Clarins Christmas advent calendar 2021: 12 days of skincare treats yule absolutely love

Buy now £65, Clarins.co.uk

• Number of days: 12
• Products: 12
• Product sizes: Two full-size, 10 minis
• Price: £65

Design

Clarins has played it safe this year, opting for a similar design to last year: a bureau-style box with a different drawer for every skincare or make-up product. It is, however, super festive thanks to the brand’s signature white and red colours and a snowy scene on the front. It’s worth noting that you’re unlikely to reuse the packaging after you’ve finished with it, but it can be recycled.

What’s inside?

Every drawer is filled with one of the bestselling skincare and make-up products from Clarins, so you really are in for a treat.

Those who love the brand’s skincare will be glad to know it's packed full of the good stuff. You’ll find an eye-make-up remover, face scrub, micellar water and even a face mask for the days when your skin is in need of some serious TLC. We think the latter will be a real saviour after a boozy Christmas party.

One of our standout products is the brand’s beauty flash balm (£33, Boots.com) which works wonders on tired and dehydrated skin. If you apply a thin layer to your face and neck before your make-up you can expect to look instantly more glowy – ideal if the cold weather is wreaking havoc on your skin. It also can also be used as a face mask.

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Similarly, we loved testing the lip comfort oil (£19, Feelunique.com) which is thick but not sticky, and was easy to apply. It has a very subtle shimmer and works well over lipsticks.

This moves us nicely onto the make-up offering, of which there were two full-sized products. First up is the supra volume mascara (£23, Selfridges.com), which we found easily created a dramatic eye and is buildable without being clumpy.

The second full-sized product is the lip perfector (£18.50, Johnlewis.com), which is a mainstay in our beauty bounty – it’s moisturising and has an almost gel-like formula. It leaves lips looking smooth, hydrated and glossy, and the applicator makes it easy to apply. What’s more, we found the shade (rose bud) to be a very wearable neutral.

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Other make-up highlights included the crayon khol (£18, Clarins.co.uk) eye pencil, which is ideal if you’re looking to create a smoky eye this party season, but, owing to it being a mini, we found it to be very fiddly to apply. The joli rouge lipstick (£22, Clarins.co.uk) was another favourite, and comes in a lovely rose colour that can be worn as a light tint, but is also very buildable.

Buy now £65, Clarins.co.uk

• Number of days: 12
• Products: 12
• Product sizes: Two full-size, 10 minis
• Price: £65

Design

Much like the women’s version, this advent calendar by ClarinsMen has a bureau-like design with drawers for every product. As for the colours, it’s the brand’s signature blue and white, so it’s arguably less festive, but still has the same snowy scene on the doors.

What’s inside?

Trying to find an affordable men’s skincare advent calendar is not an easy task, so we were excited to see Clarins launching its treasure trove yet again. As you’d expect from the brand, it’s full of hero products for all skin types.

If you’re just dipping your toe into the skincare sphere, the calendar provides the perfect opportunity to roadtest some of the brand’s most hyped products, including the ClarinsMen super moisture balm (£31, Clarins.co.uk), which is a light formula that doesn’t leave the skin feeling greasy.

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Our tester found that the energizing gel (£35, Clarins.co.uk) worked well when used with the energizing eye gel (£30, Clarins.co.uk); both giving his skin a much-needed dose of moisture and hydration. These are particularly great products if the winter air, coupled with indoor central heating, tends to dry your skin out.

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Another standout product is the fresh face scrub (£23.40, Boots.com), which works to remove dead skin without stripping the skin. Our tester loved it so much that he purchased another once he’d finished the sample.

Similarly, when applying the blue orchid treatment oil (£35, Selfridges.com) to soothe dehydrated skin under a beard, it felt less irritated. The lip balm (£18, Boots.com), meanwhile, has been incorporated into our daily routine and we never leave the house without it – our tester has even added the full-sized version to his Christmas list. This will be available from 23 September, and we’d recommend adding it to your basket straight away.