Is it too early to say the c-word? Maybe. But Christmas is on its way, and with it comes a slew of beauty advent calendars. I’ve always felt a little left out, as I insist on using cruelty-free beauty, and many advent calendars feature brands that just don’t meet that bar. It’s why I’m so excited to review Avant Skincare’s Advent Calendar* for 2024! This cruelty-free, sustainable skincare brand has just launched its 12-day offering and I was lucky enough to receive a sample to review, as well as get to know Avant Skincare for the first time too. Read on for my thoughts (and beware: some spoilers!)
Introducing: Avant Skincare
Avant Skincare* was born in London in 2016, with the mission to create skincare that combines natural ingredients and scientific efficacy. I particularly like this approach – it’s similar to that of Susanne Kaufmann and Romilly Wilde, two skincare brands I’ve enjoyed and found to work extremely well. Alongside creating effective, non-invasive cosmetics, all of Avant Skincare’s range is cruelty-free and certified by Cruelty-Free International. The brand itself has a monochromatic, classic aesthetic and is positioned on the lower-end of luxury, with its Cleanser retailing for £77; Day Cream for £99.
Avant Skincare: 12 Days of Beauty x Dreams Advent Calendar Review
The 12 Days of Beauty Advent Calendar* is the perfect way to get to know Avant Skincare. The calendar itself is beautifully made, arriving with a gold embossed wrap of stars and dream symbols that loosely relate to the products within. The doors to the calendar are held shut by a soft magnet, and when opened, reveal 12 delicate drawers containing bestselling cosmetics from the Avant range. All of the packaging is recyclable too, made from high quality card and paper.
Next, it’s worth saying that the advent calendar is incredibly good value for money – costing just £99, while containing £807 worth of product. And the products themselves complement one another, to create a luxurious and well-rounded everyday skincare routine.
If you’re looking to keep the contents of the calendar a secret, stop reading here. Just know that I’m a real fan – and I know you will be too, if you treat yourself or gift a calendar to a friend this year.
Spoiler: What’s In The Advent Calendar?
Each of the 12 drawers in the Avant Skincare Advent Calendar contain a sumptuous skincare gift, as shown above. The days start with a conditioning lip serum, and slowly teases throughout the days until you have a whole skincare routine, plus a few added extras like the hair cream.
In each draw of the Avant Skincare Beauty Advent Calendar are:
- Day 1: 24-hour Moisture Boost Polyglutamic Conditioning Lip Serum £52
- Day 2: Deluxe Hyaluronic Acid Vivifying Face & Eye Night Cream Travel Pack £97
- Day 3: Blue Volcanic Stone Purifying & Anti-oxidising Cleansing Gel Travel Pack 100ml £77
- Day 4: Vitamin C Hydro-Lock Night Reset Mask £77
- Day 5: Advanced Bio Restorative Superfood Facial Oil £109
- Day 6: Velvet Perfecting Rose Sugar Lip Scrub Travel Pack £57
- Day 7: Proactive Mandelic Acid Restoring & Anti-Pollution Toner 200ml £77
- Day 8: Protein-Complex Restructuring Niacinamide Defence Serum £79
- Day 9: Reconstructing Keratin Complex Ultra Shine Hair Cream 25ml
- Day 10: Dual Response Pullulan Tightening & Firming Eye Cream £74
- Day 11: Hydra-Bright Collagen Eye Restoring Pads £12
- Day 12: Supreme Hyaluronic Acid Anti-oxidising DUO Moisturiser £99
You’ll notice that almost all of the products come in their full size form, even if a few are presented in travel tubes rather than their usual glass jars. I think this is really generous, and again goes some way in cementing Avant Skincare into your own routine, rather than only getting a tester or two.
Is Avant Skincare Worth Trying?
As I said above – this is my first time trying Avant Skincare. I love high quality skincare and have quite an extensive skincare routine, so you may be wondering how Avant compares. Over the last few weeks I’ve tried out the Cleansing Gel, Eye Cream, Duo Moisturiser, and Keratin Hair Cream, and I have to say, all of them have held up!
Despite having sensitive skin, the cleansing gel is gentle enough to not irritate my skin, even when I use retinol. The eye cream has a beautiful applicator and is super nourishing. The moisturiser is also similar, although a little lighter than I usually go for moisturisers – think of it more like a water cream than a moisturiser. And the hair cream left my hair glossy and happy!
My Rating: 9/10
I absolutely love this beauty advent calendar. It’s presented beautifully, and contains a luxurious gift across all 12 days. Even better: the skincare itself is high quality, combining natural ingredients and scientific efficacy.
I’ve subbed one point in my rating of this calendar, simply for the fact that the ‘dreams’ element is quite hard to follow. Other than being displayed on the outer wrap, there is no reference to the signs – clover, sun, arrow, butterfly – within the drawers themselves. I was half hoping for little cards with horoscope-esque predictions. I actually think the dreams theme overcomplicates the calendar, and the products stand up on their own.
And, while I think Avant Skincare’s price point is a little high, this calendar provides an accessibly entry point to the brand and offers a whole skincare routine revamp for a very affordable price. If you love skincare as much as I do, this is the advent calendar for you!
The Avant Skincare: 12 Days of Beauty Advent Calendar is available to purchase on the Avant website*.
