Perfume Advent Calendars Are So Good This Year—7 We Have on Our Wish List
It may be early, but we're so ready for beauty advent calendar season. Alongside the usual beauty advent calendars, we've noticed that this year, many brands have launched dedicated perfume advent calendars. And I'm welcoming it. Whenever I've been lucky enough to be gifted a beauty advent calendar, I always get most excited about the perfumes and candles that are sometimes included, and dedicated fragrance advent calendars mean we can enjoy those moments even more.
The best thing about perfume advent calendars is that they allow the chance to discover a mix of luxury and niche fragrances—and perhaps the odd TikTok favourite—in a well-thought-out edit. Ranging from travel-sized minis ideal for throwing in your bag to full-sized bottles, perfume advent calendars offer great value compared to buying the fragrances separately, and allow you to sample lots of scents before investing in your favourite. And who doesn't want to discover a new scent every day during the festive countdown?
What Do You Get In a Perfume Advent Calendar?
Depending on the brand, you'll get to try a mix of fragrances. Harvey Nichols' 12 Days of Fragrance Calendar contains some seriously luxe perfumes (think Byredo and Parfums De Marly), whilst Diptyque's contains a selection of eaux de toilette, candles and bodycare to lust over. Other retailers such as Cult Beauty and Selfridges have added even more fragrance offerings to their calendars, so you can experience iconic scents alongside game-changing skincare and makeup—a great choice if you don't just want perfumes.
How We Tested the Best Perfume Advent Calendars for 2024
Perfume advent calendars are launching over the coming weeks, so we've been researching the best ones to snap up before they're available to buy. We've researched the best perfume advent calendars from retailers and beauty brands and have featured those that contain fragrances, candles and scented bodycare.
We managed to get our hands on many of these perfume advent calendars in the flesh, and can attest to just how good they are—and we're beauty editors with a special interest in fragrance who are pretty hard to please. Plus, we've done all the legwork for you by listing the number of products (including full-size) and the value of each calendar, so you can decide if it's worth the investment. You'll find perfume-only calendars alongside some that offer makeup, skincare and haircare alongside their fragrance offerings for 2024.
Ready to discover the best perfume advent calendars of 2024? Read on.
The Best Perfume Advent Calendars for 2024
1. Harvey Nichols 12 Days Of Fragrance Calendar 2024
Release date: Waitlist open, launching 17 October
Price: £250
Worth: £730
Product count: 17
Full-size products: Two
Best for: Luxury-fragrance lovers.
Highlights: Byredo, Frederic Malle, Maison Crivelli, Parfums De Marly, Creed.
This might be our favourite perfume advent calendar of 2024. The Harvey Nichols 12 Days Of Fragrance Calendar includes 12 scented surprises, including a 30ml bottle of Maison Crivelli Neroli Sasimba (Rosie Huntington-Whiteley is a fan of the brand, FYI) and cult favourites such as Parfums de Marly Delina (10ml), Byredo Bal d'Afrique (8ml) and Frederic Malle Portrait of a Lady (10ml). Worth over £700, it's a great investment or present for a fragrance lover who likes their niche scents. Plus, one in every 100 of the fragrance calendars will include a Harvey Nichols Gift Card worth £165 hidden inside.
2. Diptyque Advent Calendar 2024
Release date: Pre-order to ship 7 October
Price: £390
Product count: 25
Full-size products: One
Best for: Home fragrance and perfume lovers.
Highlights: Limited-edition Sapin travel candle (70g), 10 mini Diptyque candles (35g), Diptyque decorations, eight Diptyque fragrances (10ml).
We've seen the Diptyque Advent Calendar IRL, and it's a thing of beauty. Brimming with 25 scented surprises, you get to enjoy candles, perfumes and bodycare as well as a set of beautiful Diptyque decorations. Included are brand icons such as Baies and Feu de Bois candles, as well as newer discoveries such as the L'eau Papier perfume and a travel-sized, limited-edition Sapin candle, which smells exactly like pine trees—so festive. The box is a beautiful keepsake that you'll want to reuse year after year, too. This is a great way to explore the brand's iconic scents.
3. Cult Beauty Scent With Love Advent Calendar 2024
Release date: Available now
Price: £235
Worth: £1100
Product count: 45
Full-size products: 19
Best for: Beauty lovers who want a mix of fragrance, makeup, skincare, haircare and bodycare.
Highlights: Kayali Yum Pistachio Gelato 33 Eau de Parfum Intense (10ml), Sol de Janeiro Rio Radiance Perfume Mist (90ml), Vyrao Witchy Woo Mini Candle (35g), Ouai Eau de Parfum in Melrose Place (1.5ml).
