Although it may seem unnecessarily early, now is the time to get ahead of stock selling out and snap up your Christmas beauty advent calendar. This year has seen exciting product news for the brand, with its updated body butters and official Vegan Society certifications, which make us extra excited for The Body Shop advent calendars, launching on 31 August.
Featuring a selection of the ethically conscious brand’s cult classics, all calendar packaging has been designed to be reused or repurposed – not to mention the brand has removed all remaining plastic components which we’re told will help save 29 tonnes reaching landfill (AKA the weight of 112,000 Christmas baubles).
Also, a campaign with heart, The Body Shop pledges to donate a minimum of £500,000 from its calendar sales to global organisations helping unpaid carers and volunteers. Plus, every purchase made during the festive season will help Honeypot Children’s Charity, providing young carers in the UK with much-needed support. We’d say this underpins the true meaning of Christmas.
But does The Body Shop’s advent beauty goodies measure up to our high expectations? Presenting three brightly coloured advent calendars to choose from, as well as a fourth offering only available in-store, we’ve been testing the trio available online.
All products are vegetarian, with some vegan inclusions too. The brand’s aim is to be fully vegan by the end of 2023.
How we tested
We reviewed the beauty advent calendars across several weeks, opening each product window daily. While wanting to investigate the packaging’s durability and ease of use, we obviously checked out how Christmassy they were too. Plus whether the products inside were worth the money.
The Body Shop share the joy advent calendar: £55, Thebodyshop.com
The goodies in this calendar come packed up in a bright purple box that opens to reveal magical music-themed illustrations and cardboard cut-out characters. The design really put our tester in a jolly, festive mood.
The products themselves are presented in reusable cardboard boxes with merry drawings on, slotted together in a single layer. And across the side of each box is a kindness suggestion for spreading Christmas cheer, which we thought was a unique touch. We definitely think the boxes are durable enough to make into standalone gift packaging for Christmas wrapping or repurposing next year as an alternative advent.
In terms of the calendar contents, they span across skin and body care. Our favourites include the candy-sweet vegan British rose exfoliating gel body scrub. The refreshing yet sumptuous scent isn’t at all sickly for a rose product, and its handy 50ml tub is generous enough for plentiful use. Our tester also relished slathering on the 60ml zesty mango shower gel, which smells deliciously syrupy. Meanwhile, you’ll find the newly updated shea body butter in 50ml size. Now officially registered as vegan, the twist-off lid tub is completely recyclable, holding its intensely hydrating and creamy smelling skin nourishment.
For the face, we like the brightening vitamin C glow sheet mask, which would bring a boost on darker December days. We found it to be refreshing, soothing and hydrating, thanks to the aloe vera ingredients too. Plus, if you’re generally not sure about sheet masks for the environment, it’s biodegradable.
The Body Shop share the love advent calendar: £80, Thebodyshop.com
A classic Father Christmas red, the box’s snowy scene of decorated houses opens up to uncover two drawers, and a top shelf acting as a stage for cute cardboard figures. Complete with tinsel and tree costume, gold elements add a little extra festive sparkle too.
The contents are presented in different sized cardboard boxes that are placed into each drawer tray, which could be removed and reclaimed as jewellery or stationery storage. When getting a couple of the gifts out, we did find it tricky reconfiguring the tightly arranged order packing them all in. But like with the share the joy advent calendar, they are brilliantly reusable. The kindness suggestions for this calendar include day 13’s “post a note through the door of somebody who cares selflessly, to say thank you”. We like the idea of popping a little gift in these branding-free boxes to repurpose.
Opening every compartment releases a fruity fragrance, instantly recognisable from The Body Shop stores. The £80 price point is a bigger investment, but there are several full-sized favourites to be found. These include a 100g strawberry soap bar, 125ml vitamin E gentle face wash and 250ml shea shampoo and box 25’s 250ml avocado body butter.
Our standouts also include the mini 15ml skin-tingling Himalayan charcoal purifying glow mask, with day 14’s towelling headband for ease of use alongside it. Meanwhile, the coconut bath bubble is a bright blue heart-shaped number that sizzles as you soak, releasing a bath bomb effect. Leaving our skin softened, the delicate coconut oil scent lingers too.
The Body Shop share the love and joy advent calendar: £140, Thebodyshop.com
This substantially-sized green and white box came illustrated with an intricate town scene full of bows, lights and snowflakes and cardboard cut-out figures. The detail is intertwined with core Body Shop values, including a lady holding a recyclable shopping bag and three activist friends holding flags. There are two pull-out drawers with hessian handles, and a top layer too. Once again, the simple boxes are beautifully illustrated and a message is written on each. One of our favourites is day six which says: “Bake with your besties and share your tasty treats at your local care home or food bank.”
The drawers themselves are sturdy and could be used again to line your desk or hold beauty products. We particularly enjoyed testing a long-time favourite of ours: the soothing, calming vitamin E gentle facial wash, which our tester discovered on day five in its full 125ml size. We also found the matching vitamin E hydrating toner another morning. A comforting, refreshing skin splash, we noticed it removes make-up too. Other full-sized favourites include the 250ml shea shampoo and conditioner bottles.
Sheet mask offerings include a youth concentrate and vitamin C glow sheet mask. Additionally, the miniature hand creams in British rose and mango scents fit neatly into our bag for travel top-ups. Undoubtedly a big spend, the offering is comprehensive and encompasses fragrance, bath foam, moisturiser, and lip products. When discovering the lightweight, highly absorbent 30ml daily serum youth concentrate, we knew this advent calendar’s contents bridged the gap between skincare essentials and daily treats extremely well.
The verdict: The Body Shop advent calendars 2021
The Body Shop advent calendar gifts span from usefully compact to full-size products depending on the price point. The recyclable jewel-toned boxes are undeniably festive and we loved how reusable each component is. Well put together and wonderfully on-brand for the eco-conscious retailer, the varying advent calendars available on 31 August deliver satisfying Christmas beauty treats suitable for all budgets. But be quick – last year The Body Shop sold an advent calendar every 30 seconds.
