YES, Christmas is a time for indulgence, but does a £250 Advent calendar stuffed with beauty products take the (gingerbread) biscuit?
I don’t think so.
Before you accuse me of being overly extravagant, I’ve tested more beautiful Advent calendars than you can shake a (lip)stick at.
Space NK Advent Calendar, £250 (worth £1,200)
Sure, some calendars lure you in with sparkly packaging then fail to deliver exciting products, but others can save you hundreds.
The Space NK Advent Calendar falls into the latter category and is a cost-effective (and festive) way to stock up on beauty buys for an entire year.
However, at £250 it’s certainly a bigger investment than a Dairy Milk calendar, so I’ve done a SpaceNK Advent Calendar review to see if it deserves a place next to your tree.
Pros
- Recyclable packaging
- You’ll receive multiple products on some days
- Excellent range of products from Space NK’s bestselling brands
- Whopping 79% saving
Cons
- Has paper boxes instead of sturdy drawers
- Smaller and flimsier than other calendars
- Its bright, bold design is very Marmite
RATING: 4/5
Space NK Advent Calendar, £250 (worth £1,200)
Space NK Advent Calendar review: how we tested
If opening an Advent calendar in early September is a sin, then please forgive me.
In the name of value for money, I’ve prised open the Space NK Advent Calendar to determine whether it’s got bang for buck.
Whilst Christmas probably feels like months away to you, I’ve had the words ‘Advent calendar’ on the tip of my tongue for weeks, thanks to spending so much time investigating them.
I’m a big Christmas fan and can also appreciate some festive packaging, but I’m taking a strict analytic eye to this year’s beauty Advent calendars.
So, I’ve assessed the contents, presentation, and excitement factor of the Space NK Advent Calendar, leaving no stone unturned or product un-swatched.
After all, some Advent calendars are so good, that I’m wary of dishing out praise to anything unworthy; so here’s what I really think.
Space NK Advent Calendar, £250 (worth £1,200)
Space NK Advent Calendar review: quick summary
Space NK stocks thousands of beauty products, but it’s popped the best of the bunch into this Advent calendar.
Bursting with crowd-pleasing beauty goodies, this is one of the best-curated Advent calendars I’ve ever reviewed.
Bursting with crowd-pleasing beauty goodies, this is one of the best-curated Advent calendars I’ve ever reviewed.
From a hairspray that sent TikTok into a tailspin to a £60 face serum, this calendar’s contents left me feeling like I’d visited Space NK with a personal shopper.
Rather than drawers or doors, the Space NK Advent Calendar contains 25 paper boxes arranged in a Jenga-style stack.
Inside the boxes is a total of 35 products — spanning sunscreen to face cloths — and 23 are full-size.
While its flimsy packaging feels a bit cheap for a £250 Advent calendar, it is fully recyclable, meaning it can be popped into your wheelie bin.
Space NK Advent Calendar review: full review
Space NK Advent Calendar, £250 (worth £1,200)
First impressions
This calendar is beautiful in an ugly Christmas jumper kind of way.
Its foiled, cartoonish design makes for an assault on the eyeballs — meaning it’ll fit right in with the Christmas decs.
When I first read about the Space NK Advent Calendar, and the sheer number of products inside, I thought it would be too heavy to lift.
However, this is one of the most compact, lightweight calendars I’ve ever tested, thanks to being made of 100% paper.
Inside, you’ll find 25 boxes stacked so intricately that you’ve no hope of replacing them if they fall out.
Each box is inscribed with a message, which I initially assumed were festive greetings.
However, when I read one that said: ‘Transport yourself to Brazil in a single spritz’, I realised I’d been very silly.
You’ll need to be careful when opening each of the boxes, as I accidentally tore more than I’d care to admit.
So, while its eco-conscious packaging scores points, the heavy-handed should exercise caution (and contain their excitement) when opening this Advent calendar.
Space NK Advent Calendar, £250 (worth £1,200)
What’s inside the Space NK Advent Calendar?
*Spoilers below*
When reviewing other Advent calendars, some drawers and products will always be more exciting than others, which makes my job a lot easier.
So, Space NK, why have you made this so difficult?
This calendar’s contents list reads like a beauty hall of fame and stars some of 2024’s most impressive products.
This calendar’s contents list reads like a beauty hall of fame
Things kick off nicely at Day 1, where you’ll find full-size Sol de Janeiro body mist, £38, which achieved social media stardom thanks to its sugary, salted caramel notes.
Things dial up a notch at Day 10, where you’ll get your hands on a full-size Tatcha Serum Stick, worth £49, plus some travel-sized Sisely face masks.
Inside Day 25 is an Ultra Violette Queen Screen SPF50, £38, which is one of the most coveted sunscreens on the market.
And while suncream doesn’t feel very festive, it does serve as a reminder that SPF is for life, not just for summer.
There’s only one box that I’m a little disappointed with, and that belongs to Day 18.
Frankly, a travel-sized Space NK Body Wash, £8, alongside a travel-sized Eve Lom Cleanser, £20, can’t compete with the excitement of the other drawers – but will come in handy if you’re heading off on holiday soon.
