Elf Cosmetics Advent Calendar

e.l.f. Cosmetics Advent Calendar 2026: 24 doors, 18 full-size products and a box you colour in yourself

The e.l.f. Cosmetics Advent Calendar 2026 is called ‘Express Your e.l.f.’, and the name is literal. The box arrives printed in black-and-white line art, blank panels and outlines, and e.l.f. want you to colour it in with your own pens before you open a single door. It’s a beauty advent calendar that doubles as a canvas, which is either the best idea of the season or a gimmick, depending on how you feel about homework in December.

Behind the 24 doors sit 24 products: 18 full-size and 6 minis. Two of them exist nowhere else: a Glow Reviver Melting Lip Balm in ‘Apple Crisp’ and a Smoky Kohl Eyeliner in ‘Pretty Penny’, both exclusive to this calendar. e.l.f. put the total content value at £159. The pens, by the way, aren’t in the box.

What’s inside the ‘Express Your e.l.f.’ calendar, and what it’s worth

This is a makeup advent calendar first, with skincare and tools filling out the back half. The makeup runs deep: the Perfect 10 eyeshadow palette, two Liquid Blushes, the two Smoky Kohl eyeliners (one being the exclusive ‘Pretty Penny’), Incredi-Curl and Clear Brow & Lash mascaras, and five lip products including the exclusive ‘Apple Crisp’ balm. Skincare brings a full-size hydrating serum and a barrier cream plus four minis. Tools close it out, two brushes, a blending sponge and an eyelash curler.

On value, e.l.f. declare £159 of product across the 24 doors. Set against the £92 launch price, that puts the box at about 58% of its stated value, a saving of roughly £67 if you take e.l.f.’s figure at face value. Everything is vegan and cruelty-free, which e.l.f. have held to across the full range for years.

=> The full door-by-door breakdown is in the SPOILER tab.

e.l.f. the brand: cheap, fast and surprisingly good

e.l.f., short for Eyes Lips Face, built its name on prestige-style formulas at pound-shop prices. The Power Grip primer became a genuine cult product on that basis, and two of its minis sit in this calendar. The brand talks to a younger, trend-led crowd, the kind who’ll actually get the pens out and tag e.l.f. in the result. That is what the colour-in box is really about, and it’s why this calendar reads so differently from the usual budget beauty advent calendar of forgettable samples.

How this compares to last year’s e.l.f. calendar

Last year’s edition ran a glittery, decorative theme (‘The glitz is e.l.f.ing glitzing’). The 2026 ‘Express Your e.l.f.’ edition drops that for the colour-in concept and leans on the numbers that matter: 18 full-size products out of 24, and two shades made only for this box. More full-size, more exclusivity, less packaging sparkle.

What hasn’t changed is the e.l.f. philosophy: a lot of full-size product for little money, all of it vegan and cruelty-free. The declared £159 sits below some of the loudest beauty-calendar numbers out there, yet it does so on a £92 price, which keeps the ratio honest.

My verdict on the e.l.f. Cosmetics Advent Calendar 2026

The full-size ratio is what wins me over. Eighteen of 24 products in full size, on a £92 box, is rare at this end of the market, and it’s backed by two shades you can’t buy separately. The trend-watcher or the beauty beginner gets a genuinely broad kit to experiment with.

The box itself asks something of you. The pens aren’t included, so the headline concept costs you an extra trip to a stationery shop, and a line-art calendar will divide people: some will love decorating it, others just want to open a door. As I’d put it, ‘it’s a lovely idea that quietly assumes you own a decent set of felt tips’.

Read the £159 with a cool head. It’s e.l.f.’s own valuation, and it sits lower than last year’s headline, though with more full-size product behind it. Even halved, the box still clears its price comfortably, and that’s the part that holds up. Right for anyone new to makeup, chasing trends on a budget, or after an affordable beauty gift at £92; less so if you want a ready-to-display box or a skincare-led routine.

Versions of this calendar:

• e.l.f. ‘Express Your e.l.f.’ 24-Day Advent Calendar 2026 (24 products, 18 full-size, exclusively on elfcosmetics.co.uk)

e.l.f. discount and delivery:

• Discount codes: no code is live for this calendar at the time of writing.
• Delivery: free delivery on elfcosmetics.co.uk, plus a Power Grip Primer Mini added free with the order.

See all beauty advent calendars currently available.

e.l.f. Cosmetics Advent Calendar 2026 release date:

The e.l.f. ‘Express Your e.l.f.’ Advent Calendar 2026 is sold exclusively through elfcosmetics.co.uk, with free delivery and a free Power Grip Primer Mini on the order. e.l.f. calendars tend to go quickly once the festive run begins, so the 24-door box is worth grabbing early.