I can't believe the Holiday season is already starting... where did fall go? Am I the only one who feels like summer just ended? Well, at least here in San Diego! Anyways, I love the Holidays and my favorite things to get for the season are advent calendars.

I've always had an advent calendar at home as far as I can remember: sometimes the little doors opened to uncover a Christmas themed illustration, other times a piece of chocolate shaped like a star, a reindeer or a Santa hat! As a kid I would run back home after school, super excited to open the day's little window and discover what was hiding behind it. Today I still very much enjoy the thrill of a daily surprise, and I'm so thankful for whoever invented beauty advent calendars. Seriously, I don't know who you are, but thank you. I'll have a drink in your honor on Thanksgiving!

Beauty advent calendars took over Europe a while back but they were surprisingly rare in the US until just a few years ago. Thankfully, a lot of brands and retailers are now jumping in and creating their own, although they sometimes twist this traditional format. An advent calendar is supposed to have 25 doors, since the Advent period is a countdown to Christmas, and typically you should get the biggest "prize" on December 25: the largest illustration, biggest piece of chocolate, or full-size beauty product. But some of the beauty calendars released this year only have 10 or 12 doors. Oh well, if it makes them more affordable, why not!

3 of the most popular French beauty brands available in the US have created their own advent calendars this year, all wish-list worthy! Don't wait if you want one of them, they sell out fast:


Clarins


At $125 the Clarins Glow Getters set is the most expensive of the three, but with a mix of minis and full-size products I think it is well worth the price. I don't want to show you closeups or list all of the products it contains because I think it would ruin the fun, but there are both skincare and makeup best-sellers in this one!


Nuxe


For a more affordable option, the Nuxe Beauty Countdown Set is good pick. It's a smaller version of the classic advent calendar with only 10 doors, but with it's a great way to discover the brand's best-sellers in travel-sizes.


L'Occitane

This one is my personal pick, and you can still enter my Countdown To Christmas Giveaway to win it but you better hurry, there are just 2 days left!



L'Occitane is a fabulous brand inspired by one of my favorite regions in France, Provence. This advent calendar contains 25 of their best-selling body and skincare products in travel sizes, which makes the $55 price tag a great deal. My favorite scents by the brand are verbena, almond and cherry blossom, so I'm hoping to get a few products from these lines plus discover some others I haven't tried yet. I can't wait for December to start so I can enjoy my daily surprise, how fun and exciting it will be!


Create Your Own

If you prefer to have a mix of brands or even different categories of products in your advent calendar, or if the options above are sold out, why not make your own? You can buy one of these beautiful wooden calendars and fill the little boxes or drawers with chocolate, beauty minis, holiday decorations, trinkets, whatever makes you, or the person you're creating it for, happy! The possibilities are endless, and you can re-use the calendar itself every year. I'm very tempted to get one!



Click the images or links in the post for online retailers.



I received no compensation to write this post, which only reflects my personal opinion. This post contains affiliate links.