225, and in 2022 it would have set you back £245.
While this is the most expensive version yet, it also has the highest contents value of a huge £1,020, thanks to an array of luxury products inside.
I was fortunate enough to get my hands on it ahead of December, and I opened every single product, so that I could let you know if the beauty advent calendar really is as jam-packed with treats as it looks. Click away now if you don't want any spoilers...
The presentation is certainly a sight to behold. It's a giant (and very heavy) rectangular shape with double doors and a beautifully illustrated floral design across the front.
As there's no date written on any part of the calendar, you could easily repurpose it for next year when you've finished the 2023 Christmas countdown.
What's *actually* inside the calendar?
To make things simple, here's a breakdown of the different types of products you can expect:
7 skincare products
6 luxury bodycare products
4 sachets of bath salts
2 candles
2 make-up products
2 nail and hand care products
1 haircare product
1 eye mask
1 travel make-up brush set
1 make-up bag
1 pillow mist
1 perfume
1 CBD ingestible drops
My top 5 Fortnum & Mason Beauty Advent Calendar products
Aromatherapy Associates Revive Morning Bath & Shower Oil | Costs £55 for 55ml
Few bath brands are as coveted by beauty editors as Aromatherapy Associates. Its range of shower, bath and body oils are like a spa day bottled up in pretty glass bottles.
I loved this Revive Morning Bath & Shower Oil, which is a refreshing and relaxing blend of grapefruit, rosemary and juniper berry. It's the most luxurious way to start your day and a product I've often had on my beauty shopping wish list.
In the calendar you'll also find a full size Aromatherapy Associates De Stress Bath And Shower Oil, so you can be fully stocked on luxury bath products for a while.
Kure Bazaar Bubble Vvee Nail Colour | £16 for 10ml
This product sums up for me the best part of a beauty advent calendar, it allows you to discover new brands you may never have heard of.
Kure Bazaar is completely new to me, but this sheer pinky nail colour is perfect for achieving the minimalist manicure that I see all over Instagram. Don't be alarmed by the fuchsia pink shade, it actually delivers a translucent finish on your nail with one coat, or a high-shine subtle pink with two coats. It instantly makes my nails look healthier and polished.
Bramley Bubble Bath | £18 for 250ml
Another brilliant bath product you can find in this calendar is a full-size Bramley Bubble Bath with geranium, lavender and sweet orange essential oils. Not only does it smell glorious, it creates a decent amount of frothy bubbles for a relaxing bath at the end of a long day.
Simply pour as much as you want into your hot water, lean back and get some TLC. It's perfect timing not that the cold weather is here and staying in becomes my new norm.
Another great self-care treat in the calendar you're sure to enjoy throughout the Christmas season are the two candles. One is Fortnum's Four Seasons Clementine Votive Candle (usually £28), but the star of the show is definitely the Lauren Dickinson Clarke Provocateur Votive Candle (usually £68), which has a funky monochrome face on the front and would make a amazing gift, if you had the heart to part with it.
Charlotte Posner Spa Girls Canvas Wash Bag | £35
This wash bag is more spacious than most and perfect for travelling or simply storing all the wonderful mini products you'll unwrap. It has a fun, colourful print of ladies lined up in their bathrobes and the canvas material is durable and can easily be thrown in the washing machine if you have an accidental product spillage.
It's more than I would ever spend on a wash bag on its own, but is a lovely and most importantly, practical addition to the calendar that will save you feeling cluttered once you've opened every drawer.
The calendar also includes a matching Charlotte Posner eye mask (£38), which is super soft and another great travel essential.
Delilah Vegan Travel Brush Collection | Costs £18 for four brushes
While I was expecting a variety of high end skincare, make-up and bodycare products, this compact set of travel brushes from Delilah was a pleasant surprise. It's perfect for travelling, and the four brushes come in a compact, but chic, faux leather case with a silky pink interior.
Without a doubt, I'll be using this throughout the year, the bristles are super soft and the handles feel high quality. There's a Mini Powder Brush, Mini Lip Brush, Double Ended Eyeshadow Brush and Double Ended Liner Brush - technically that's six brushes!
My 3 Liberty Beauty Advent Calendar lowlights
In the important of remaining balanced to give you an all-round review of this advent calendar, here's three products that didn't quite leave me satisfied.
Otto Sleep Drops 10% CBD 15ml (usually £69 for 15ml) - Unfortunately I don't think there's enough scientific evidence proving the benefits of CBD for sleep, so this product just isn't one that interests me. Additionally, I'm not a fan of ingesting CBD as it doesn't always have a pleasant taste, its also very expensive for such a small amount.
Masion Matine Poom Poom 15ml (usually £60 for 50ml) - I was surprised to see just one fragrance within the calendar, despite Fortnum & Mason's beauty hall being home to many beautiful perfume brands. I found this scent just didn't last on me and stung my nose slightly when first sprayed - as I didn't love it I just didn't reach for it. I would have loved to have seen another bigger, perhaps 30ml bottle of something from Penhaligon's, Jo Malone London or Creed.
Olverum Firming Body Moisturiser 30ml (usually £43 for 200ml) - This body cream was lightweight, smelt lovely (thanks to coriander and Frankincense essential oils), I just wish it was bigger. No bigger than a tube of hand cream, it didn't last very long and I would have loved to have seen it come in a full-size version.
All in all, there's no doubt that the Fortnum's 2023 beauty advent calendar is packed with so many great full sized products that you're bound to enjoy throughout December. Or, if they're not all to your taste, would make a great Christmas present for a loved one.