This year, Cult Beauty has spoilt us with two advent calendar offerings: Scent With Love and Curated With Love. Worth over £1100, the Scent With Love version includes more fragrance gifts than the Curated With Love calendar, which makes it a great choice if you still want a range of amazing makeup and skincare in the mix. Standouts include Sol de Janeiro's Rio Radiance Perfume Mist (90ml) and Vryao's Witchy Woo Mini Candle (35g) which you'll find amongst favourites from Pat McGrath, Hourglass, Glow Recipe and Laneige. With over 40 products inside (including seven on Day 25!), you're bound to be impressed.
4. Jo Malone London Advent Calendar 2024
Release date: Waitlist open, available 23 September
Price: £360
Product count: 25
Full-size products: One
Best for: Jo Malone London fans who want a mixture of fragrance, candles and bodycare.
Highlights: Orange Bitters Cologne (full-size, 30ml), five candles, 13 miniature fragrances (9ml).
The Jo Malone London advent calendar is one of the most anticipated perfume advent calendars every year, and 2024 is set to be a real treat. This beautiful box includes five candles, 13 miniature 9ml fragrances and lots of scented surprises to enjoy. Expect to see brand favourites such as Wood Sage and Sea Salt cologne and candle icons like Blackberry and Bay, alongside seasonal limited-edition fragrances.
5. Selfridges Beauty Advent Calendar 2024
Release date: Waitlist open
Price: £250
Worth: Over £1000
Product count: 38
Full-size products: 22
Best for: Luxury beauty and fragrance lovers who want a range of brands.
Highlights: Byredo Rose Of No Man's Land (8ml), Maison Crivelli Cuir Infrarouge and Oud Stallion (2x5ml), Gisou Wild Rose Hair Fragrance (50ml), Sol De Janeiro Cheriosa '40 Fragrance Mist (90ml), Neom Candle (185g).
Selfridges' 2024 Beauty Advent Calendar features favourite brands that you'll find in the retailer's iconic beauty halls, including some seriously chic fragrances from Byredo, Maison Crivelli, Gisou and Sol De Janiero. It's a great all-rounder if you want to find some fragrance treats behind the drawers, as well as makeup favourites from Isamaya and Refy and skincare from Dr. Barbara Sturm and Tatcha.
6. Molton Brown Advent Calendar 2024
Release date: Available now
Price: £250
Worth: £313
Product count: 24
Best for: Bath, skincare and fragrance lovers.
Highlights: Six fragrances (7.5ml), one candle (30g).
Molton Brown's Advent Calendar for 2024 has everything you need to feel pampered and beautifully scented this season. Behind each drawer, you'll be treated to an array of sparkling body wash baubles, travel-sized fragrances (including Rose Dunes and Sunlit Clementine & Vetiver in 7.5ml sizes) and heavenly candles to see you through cosy season. There are also skincare, haircare and handcare products to leave you glowing from top to toe.
7. Penhaligon's Baker’s Box of Delights Advent Calendar
Release date: Available now
Price: £425
Worth: £313
Product count: 24
Full-size products: One
Best for: Fragrance and bodycare lovers.
Highlights: Luna Eau de Toilette (30ml), eight travel-sized fragrances (10ml), four miniature fragrances (5ml), four candles (35g).
Housed in three beautiful boxes, you'll find a number of favourites behind each door of the Penhaligon's advent calendar, including a full-sized bottle of Luna and travel-friendly sizes including Halfeti, Highgrove Bouquet and Juniper Sling. This one definitely leans more towards fragrance but it also includes four candles and a nice edit of hand creams and body washes to keep things interesting as you work your way through the doors.
Eleanor Vousden is the beauty editor for Who What Wear UK. She was previously deputy editor at Hairdressers Journal, health writer at Woman & Home and junior beauty editor at beauty website Powder. She has also contributed to Wallpaper and Elle Collections with written and styling work.Working as a beauty journalist since 2015 after graduating in fashion journalism at the London College of Fashion, she has been highly commended at the BSME Talent Awards for her work on Powder and also contributed to the title winning Website of the Year at the PPA Awards.Eleanor’s journalistic focus is to provide readers with honest and helpful beauty content. Through words, video and live broadcast, she has interviewed several celebrity makeup artists, hairstylists and top dermatologists throughout her career, as well as celebrities such as Sarah Jessica Parker and Scarlett Johansson. She has a particular interest in finding solutions for acne and eczema, which she has experienced firsthand. She has also amassed a large collection of fragrances and can never say no to a new candle.When she’s not writing or testing the latest beauty product or treatments, she’s on the seafront in her hometown of Brighton and Hove, where she lives with her partner and her miniature dachshund.
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