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We're no strangers to the excitement surrounding the best beauty advent calendars. Charlotte Tilbury's annual releases have become a global sensation, consistently selling out in 2022 and 2023. At Hunter Luxury, we take pride in crafting advent calendars that are not just calendars, but exclusive experiences that capture hearts and embody the essence of opulence. The result: a sparkling marvel from every angle, hinting at the treasures concealed behind each door. The anticipation of what lies within adds a touch of magic to each day leading up to Christmas, making you feel privileged and special.
The simple pleasure of an advent calendar once lay in the daily excitement of opening a tiny cardboard door to reveal a charming festive image. However, the landscape of advent calendars has transformed dramatically over the years, sparking intrigue and curiosity about the evolution of this beloved tradition.
In the early 21st Century, chocolate advent calendars dominated UK supermarket shelves, but in 2010, the advent calendar market was transformed by the debut of a luxury beauty calendar. This exclusive offering from Selfridges, featuring 24 sliding doors, each unveiling a miniature beauty product, set a new standard and price point.
This innovation heralded an era where advent calendars shifted focus from traditional nativity scenes to commercial allure and indulgence. By 2013, Liberty's high-end department store introduced its own version of the beauty advent calendar, which rapidly became the fastest-selling product in the store's 150-year history. The latest edition, priced at £250, sold out within days, underscoring the dynamic and evolving nature of the beauty industry and the insatiable demand for these luxurious festive countdowns.
The advent calendar's journey to a high-fashion must-have is striking. Today's calendars offer micro-slices of luxury in whimsical, colourful, and often impractical packaging, a transformation that mirrors broader lifestyle changes and evolving consumer behaviours, especially during a cost-of-living crisis. Consumers are increasingly investing in home and lifestyle products, and luxury brands are eager to capitalise on this trend.
The demand for luxurious festive countdowns has prompted an astonishing variety in today's advent calendar market. Brands across every sector have embraced this trend, creating calendars catering to various tastes and preferences. Each November, department store shelves are lined with a dazzling array of adult-oriented advent calendars, featuring coffee capsules, luxurious beauty products, gin, lipstick, hand cream, Lego, dog treats, scented candles, jam, bath bombs, socks, rum, sriracha sauce, herbal teas, face masks, miniature vinyl records, and more.
Advent calendars can be a powerful marketing tool. The daily reveal of products creates a steady stream of content for influencers, enhancing the brand's presence on social media. Sumptuous packaging ensures the calendars are highly Instagrammable, adding to their appeal.
Retailers have responded to the booming market with increasingly elaborate offerings. The pressure to keep the lineup fresh and exciting each year is intense, featuring exclusive previews of new products; including full-size items has become more common, enhancing perceived value and driving sales. These calendars elicit excitement and anticipation, often selling out despite their premium prices. Once a rare indulgence, beauty advent calendars have become a mainstream luxury, exemplified by the acclaimed Charlotte Tilbury edition.
Crafting Charlotte Tilbury's Glamorous Advent Journey
When Hunter Luxury first embarked on developing an advent calendar for Charlotte Tilbury, we knew we had to rise to the occasion. The Charlotte Tilbury Beauty brand promises every woman "her red-carpet moment, her slither of A-list glamour." To deliver on that promise, every aspect of our product needed to be perfect, starting with the packaging.
Our journey began with inspiration days, where our Beauty Innovations team immersed in the latest trends and explored technical possibilities. It blended creativity and precision, ensuring our concepts aligned with Charlotte Tilbury's 2023 theme of "Jewels."
The result was a highly imaginative advent calendar – the Lucky Chest of Beauty Secrets. The luxury beauty box's design screams glamour, with a classic emerald-cut diamond shape that catches the eye when viewed from above. Each jewel-handled drawer hides a beauty secret, adding an element of surprise and delight for the user.
The key brand colours, Night Crimson and Rose Gold, were non-negotiable. This deep red runs throughout all Charlotte Tilbury branding, from products to stores, creating a cohesive and luxurious look. We used rigid board construction, carefully wrapped in Night Crimson pearlescent shimmer finish paper, giving the box a beautiful, soft-focus feel. The box features 12 glittering crystal pulls on rose gold-coloured stems, each revealing one of the bespoke drawers. These details encourage recipients to keep the box on their vanity long after they've enjoyed the products inside.
However, the pearlescent shimmer finish paper posed significant technical challenges. The balance had to be perfect – too much shimmer and it could transfer to other objects; too little and the desired effect wouldn't be achieved. We had to ensure that the pearlescent additive was blended just right without any lamination to dull the shimmer.
