Are luxury beauty advent calendars a rip-off? | Global News Avenue

They’re all over your TikTok and Instagram feeds – as people unwrap the latest luxury beauty advent calendars.

Influencers excitedly wonder what eyeliner, serum or hand cream will be behind door number one and gush over the beautifully packaged boxes.

But are these products, which cost hundreds of pounds, really worth the money?

Yes, says Cissy Jones, a TikTok user from Manchester.

With just over a week left in November, the 27-year-old, who is social media manager for fashion brand PrettyLittleThing and also makes TikTok on her personal account, has already posted a dozen Advent calendar videos. From chocolate to beauty products and wine, there’s even a “Pets at Home” calendar for her dogs.

“There’s one – Harrods 12 Days – and every product in it is something I would buy,” she said. “So I’m going to save money.”

Brands focus on the idea of ​​saving money in their marketing. They said a calendar might cost £250 but if all the individual items were added up it was actually “worth £1,000”.

“But you have to want the actual product,” Sissy said. “Otherwise, it’s a bit of a waste of money.”

Analysts say retailers can afford to offer such seemingly good deals because there are huge profit margins on beauty products.

Their goal is not to make huge profits from it, but rather to view the Advent calendar as a marketing tool to get you to buy more products after the fact.

Natalie Berg of NBK Retail said: “Many retailers recognize that advent calendars are a great way to offer new products to consumers and encourage them to convert.”

However, Sarah Johnson of Flourish Retail says that while there are many lovely bespoke calendars on the market, “a lot of[companies]just use Advent calendars to move stock that may not be in demand, rather than having to discount it” .

The sizes of items in the Advent calendar may vary – some offer full-size bottles, some offer smaller versions, and some have a mix of the two.

But Ms. Berg said smaller sizes may be what people want because it’s common to want to try something out before fully committing.

Loraine Hogan has been buying beauty calendars for several years. It’s something she does with her daughter.

“I’m kind of excited to receive a beauty calendar. It’s something we can share together over Christmas. It’s our little gift.”

She believes they truly represent value for money.

“You can get samples that people wouldn’t necessarily choose on their own.”

With so many products available, Cissy Jones’ advice is to find a brand you like and look for value for money based on the total cost of everything versus calendar prices.

However, even if a product looks like good value for money, for some people spending over £200 on an advent calendar is just a luxury they can’t afford.

As a result, many scam websites have sprung up trying to take advantage of people looking for bargains.

Emma Jones and Nihal, who did not want us to use her surname, contacted the BBC after being fooled by false advertising. Space NK Advent Calendar available for £250, on sale for £28.99. Both women were attracted by the apparent discounts and said they would not pay full price.

“I’m not willing to spend so much money, mainly because I don’t have that much spare money,” Emma said.

“They can be very expensive — I’m not the type of person who wants to pay full price,” Nihal said.

“I don’t think it’s worth it. If you were going to use every product, then maybe yes. But sometimes with these prepackaged things, you might only use two or three of them.”

But Natalie Berg says part of the reason beauty advent calendars are so popular is that shoppers still want to treat themselves.

Many are willing to pay full price—or more.

Major calendars from brands including Space NK, Harrods and Sephora are all sold out.

Harrods’ beauty calendar costs £250 but claims to contain goods worth £1,600, while Sephora’s £199 calendar claims to contain goods worth £1,000.

But you can find people selling them on eBay, with Harrods selling them for up to £550 and Sephora selling them for up to £399.

“It goes back to supply and demand — dynamic pricing,” Sarah Johnson said.

Even if the price is too high, it might make sense to buy it if the retailer has sold out of the product and you can’t get it elsewhere, especially if you think it’s still OK, she said. Save the total value of all items. .

But it begs the question: why doesn’t the company just make more money.

Ms. Johnson noted that this is a seasonal product and they don’t want to overorder and be left with excess inventory and then have to discount it.

Space NK told the BBC that this year’s inventory was 30% higher than last year’s but still sold out in two and a half weeks due to “unprecedented” demand. It plans to increase production next year.

Although beauty calendars are expensive, Ms Johnson said there was a “perception of value” involved.

“People can buy it to break it up and give it as a gift (individual items). People are treating themselves kindly in the long run and are also savvy enough to save themselves money.”

With more and more of these calendars being sold now, we had the thought a few years ago that we might have reached “Peak” Advent Calendar.

But Sissy disagrees — and thinks the opposite is true.

“They always sell out every year, so I feel like there’s room for more.”