Cult Beauty Advent Calendar 2026 SPECIAL EDITION In-Depth Review | Swatches, Wear Test & REAL Value

Hi everyone! I'm back with another in-depth beauty advent calendar review, and this time we're taking a much closer look at the Cult Beauty Advent Calendar 2026 Special Edition. I've already done my original unboxing, but just like I did with my Selfridges calendar, I wanted to go much further than simply opening the doors. The Cult Beauty Special Edition costs £245, contains 38 beauty products including 17 full sizes, and Cult Beauty advertises the contents as being worth £1,185. This version has a bigger focus on fragrance and additional haircare compared with the Signature Edition. In this video I've separated everything into skincare & skin prep, makeup, haircare, fragrance and bodycare. I'm looking at the prices, what the products actually do, public opinion, swatching the makeup and even doing a wear test on the Hourglass lipstick to see how it actually performs. Skincare & Skin Prep — approx. £496 Allies of Skin Azelaic & Kojic Advanced Clarifying Serum 30ml Medik8 Advanced Pro-Collagen+ Peptide Cream 50ml Sunday Riley Tidal Deep Hydration & Plumping Serum 30ml Paula's Choice Clinical PRO Retinaldehyde Dual-Retinoid Treatment 30ml Dr. Levy Switzerland Overnight Booster Cream 20ml BYOMA Foaming Rice Deep Cleanser 175ml The Ordinary Multi-Active Delivery Essence 100ml Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow Niacinamide Dew Drops 15ml ANUA PDRN Hyaluronic Acid 100 Moisturising Cream 30ml Laneige Cream Skin Cerapeptide Mist 30ml Sulwhasoo First Care Activating Serum VI 8ml Elemis Pro-Collagen Skin Protection Fluid SPF50 15ml 111SKIN Rose Gold Illuminating Eye Mask VIEVE Super Skin Nova 50ml Makeup — approx. £289 Westman Atelier Eye Want You Mascara Patrick Ta Major Headlines Double-Take Blush Duo in She's Giving Saie Dew Blush in Chilly Hourglass Unlocked Satin Crème Lipstick in Roar 324 Huda Beauty Lip Contour 2.0 in Warm Brown Make Up For Ever Artist Color Crayon in Wherever Walnut RMS Beauty Luminizer in Crystal Slipper By Terry Brightening CC Serum in Sunny Flash Danessa Myricks Yummy Skin Liquid Blurring Balm Setting Spray Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Setting Spray Milk Makeup Hydro Grip Primer Haircare — approx. £109 Davines OI All In One Milk 50ml Maria Nila Head & Hair Heal Soothing Serum 50ml K18 AirWash Dry Shampoo 47ml Amika Soulstruck Nourishing Leave-In Dry Hair Mask 30ml Color Wow Xtra Large Bombshell Volumizer 50ml Gisou Honey Gloss Ceramide Hydrating Therapy Shampoo 75ml Gisou Honey Gloss Ceramide Hydrating Therapy Conditioner 50ml Fragrance — approx. £134 KAYALI Freedom Musk Santal 34 Eau de Parfum 10ml Kilian Angels' Share Eau de Parfum 7.5ml Escentric Molecules Escentric 01 10ml Fugazzi Pomegranoudh Extrait de Parfum 10ml Sol de Janeiro Cheirosa 48 Perfume Mist 90ml This is the category that really gives the Special Edition its identity. My approximate category breakdown came to: Skincare & skin prep — £496 Makeup — £289 Fragrance — £134 Haircare — £109 Bodycare — £4 Independent total — approximately £1,032 That doesn't necessarily mean Cult Beauty's £1,185 figure is wrong. RRPs change, products go on sale and travel sizes can be valued differently depending on whether you use proportional value or the price of an equivalent travel size. But I thought it was worth mentioning rather than simply repeating the headline £1,185 figure. After testing everything more thoroughly, looking at the public opinion, doing the swatches and actually breaking down where the money has gone, do I still think the Cult Beauty Special Edition was worth buying? Watch to find out! And now that I've done in-depth reviews of both Selfridges and Cult Beauty, I'd love to know which one you think came out on top. Which category was your favourite? Which makeup swatch surprised you? What did you think of the Hourglass lipstick wear test? And was I being too harsh on that £4 bodycare category? 😂 #cultbeauty, #cultbeautyadventcalendar, #cultbeautyadventcalendar2026, #cultbeautyspecialedition, #cultbeautyspecialedition2026, #cultbeauty2026, #beautyadventcalendar, #beautyadventcalendar2026, #adventcalendar2026, #beautyadventcalendarreview, #cultbeautyreview, #beautyreview, #beautyswatches, #makeupswatches, #lipswatches, #lipstickweartest, #weartest, #luxurybeauty, #luxurybeautyadventcalendar, #makeupreview, #skincarereview, #fragrancereview, #beautyhaul, #patrickta, #hourglass, #hudabeauty, #saiebeauty, #westmanatelier, #medik8, #sundayriley, #kayali, #kilian, #k18hair, #gisou, #ukbeauty #cultbeauty, #cultbeautyadventcalendar, #cultbeautyadventcalendar2026, #cultbeautyspecialedition, #cultbeautyspecialedition2026, #cultbeauty2026, #beautyadventcalendar, #beautyadventcalendar2026, #adventcalendar2026, #beautyadventcalendarreview, #cultbeautyreview, #beautyreview, #beautyswatches, #makeupswatches, #lipswatches, #lipstickweartest, #weartest, #luxurybeauty, #luxurybeautyadventcalendar, #makeupreview, #skincarereview, #fragrancereview, #beautyhaul, #patrickta,