The drugstore end is where the value is and where the lists are printed: Manhattan's twenty-four-piece box for 44.95 EUR, essence's two boxes at 29.95 and 29.99, Catrice's Hause of Gold at 39.95, Maybelline at 54.99 and 69.99, and M. Asam's Magic Finish range at 69.95 against a printed 219 EUR. Among the retailer boxes the multiples run from Sephora Collection's 2.9× to M&S's 6.0×; the makeup-house boxes clear 1.6 to 2.0×, and are bought for the name.
Sizes are the thing to read before the names. In a typical box here about 60% of the items are full size by the retailer's own marking, but the spread is the whole story: Manhattan, No7 Ultimate and P.Louise are full size throughout, Sephora's US Favorites has three full sizes in twenty-five, and Macy's is deluxe samples by design. Full size is a column in the table under the numbers band.
Step 01
Decide first whether you want full sizes or a tour of minis
A makeup calendar is either a box of products you would buy anyway or a way to try twenty brands at once, and the split behind the doors says which. Of the 55 here whose sizes are marked, the median box is 56% full size and 34 are mostly full sizes; the most is CAIA Advent Calendar 2026 at 31 of 31. Full sizes carry the value on paper — a deluxe mini of the same serum is a fifth of the product for a fifth of the price, which is fine if you wanted to try it and poor if you wanted to keep using it. How full size is counted →
Step 02
One house, or a retailer's shelf in miniature
40 of the 80 here are single-brand — every door the same house — and 40 are a retailer's edit across many, the widest being John Lewis Beauty 2026 with 38 brands inside. A single-brand box from a house you already use is the safer gift, because you know the doors will get opened; the multi-brand ones are for someone who likes discovering, and they are where the big valuations come from, since a department store can put a full-size serum it did not make behind door twelve. How brands inside are counted →
Step 03
Read what is inside, by kind, before the valuation
Across the 77 boxes here with a manifest, 1,851 items break down as serums (119), makeup (82), eaux de parfum (73), mascaras (69) and the rest in smaller kinds, with 55 not yet typed. Check the shades against the person: a palette is only a gift if the colours will get worn, and a box that is mostly lip products is a different present from one that is mostly eyes. Every calendar page draws its own split, and the parcel under it lists every door.
Step 04
Compare the price per door, then the value against it
The price on the box is not the number to compare — a 12-door box at $120 and a 24-door box at $180 are $10 and $7.50 a door. The median here is about $7.82 a door across 91 priced calendars, and the median box holds 3.7× its price in contents by the retailers' own valuations, across 61. A high multiple on a low door price is the combination to look for; a high multiple on a high door price is usually one full-size fragrance doing the work. Every calendar page ranks its own door price against this shelf and says whose valuation the multiple is. How the door price is counted →
Step 05
Buy this season's, from the ones we have opened
92 of the 197 here are 2026 editions; 47 are last season's, still sold and often discounted, with the contents already known. Makeup calendars change most year to year — the same box keeps its name and swaps half its doors — so a review of last year's edition is a review of a different list. 123 here carry a written score and 46 an editors' pick; those are the boxes somebody on this site has opened. The rest are listed because they exist, not because we are recommending them. How we review →
