Benefit’s beauty advent calendar promises a glamorous Christmas countdown – but does it deliver?

In keeping with the bold and retro style the brand is known for, the design is a delight to look at. Featuring a funky turquoise, bright salmon pink and deep forest green motif that really pops, it’s simple but effective. Similarly bold patterns on the boxes inside can distract from finding the right number to open, but this only builds up the anticipation.

One thing we noticed straightaway is it’s a relatively small offering. Taking the form of a shallow box with little boxes concealing the products inside, it is, perhaps, less visually impressive than other calendars that stand up on their side, and less robust than ones with sliding drawers. However, we still think it looks gorgeous and, as it’s made entirely of carboard, it can be recycled (unless you opt to keep it to use as a storage option).

While last year’s advent calendar concealed 12 products, this year’s offering includes 24, to really ramp up the excitement. Inside the calendar, there’s mascara, eyebrow products, blush and bronzer, lip and cheek stains, plus several items from the porefessional skincare range.

Four of the products are full size (which is four more than last year), while the rest are minis and what Benefit has dubbed fun-sized. We were a little disappointed with just how small some of the products are. Although, it does mean you can dip into fan-favourites and new launches without committing to the cost of the full-size product.

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Among the most exciting finds are the two brand new (and exclusive to this calendar, at time of writing) mini lip tints. Granted, they are very small, but we loved the punchy shade of red and luxe feel of the new splashtint product – perfect for a subtle, low-maintenance red lip on Christmas Day

Starring in full size is the brand’s bestselling roller lash curling mascara, which did a stellar job of lifting and defining our lashes while leaving them clump-free. If you’re not obsessed, there are four other small mascaras, from Benefit’s newest lash-boosting launch, fan fest, to bad gal band, and the brand’s they’re real magnet extreme lengthening mascara – a lightweight lengthening formula that glides onto lashes, boasting a magnetically charged wand for extra elongating oomph.

Anyone looking to stock up on (or try out) Benefit’s brow products won’t be disappointed, as there are five to unpack, including a full-size version of the new fluff up brow wax. Using the gimme brow plus volumising eyebrow gel (which comes in the shade neutral light brown here), we were able to thicken up our brows in very little time. Meanwhile, we can see why the ultra-fine precisely brow pencil (which comes in the shade warm deep brown, here) is a Benefit bestseller.

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More make-up finds include a mini hoola matte bronzer, which builds a glitter- and shimmer-free glow. Plus, you’ll find a fail-safe beauty bag essential: a tapered, smooth cheek brush, benefitting from a retractable design, to protect the brush head.

Exciting inclusions from Benefit’s pore focused skincare line are going to seriously elevate this advent calendar experience if you’re a skincare buff who has yet to try the range. Among the offerings is the pore-clearing, oil-busting deep retreat mini mask – this really is tiny, no bigger than a small tin of lip balm – which left our T-zone looking smooth and matte.

With all this in mind, if Benefit’s advent calendar for 2023 really does sound like all you want for Christmas, you’ll be please to know it’s available to buy now.