For a decade, the LOOKFANTASTIC Advent Calendar has marked the start of the festive season for beauty lovers around the world, becoming one of the industry’s most anticipated launches.

To mark their 10th anniversary, we sat down with Chelsea Thorniley, General Manager - Beauty Subscriptions, to uncover the story behind its evolution. From the calendar’s early days to the global sell-out success it is today, Chelsea shares how data, design, and collaboration have shaped its growth - and how this year’s collection, including the first-ever Fragrance Advent Calendar, takes the celebration to new heights.

How has the calendar evolved over the past 10 years - in design, product mix, or concept? 

It’s been an incredible journey for our advent calendar over the last decade! From its initial launch of just 1,000 units to 165,000 units by 2025 – it’s a true testament to its dynamic evolution across design, product mix, and concept. Originally an innovator in the beauty space, it has since grown into a well-established player in a much bigger retail moment. This shift means we constantly have to elevate our product mix, carefully curating assortments to win customers and stay competitive. On the design, we've consistently updated its look and feel, ensuring it not only stands out but also reflects the evolving LOOKFANTASTIC (LF) brand and our broader business direction. This continuous adaptation has been key to thriving in a super competitive market and delivering sustained and incremental value year after year. 

What’s the starting point when developing each year’s calendar - theme, packaging, or product lineup?  

Developing each year's advent calendar begins with a combined approach, centred around the product lineup and deeply informed by data. We kick off by analysing current market insights and customer feedback from current year, alongside reviewing a wealth of LOOKFANTASTIC brand and product data. This guides our product strategy to ensure we not only elevate the offering annually but also optimise our market positioning for customer acquisition and retention. 

For 2025 we ensured packaging and theme followed the broader LF Christmas creative and campaign. This strategic alignment, visible in both artwork and marketing, leverages the advent's massive scale as a brand awareness tool for LOOKFANTASTIC. With creative consistency, this was a key way to draw in new customers and provide a seamless experience for existing ones across their entire LF journey. 

Which teams are involved in making the calendar happen?  

The advent calendar is a prime example of our cross-functional strength at THG, involving a vast mix of teams across the business. As one of our largest and most complex annual operations, its success relies on the continuous effort of:

• Sourcing (Buying) 
• Packaging 
• Brand 
• Creative 
• Marketing 
• Trade 
• Finance 
• Operations 

This collaboration is truly year-round. Every department plays an integral role in bringing the calendar from concept to market and ensuring its successful sell-out. And as the customers are shopping this year’s advent, our teams are already developing next year's edition. 

What was the decision behind bringing out three calendars this year, including a new fragrance calendar? 

Our decision to launch three advent calendars this year, including the new Fragrance Calendar, was rooted in market analysis and capitalising on significant growth trends.

We consistently monitor market movements – pricing, product, and our position within an ever-evolving landscape. Fragrance emerged as a standout opportunity, given its impressive growth across the wider LOOKFANTASTIC platform. It felt like a natural move to extend this success into an advent format, particularly as our research revealed a clear gap for a more comprehensive offering (our 25 doors versus the typical 12-door market standard). The continued strong performance of our Grooming Advent also secured its place in the line-up, addressing a key market gap we already cover.

A key strategic change since 2024 has been launching all calendars as part of a single collection campaign. This approach, inspired by fashion and brand collection launches, has delivered substantial positive results – significantly boosting KPIs for both the Grooming and new Fragrance Advents, while maximising impact through cohesive brand storytelling.

Explore the LOOKFANTASTIC Advent Calendar