Luxury beauty advent calendars reaching values of £706.99 face skepticism from experts who question whether people will actually use every item inside.
Retailers have slashed prices on seasonal cosmetics packages weeks ahead of the November 27 Black Friday kickoff. At Boots, the Boots 24 Days of Luxe Beauty Advent Calendar carries a valuation of £706.99 but sells for £150, offering a savings of £556.99, according to the Manchester Evening News.
The Boots package contains 27 products from top name brands. 19 items are provided in full sizes.
Buying the items separately would cost much more. The 24 Days of Luxe Beauty Advent Calendar reduces the price to an average of £3.88 per piece.
Other products found inside the Boots 24 Days of Luxe Beauty Advent Calendar include the Huda Beauty Easy Bake Setting Spray 100ml in full size, the Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm 125ml in full size, and Benefit Badgal Bang!
“But it is exceptionally unlikely that you would use all the products inside them, so they're probably not worth it,” philosophy professor and beauty expert Heather Widdows told the BBC. “Beauty calendars may offer you lots of products for a really good price. They can also be a bit of fun and feel sensuous,” Widdows told the BBC.
Shoppers trade unwanted items on social media platforms. “The ones I keep are already a lot cheaper per mililitre than if you bought them at retail,” she says, with reporting from Kris Bramwell.
With 15 years reporting on the beauty industry, Cosmo contributing beauty editor Kara McGrath sees her inbox flooded with pitches for hundreds of holiday gift sets. Beauty advent calendars are one of the worst things to ever happen to holiday gifting, in her opinion.
The Body Shop Most Loved Collection Set was £50 and was reduced to £24.50. It gathers together skincare essentials from The Body Shop.
The advent calendar includes a product with a cream-to-powder texture. Additional items include a fragrance featuring a dark coffee accord blended with a cherry note housed in a 50ml bottle.
Will shoppers actually use every item they buy in these sets?
Worth a look