From a design-for-manufacture perspective, the faceted shape of the box demanded precision engineering, from CAD through to hand-finished production. Our team developed a way to build the 12 individual drawers within a hidden framework, ensuring uniformity in size and stability during e-commerce transit. The crystal handles also required special attention. To protect them during transit, we included a corrugated liner in the secondary outer box, which prevented damage to both the handles and the outer box.
As a certified B Corp, sustainability was at the heart of our design. The paper is FSC-certified and over-recycled board, and the handles are made of glass and metal. The entire box can be recycled, including the full cardboard drawers and fitments. We ensured the foiling ratio was kept to around 10%, allowing for easy recycling through normal channels. This box is designed to be cherished and kept on dressing tables long after using the products.
Achieving the fine lines of the foil design posed another technical challenge due to the small point size and potential for plate registration issues. However, our team's dedication ensured it was executed flawlessly. Creating the Charlotte Tilbury Lucky Chest of Beauty Secrets Advent Calendar was a true labour of love for Hunter Luxury. Every detail was meticulously planned and executed to reflect the brand's core values of playfulness, innovation, and glamour.
Countdown couture
At Hunter Luxury, we pride ourselves on our expert knowledge of the advent calendar market, demonstrated through our successful collaboration with Charlotte Tilbury Beauty. Our commitment to excellence elevates the brand experience, and we are incredibly proud of the final product. The 2023 Lucky Chest of Beauty Secrets Advent Calendar is a testament to our ability to create the very best advent calendars on the market, filled with stunning details and high-quality craftsmanship. This exceptional design was recognised as a finalist at both the prestigious Pentawards and the London Packaging Week Innovation Awards, underscoring our commitment to excellence and innovation in packaging design.
Luxury packaging solutions involve highly detailed creativity, planning, and execution to achieve the perfect concept and delivery for beauty brands. The product of the creative minds behind the seasonal sell-out sensation since 2016, 2023’s 12-door wonder was created in collaboration with the team at Charlotte Tilbury and resulted from 16 months of work. From concept theme to meticulous design, development, and production, every step was managed carefully to ensure an on-time October launch.
The result: A chest that holds the key to a world of glamour, acting as a treasure trove of Charlotte's most coveted beauty secrets. This calendar isn't just about counting down the days – it's a journey through beauty essentials that promises to make the user feel extraordinary.
What truly sets this calendar apart though is its thoughtful design. The 2023 Lucky Chest of Beauty Secrets Advent Calendar exemplifies the ‘Healthy Hedonism’ design trend, which merges wellness with luxury, transforming self-care into a pleasurable and enriching experience. This trend emphasises the importance of taking time for oneself and finding joy in daily rituals, aligning perfectly with the ethos of the advent calendar. By turning the unboxing into a daily ritual of self-celebration, the calendar invites users to indulge in moments of anticipation and delight, offering more than just beauty products—it provides a holistic approach to well-being.
Every element of the calendar, from the luxurious packaging to the curated selection of products, is designed to stimulate the senses and evoke a sense of indulgence and care. The products are carefully chosen to enhance both outward appearance and inner well-being, reflecting the growing consumer desire for holistic benefits that support physical beauty and mental wellness. By embracing the Health Hedonism trend, the calendar not only offers a luxurious experience but also transforms beauty routines into empowering and enjoyable rituals, reminding users that investing in oneself is a source of joy and fulfilment.
But beyond housing coveted beauty products, it reveals additional space—perfect for storing jewellery or other small treasures. It's a blend of functionality and elegance, offering a daily dose of beauty indulgence and a lasting keepsake for any beauty aficionado.
The beauty industry’s festive stars
Advent calendars are now seen by many as a core part of a beauty brand's festive offering. They are a must-have addition for beauty brand fans, perfect for building excitement and engagement. Sustainable luxury advent calendars are also an influencer's dream; gorgeous packaging makes for the best unboxing reels.
The beauty industry, packaging experts, media, and the public all celebrate the top advent calendars of the year when they hit the stores in October. Quality seasonal packaging and a value offering almost guarantee PR, with features in major magazines and popular TV shows. Ensuring your beauty brand stands out from the crowd with luxury, high-quality advent calendar solutions is essential because how the festive box looks is just as important as what is inside. We are thrilled to see our creations, like the Lucky Chest of Beauty Secrets, become a part of many women's red-carpet moments.
The advent calendar market shows no signs of slowing down. From beauty and tea to unique food experiences, these calendars have become big business, generating significant excitement and anticipation, often selling out quickly despite high price points.
The Charlotte Tilbury advent calendar is widely regarded as one of the best, underscoring the ongoing allure and success of these festive offerings. With the once humble advent calendar having evolved from a simple childhood delight to a sophisticated, multi-faceted indulgence, the tradition of counting down to Christmas has never been more luxurious or exciting.