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I emptied the Boots showstopper beauty gift – it’s better than an advent calendar

With big-name brands like Kerastase, Fenty and The Ordinary
Read more: Best Black Friday deals, recommended by our consumer experts

The products inside span haircare, skincare, body care and fragrance (The Independent)

Shopping can be pretty overwhelming this time of year, with Black Friday and beauty advent calendars dominating the sales sphere. But in the midst of those beauty deals, sometimes the best ones can fall by the wayside – and the Boots beauty showstopper is one bundle you’ll want to know about.

Boots’ annual showcase of best-sellers, viral products and the brands you need to know. This year, it costs £90 (Boots.com), but is worth nearly £450. I can say with confidence that the bundle rivals plenty of beauty advent calendars.

It features products from Neom, K-beauty brand Biodance and much more. The question is, is the beauty bundle worth your money? I unboxed the showstopper to find out.

How I tested

I got my hands on Boots vat of beauty treats (Lucy Smith/The Independent)

As a well-versed cosmetics tester, I’ve used a vast number of beauty brands and products. I can distinguish between the standout formulas and the flops. When using the products in the Boots showstopper, it was easy for me to grasp how desirable its contents were.

I applied the skincare to a freshly cleansed face, wore the makeup for a full day and used the haircare and body care in the mornings and evenings. I paid attention to factors, including staying power, scent longevity and skin benefits. You can read my in-depth testing criteria at the end of the review.

Looking for more beauty savings? I’ve pulled together the best perfume deals for Black Friday 2025

Boots showstopper beauty box

boots beauty showstopper review indybest

Why we love it
- Variety of products across haircare, body care, fragrance, makeup and skincare
- Incredible value
- Even mix of trending and long-standing beauty icons
Take note
- Some minis are too small to be useful

The Boots showstopper beauty box is wrapped in the same circus-style packaging as the retailer’s advent calendar. It’s bold, gift-worthy and slightly more luxe-looking than the price tag might suggest. Inside, there’s a swathe of tissue paper to add to the premium feel, albeit nestled under a glut of haphazardly lain beauty products, totalling 26.

By my estimation, at least 15 of these products are from luxury brands, and include formulas from the likes of Kerastase, Neom, and Estee Lauder (which are certainly cause for celebration). And out of the 26 included goodies, 16 are full-size. While a handful of the minis – the Medicube, especially – felt too small to be considered useful, the majority of the travel-size formulas would come in handy on a weekend break or hand luggage holiday.

While the inclusions skew slightly more to skincare-heavy, there is a healthy mix across the categories – especially when you consider that a large number of makeup formulas, such as foundation, are shade-specific.

I was particularly impressed by Ole Henriksen’s pout preserve peptide lip treatment, which delivers long-lasting hydration. Likewise, the Fenty suede powder blush gave my cheeks a gorgeous flush of colour that lasted through a clammy commute and 13-hour day. I’ve also long been a fan of Morphe’s continuous prep and set mist, thanks to it keeping foundation smooth and patch-free for hours, so I was pleased by that inclusion. The Kayali yum boujee marshmallow perfume couldn’t be better suited to cosy season.

Is the Boots beauty showstopper worth your money?

Without a doubt. Whether you’re planning to divvy it up for stocking fillers among family or treat yourself to a full toiletry bag refresh, you couldn’t find a better selection. Plus, it’s £60 cheaper than Boots’ beauty advent calendar and includes more products with only one less full-size product. Perhaps there are a handful fewer high-end brands, but if you ask me, there is something reassuring about knowing you’ll be able to replace your new budget favourites. Consider me sold.

Buy now

How was the Boots beauty showstopper tested?

As with all the products I test, I curated a list of testing criteria for the Boots showstopper to get a good overview of the value for money on offer. I put all the products through their paces (where I hadn’t used them previously) and considered the following components:

Packaging: I assessed how giftable the showstopper box was and noted any products that would look particularly good when displayed in a bathroom or on a dressing table.
Variety: I tallied up the number of products across makeup, skincare, haircare, body care and fragrance (including home fragrance) and gauged whether the bundle was better suited to those with particular interests, such as anti-ageing formulas.
Cost effectiveness: While the worth of the showstopper is technically in excess of £400, I weighed up whether those buying the box would actually be able to glean that value, recording any filler products or brands where interest has waned.
Performance: I put the formulas to the test to see if they benefited my skin, improved my makeup and had good staying powder. For instance, I wanted the body moisturisers to keep my skin hydrated all day, the setting spray to keep my make-up in place for hours, and the perfumes to remain potent from dawn till dusk.

Why you can trust IndyBest reviews

Lucy Smith has been covering beauty for IndyBest since July 2024. In that time, she’s covered multiple beauty gift sets, including the Boots K-beauty bundle and the best beauty subscription boxes. Additionally, she rounded up the best beauty advent calendars for 2025, unboxing hundreds of cosmetics from retailers, both high-end and affordable, to establish which ones were the most desirable ahead of the festive season. Year-round, she covers the latest releases, reformulations to longstanding formula,s and more – so, when delving into the Boots showstopper, she knew which products would spark excitement among beauty devotees.