'Boots Skincare Advent Calendar is perfect for tweens and features lots of full-size products'

Are you looking for a beauty advent calendar for your daughter, niece or younger sister? Boots has a range of festive countdowns on offer, including an affordable option entirely dedicated to skincare - drugstore skincare to be exact.

The Boots Skincare Advent Calendar - 24 Days Of Skincare is priced at £65 and is worth £242. It's not just for tweens either, I think this is also a good choice for shoppers who don't want to spend upwards of £100 on a Christmas calendar (understandably so).

I tried and tested the advent calendar to see if it is worth its price tag, as well as review its contents. So, without further ado let's get into it.

READ MORE: Abbott Lyon launches 'extra special' advent calendar filled with best-selling pieces

READ MORE: Beauty fans can bag £750 worth of free products with Harvey Nichols 2024 advent calendar

Firstly, I want to talk about the packaging. This advent calendar has a bright and cheerful colour scheme made up of popping yellow, blue and pink hues, as soon as I opened it I smiled at just how pretty it looks.

It has a bauble print on the lid and opens up like a treasure chest, it's weighty too which gives it a luxurious feel. Inside you'll find 24 neatly packaged boxes with gold numbers on the front.

The advent calendar lies down flat and has two pull-out drawers. You can tell a lot of thought has gone into the packaging and design, which gets a thumbs up from me considering it is rather reasonably priced compared to some of its competitors.

The advent calendar is made up of a collection of affordable cleansers, moisturisers, skin treatments and body products, many of which are full-size or a generous mini. One of the things I was really looking forward to trying was the Star Face pimple patches, I've seen them all over TikTok and the fun design makes breakouts a little more bearable.

The patches are shaped like little blue stars and contain 1% salicylic acid, a powerhouse ingredient that reduces pimple swelling and dries them out for faster. I enjoyed using these as part of my nighttime skincare routine, I'd pop one on just before my nightly Grey's Anatomy bingewatch, and the next day my spots were noticeably less gunky and irritated.

The advent calendar also contains a full-size bottle of Cetaphil's Gentle Skin Cleanser. I always have a bottle of this cleanser in my beauty cabinet so I was glad for a re-up, it is perfect for sensitive skin as it doesn't contain any aggravating ingredients.

I highly recommend this cleanser, I always take it with me when I'm abroad as it doesn't strip the skin and effectively removes make up without drying out my skin. I also think this is a lovely cleanser for teens due to how gentle it is.

It is fragrance-free and doesn't clog the pores - you can also use it as a body wash according to the instructions although I am yet to try this out. The advent also contains a full-size bottle of Superfacialist's Vitamin C+ Skin Renew Cleansing Oil.

Designed to remove make up, the oil-based cleanser transforms into a milky lotion once you add a splash of water. This cleanser didn't agree with me, it broke me out and made my skin feel red and sore.

It is made with parfum and fruit extracts such as grape seed oil, sunflower seed oil, and cucumber seed oil. Perhaps these ingredients combined with the Vitamin C weren't a good match for my skin. This one is a big miss.

In keeping with cleansers, the advent calendar contains not one but two make up removers. Firstly you get a mini bottle of one of the first micellar waters on the market, Bioderma's Sensibio Cleansing Micellar Water Sensitive Skin.

You also get a bottle of its budget-friendly competitor Garnier's Micellar Water Facial Cleanser For Sensitive Skin. For me both are fabulous, they do exactly the same thing just at different price points.

Other notable mentions include the Boots own-brand Glow Brightening Mist. I've seen this on the shelves at Boots a few times and have always been quite intrigued by it.

This is a thoughtful addition as lots of us tend to suffer from dry and flaky skin during December. I used it as a post skincare pick-me-up and also as a make up finishing spray, I am not sure if you're meant to use it like this but I like doubling up the usages of my products and it did the job nicely.

It's not a groundbreaking product but it is enjoyable to use and is moisturising without feeling heavy. You'll also get to try out BYOMA's Hydrating Recovery Oil, which promises to brighten and balance skin. The nighttime oil is meant to be applied as the last step in your skincare routine.

The advent calendar also contains a body care treat in the form of Weleda's Skin Food Ultra-dry Oil. This is a relatively new addition to the viral Skin Food range and is made with nourishing extracts of pansy, organic calendula, organic rosemary and organic chamomile.

I prefer using a dry oil post-shower as I don't like the heavy or slick feeling of creams and lotions. This also has a really nice herbal smell, much like the rest of the collection.

Verdict:

Overall I think this is a thoughtfully curated advent calendar from Boots. For £65 it is jam-packed with lots of products that are useful and practical. What's more, there's a good mix of staple and trendy offerings so you get to try out new products as well as some old favourites.

It would have been nice to get a box for December 25th, it seems like a bit of an anti-climax to end on Christmas Eve. The lower pull-out drawer is also a little flimsy and hard to open and close.

But for the price point, it is well worth the money. I think this would make a lovely gift for teenagers or for shoppers wanting to treat themselves to a reasonably priced beauty advent calendar.

What's inside?

• Bioderma Sensibio H2O Micellar Water 100ml
• Revolution Pro Miracle Oil 30ml
• Bubble Slam Dunk Hydrating Cream Moisturiser 30ml
• BYOMA Hydrating Recovery Oil 30ml
• No7 Derm Solutions Hydrating Lotion 50ml FULL SIZE
• Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser, Face & Body Wash 118ml
• Carmex Strawberry Lip Balm SPF15 Tube 10g FULL SIZE
• Superfacialist Vitamin C+ Skin Renew Cleansing Oil 100ml
• Pixi Glow Tonic 250ml FULL SIZE
• Weleda Skin Food Ultra-dry Oil 100ml
• The INKEY List Hyaluronic Acid Serum 30ml
• Garnier Ambre Solaire Super UV Vitamin Cg Facial SPF50+ Fluid 40ml
• Boots Glow Brightening Mist 100ml FULL SIZE
• Garnier Ambre Solaire Sensitive Hydrating Face Sun Cream Mist SPF50 75ml
• Curél Anti-Wrinkle Hydrating Serum 38ml
• Dove DermaSpa Summer Revived Self-Tan Face Cream 75ml
• Starface Hydro-star (16 pack) FULL SIZE
• COATS Gentle Hydrating Cleanser 150ml FULL SIZE
• Carbon Theory Salicylic Acid & Shea Butter Exfoliating Cleansing Bar 100g
• Garnier Micellar Water Facial Cleanser 100ml
• Simple Soothing Water Cream Face Moisturiser 50ml
• Bondi Sands Mini Dark Foam 100ml
• Burt’s Bees Moisturising Hand Cream 25g
• St Moriz Fake Tan Mini 50ml

Alternatively, ESPA's Wellbeing Advent Calendar is on sale for £175 and contains products worth £488. It is made up of 24 high-end bath, body and skincare heroes including the popular Exfoliating Body Polish and the Regenerating Treatment Oil.

Not into beauty? Jewellery brand Missoma has released a Christmas advent calendar containing 12 of the brand's most-loved pieces including bracelets, earrings, huggies and necklaces.

As expected, the advent calendar is on the pricey side. It is available in three metal options - gold (on sale for £395), silver (£365), and the 14ct Solid Gold option which costs an eye-watering £1,295.

You can buy the Boots Skincare Advent Calendar - 24 Days of Skincare countdown here.