Here’s the full list of what’s inside…
What's inside the Space NK Advent Calendar?
Here's everything you'll receive during the countdown to Christmas...
- Amika Overnight Dream Routine Treatment
- Augustinus Bader The Serum
- Chantecaille Cheek Gelee in Vibrant (FULL SIZE)
- Charlotte Tilbury Colour Chameleon in Pillow Talk (FULL SIZE)
- Color Wow Extra Strength Dream Coat (FULL SIZE)
- Drunk Elephant La La Retro Whipped Cream (FULL SIZE)
- DS & Durga I Don’t Know What Eau de Parfum
- Eve Lom Cleanser + Wash Cloth
- Glossier G Suit Soft Touch Lip Cream in Jet (FULL SIZE)
- Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush in Luminous Flush
- ILIA Beauty Limitless Mascara (FULL SIZE)
- K18 Leave-In Molecular Repair Hair Mask (FULL SIZE)
- Kate Somerville Exfolikate Intensive Exfoliating Treatment (FULL SIZE)
- KOSAS Airbrow in Clear (FULL SIZE)
- Laneige Bouncy & Firm Sleeping Mask
- Lisa Eldridge Luxuriously Lucent Lip Colour in Painterly (FULL SIZE)
- Medik8 Hydr8 B5 Intense (FULL SIZE)
- Milk Makeup Hydro-Grip Primer (FULL SIZE)
- Naturium Vitamin C Complex Serum (FULL SIZE)
- Olaplex No.7 Bonding Oil (FULL SIZE)
- Paula’s Choice 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant (FULL SIZE)
- Rare Beauty Soft Pinch Tinted Lip Oil in Hope (FULL SIZE)
- Rodial Glass Highlighter
- Sam McKnight Happy Endings Nourishing Balm
- Sisley Paris Black Rose Cream Mask
- Sisley Paris Velvet Sleeping Mask
- Skin Rocks Cream Cleanser Fragrance (FULL SIZE)
- Sol de Janeiro Cheirosa 62 Mist (FULL SIZE)
- Space NK Nordic Wilds Body Wash
- Summer Fridays Lip Butter Balm in Brown Sugar (FULL SIZE)
- Sunday Riley CEO Glow Vitamin C + Turmeric Face Oil
- Supergoop Glow Screen SPF30 (FULL SIZE)
- Tatcha The Serum Stick (FULL SIZE)
- The Ordinary Multi Peptide + HA (FULL SIZE)
- Ultra Violette Queen Screen SPF 50+ (FULL SIZE)
Space NK Advent Calendar, £250 (worth £1,200)
How much is the Space NK Advent Calendar?
At £250, there’s no quibbling that the Space NK Advent Calendar is expensive.
After all, do you splash out on one beauty Advent calendar or buy hundreds of Cadbury’s calendars instead?
But let’s be honest, you’re not buying a beauty advent calendar for its festive qualities (not exclusively, at least).
Instead, they’re a great way to treat yourself by trying new products while saving money, in comparison to buying them each individually.
This calendar’s contents racks up to £250 by just Day 6, and climbs to a total worth of over £1,200 by Day 25.
That’s a total saving of £950, or 79%, which beats the likes of Cult Beauty, Liberty, and ASOS, which all sit at around 75%.
However, it’s slightly lower than the Lookfantastic Calendar, which will save you 82%.
Space NK Advent Calendar, £250 (worth £1,200)
Where to buy the Space NK Advent Calendar
There are Space NK stores across the country but to avoid disappointment or Black Friday-style calendar grabbing, I recommend you head to the Space NK website.
There, you’ll find free Standard delivery when you spend over £25, meaning your calendar will whizz its way over to you within 2-4 days, free of charge (and effort).
If you’re keener than that, Next Day Delivery costs just £5 – but ensure you place your order before 7 PM to receive it the next day.
I’d be shocked if anyone felt compelled to return their Advent calendar, but if you do, Space NK offer a free returns policy, too.
Space NK Advent Calendar, £250 (worth £1,200)
The verdict: is the Space NK Advent Calendar worth it?
The Space NK Advent Calendar isn’t the best value-for-money calendar nor is it the prettiest — but its contents are the most exciting.
The Space NK Advent Calendar isn’t the best value-for-money calendar nor is it the prettiest — but its contents are the most exciting.
Not only is there a brilliant range of products but many of them come from Space NK’s bestselling brands, meaning the retailer hasn’t used the calendar as an excuse to get rid of products they can’t shift.
While its 100% recyclable, plastic-free packaging is excellent, the delicate, one-use drawers mean these calendars will likely end up in bins come January, rather than being refilled or repurposed.
However, Advent calendars are notorious for their wasteful, landfill-ready packaging, so this is definitely a step in the right direction.
If you’re weighing up whether to purchase the Space NK Advent Calendar, I’ll leave you with this: when I usually look through an Advent calendar, I’ll make a mental note of who I’ll gift each product to.
But I didn’t do this with the Space NK Advent Calendar, because I’ll be keeping every product for myself.
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