I’ve had the fortunate experience of seeing, opening and reviewing dozens of fantastic beauty advent calendars over the years, but this is one that has perhaps impressed me the most this year, both in terms of value for money and the curated contents inside.
Following on from last year’s sell-out success, celebrity makeup artist Hannah Martin – who counts Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie among her clients – has collaborated with OK! Beauty Box once again to put together her very own advent calendar for 2025, filled with all her favourite products.
While many beauty advent calendars cost hundreds of pounds, this one comes in at £99, perfect if you’re looking for one under £100 (something that’s not that easy to find these days). However, the products inside are worth over £600 in total – and they’re absolute gems.
Beauty Advent Calendar Beauty Advent Calendar by Hannah Martin
Following on from last year’s sell-out success, celebrity makeup artist Hannah Martin has collaborated with OK! Beauty Box once again to put together her very own advent calendar for 2025.
£99
OK! Beauty Box Shop now
The Beauty Advent Calendar by Hannah Martin in association with OK! Beauty Box went on early pre-order last month and promptly sold out within hours, but as of today shoppers have another chance to snap one up – and I imagine it’s going to fly off the shelves again.
Despite having advanced knowledge of some elements of this advent calendar due to my role at OK! Magazine, I was genuinely taken aback when I saw the finished product. The luxe and premium feel of the box, with its red and pink design, open-out doors and drawers labelled with a mix of words and numbers, far surpasses its £99 price tag.
What’s even more impressive is what lies within. The calendar houses 30 products, 19 of which are full-sized. Fans of Hannah or beauty enthusiasts will instantly recognise that it’s a collection of her favourite brands and products. Items such as Bobbi Brown Vitamin Enriched Face Base, Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder and Hildun Silk to Set Kajal Liner have been frequently used and mentioned by her and many other makeup artists over the years. It’s akin to having a professional makeup artist’s kit in your own home, but at a fraction of the cost.
For those who can’t resist knowing what’s inside, here’s a complete list:
Rodial Dragon’s Blood Eye Gel – 15ml full-size, worth £75 Eve Lom Cleanser with 100% Cotton Muslin Cleansing Cloth – 100ml full-size, worth £65 Bobbi Brown Vitamin Enriched Face Base – 15ml travel-size, worth £19 Aromatherapy Associates Support Breathe Bath and Shower Oil – 55ml full-size, worth £60 Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder – 9.2g mini, worth £21.50 Hildun Silk to Set Kajal Liner in the shade Spiced Pecan – 1.2g full-size, worth £16 Sensory Retreats, Sensory Sleep Vegan Silk Wraparound Eye Mask in Pearl White with self-heating insert and drawstring bag – full-size, worth £30 Gatineau Paris Defi Lift Volumising Peptide Lip Treatment in the shade Bisou – 10ml full-size, worth £32. Brow Aid The S. O. S Advanced Brow and Lash Recovery Mask – 5g full-size, worth £23 Hello Sunday The Everyday One Face Moisturiser SPF 50 with Hyaluronic Acid – 50ml full-size, worth £18 FUL Intense Moisture Hair Mask – 300ml full-size, worth £32 L’Oréal Paris Paradise Big Deal Mascara in the shade Black – 9.9ml full-size, worth £12.99 Weleda Skin Food Original – 30ml travel-size, worth £9.50 19/99 Beauty Cream Highlight Stick in the shade Miele – 6.5g full-size, worth £28 Shiseido Uplifting and Firming Express Eye Mask – 1 pair full-size, worth £5.91 Commodity Fragrance in the scent Milk Expressive – 5ml travel-size, worth £20 Ella and Jo The Miracle Mask – 100ml full-size, worth £34 Leighton Denny Nail Polish in the shade Starkers – 12ml full-size, worth £12.50 Luna by Luna Lip Liner in the shade Chestnut – 1g full-size, worth £12 Luna by Luna Bullet Lipstick in the shade Merry – 3.5g full-size, worth £12 Luna by Luna Lip Gloss in the shade Comet – 3.2g full-size, worth £14 Ardell Naked Clusters 438 with DUO Quick Set Striplash Adhesive – 50 clusters full-size, worth £11 Nip + Fab Salicylic Fix Tonic – 100ml full-size, worth £14.95 Espa Bergamot and Jasmine Body Wash – 40ml travel size, worth £3.20 Espa Bergamot and Jasmine Body Lotion – 40ml travel size, worth £3.36 Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse Or – 10ml travel-size, worth £4.40 Seoulista Beauty Super Hydration Instant Facial – 1 mask full-size, worth £8.39 Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser Wash – 29ml deluxe mini size, worth £1.41 Cetaphil Moisturising Lotion – 29ml deluxe mini size, worth £1.41 Plus a voucher to redeem for four copies of OK! Magazine, worth £18.40
There are plenty of other features that make it stand out from its competitors too. There’s lots of fun and easy-to-follow additional content from Hannah to go with this calendar, including tutorials on how to use some of the products, and one lucky shopper will also win a one-to-one virtual masterclass with Hannah herself.
I also appreciated that drawers 1 and 25 contain two of the biggest and highest value products – a lovely way to kickstart and end your advent calendar experience. If I had to try to find one downside to this calendar, I would say that you probably won’t get years and years of reuse out of it as, while the outer box is super-sturdy, the inner drawers are a little delicate.
Hannah’s calendar can be compared to LookFantastic’s 2025 one, priced at £105, worth over £655 and containing 28 products. However, in my opinion, the OK! Beauty Box offers a more thoughtful selection of products and is slightly cheaper. ASOS’ is also around the £100 mark, at £98. With brands such as Laneige, KIKO Milano and The Inkey List, I believe this would appeal to a slightly younger recipient.
