The Makeup Revolution beauty advent calendar is one of the cheapest Christmas offerings in the industry and beauty writer Eve Rowlands opened it up to see how it compared…
As a beauty writer, I count myself pretty lucky to be able to try out some of the industry’s most popular and top-quality make-up products – whether they’re budget buys or more expensive treats. And Makeup Revolution’s Christmas offering – its Beauty Advent Calendar 2024 – is a real treat for make-up lovers who can’t splurge on high-end lipsticks, eyeshadows and more but still want good quality goods.
Containing 24 different fun and full-size products, the Makeup Revolution calendar is packed with beauty products that’ll set you up for the festive season from sparkly eye shadows and liners to lipsticks, glosses and treatments that’ll help you feel your best self – without breaking the bank.
Costing £39.99, the calendar’s contents total £97, meaning you’re saving yourselves £57.01 on some of the brand’s best-sellers as well as new goodies.
Olaplex Hair Perfector that makes hair ‘feel smoother and silkier’ in fifteen minutes gets a £10 price cut
Prime Finds: Energy saving hacks from 4p, including £15 heated gloves and £25 heated blanket hoodie
Having got my hands on this sparkling calendar, I unboxed it to see if it was worth your – and my – pay cheque ahead of the Christmas season. And I have to say, I’ve got a few new favourite staples for my make-up bag.
My honest review of Makeup Revolution’s Advent Calendar 2024
Starting with the packaging; it’s certainly adorable in design. Pretty and pink, the calendar is presented in a box decorated in 2D sparkles that is protected by a sleeve of the same design. While it’s not as robust as some of the calendars I’ve had in the past, considering it’s about £50 cheaper it still looks pretty impressive – just don’t open it up and leave it standing as some of the boxes will fall out. I love that it opens up like a book and you can see all the carefully tetris-ed boxes in one glance.
The individual boxes are a mix of bronze, baby pink, glittery pink and shimmering purple and come in all different shapes and sizes – although this doesn’t necessarily give away what’s inside. For example, one of the larger boxes had just one compact highlighter in (pictured below).
While some products were wrapped in bright magenta tissue paper, which I thought was a nice touch, others came as is.
As for the contents: consisting of make-up only, this box is a treasure trove of goodies to get you looking your best during the festive period.
And while there are the likes of translucent powder, blending sponges and even face gems, in my opinion, it’s a great selection of products for those who love a bold lip or a pink, glowy cheek. I say this because seven out of the 24 items are for your lips and five for your cheeks – and, as a self-professed lippie aficionado, I can confirm the quality is better than I expected (considering their price tag is between £5 and £10). And the range of shades you get is vast.
There’s a vibrant Barbie pink Satin Kiss lipstick (the shade cupcake pink) – which wasn’t particularly my colouring, nor did it sit well on my lips and cracked a little as the day went on – as well as a more nude-coloured ‘Heart Race Nude’, which had a subtle pink tinge.
It glided on easily, remained in place for a good few hours and felt hydrating. The liner (Chaffeur) was a breeze to apply too (more so than some expensive ones I’ve had) although it didn’t quite match the lipsticks provided in colour.
The tinted lipglosses are delightful. In the shades Divine – an earthy brown nude (pictured) – and Brunch – a lighter, pinky nude – the matte finish is flawless and it feels more of a lipstick without being too thick, which is great for everyday wear. It’s durable (passing the drink test) and will certainly become a regular feature in my handbag.
The lip mask smells divine, a strawberry scent – almost Hubba Bubba-y – and gives your lips a good glug of hydration; my lips felt smoother than before I applied it after some time, which does the job.
Trying the liquid Blush bomb, I was shocked by how pigmented it is – akin to Made By Mitchell’s Blursh but deeper. With a dark pink tone, I admit it made me look slightly sunburnt on first application; I definitely put way too much on my blush brush and so limited myself next time to one splodge from the applicator. Then it was lovely.
Its powdery sister product in the hue Pink Lady was more my style and weight and was buildable. As a powder, it was more subtle – which I liked. As for highlighters, all three options are stunning and went on better than some more luxurious powders I’ve had.
The liquid highlighter (Bronzed Glow) is a dreamy addition and blends beautifully over the top of the blush and leaves your cheekbones and high points illuminated. The powder (Raise The Bar) alternative is equally as lovely and doesn’t feel as heavy as the liquid. Plus, if one layer doesn’t give you enough of a glow, adding more won’t be too much. I was shocked by how luminous it left my cheeks and loved the warmth of the bronze and gold colours in the formula.
The Beam Bright Pink Seduction highlighter was a winner in my eyes too. It was like a blusher and bronzer in one for those days where you need a little boost but don’t want to wear too much face make-up.
Covering all aspects of your make-up., bar foundation and concealer, the calendar includes the brand’s brow gel as well. Great for providing a subtle cast for your brows, it leaves them well shaped and brushed into place with no strays. I will say that it left a bit of white residue around my brows, so tidying up the edges is necessary.
The two eyeliners – black and brown – are soft and draw on easily. They also buff out well if you want to soften your eyes. Matched with the pinks, purples and browns of the eyeshadow palette, you’ve got yourself a classic smokey style. I’ll certainly be testing out the bright pink and bronze at my next party.
The colours in the mini palette are pretty strong so you don’t need to layer them up (with the provided Revolution brush) heavily to get a bright look. Although if you’re more of a subtle silver kinda gal, the calendar also contains a light purple liquid shade that’s super sparkly. The subtle lilac is very Taylor Swift Speak Now (IYKYK) and while the colour goes quite sheer when applied, leaving a glittery layer, I’m certainly going to be wearing it to all my Christmas parties.
The verdict
All in all, this calendar is such a steal at £39.99 and contains all the products you need to give your face dimension, colour and glamour – and the tools to make it so. Whether you’re buying it for yourself, for your teenage daughter or a friend, it’s a great way to try out some new eyeshadow, lipstick and highlighter shades without making such a dent in your bank balance. Plus, the items inside are brilliant quality not to mention perfect pieces to take away or out on the town with you – if you lose them, they’re not too expensive to replace.
Although if you’re more into skincare, there are a number of hybrid calendars that’ll set you up with some stunning moisturisers as well as a mascara or liner – such as Lookfantastic’s 25 Days of Iconic here, £100. If you’re after a collection that’s just complexion boosting, Boots’ Skincare Advent Calendar – 24 Days of Skincare is £65 here.
