Best Scent + Scent Calendars
When the calendar is a gift, it’s the ones that feel like it: the cologne you’ll buy by the bottle, the candles that spruce up the living room, and an all-out Byredo splurge.
7: Voluspa “Holiday Village” 12 Day Candle Advent Calendar
Price: $185 | Doors: 12 | Why we love it: A fragrance for the room rather than the wrist. Twelve small pedestal candles from Voluspa’s Japonica and holiday collections, each cast in a bejeweled glass votive that looks like a jewel, plus a gold-plated wick trimmer to keep them clean. Each burns for 25+ hours, making it worth more than 300 living room hours.
As a huge fan of Voluspa, I can attest that these candles are worth every penny for the fragrance that comes between us. Every night of the countdown, your place will smell like a five-star hotel.
8: Byredo Advent Calendar
Price: $955 | Doors: 25 | Why we love it: The ultimate splurge on this list, and the prettiest box: an ornately patterned case that opens onto a bright blue interior. Behind the doors, Byredo’s cult fragrances (Bal d’Afrique, Blanche, Mojave Ghost) appear as fragrances, body and hair rituals, with 50ml Eau de Parfum, 100ml Body Mist, and 75ml Hair Perfume as headliners. Bibliothèque, Tree House, and Summer Rain candles along with makeup and some items she would use every day.
For reference, a 50ml bottle of Bal d’Afrique alone is $235. This is the calendar for the woman who already has a Byredo and wants to see her whole world at once. This is a limited edition, so don’t wait.
9: Jo Malone London “Christmas Kist” Advent Calendar
Price: $495 (estimated value: over $720) | Doors: 25 | Why we love it: gave Luxury fragrance calendar. This year it comes as a trunk, with each surprise tucked inside crackers, jewelry and stockings. Behind them: twelve 9ml colognes (wood sage & sea salt, English pear & freesia, lime basil & mandarin, plus cologne intense heavyweights like myrrh & tonka and oud & bergamot), three travel candles, and a run of body and bath care. Day 25 is a full 30ml bottle of Tangerine & Honey, a new limited edition fragrance.
With seasonal scents like Classic, Cologne Intense, and Ginger Biscuits all in one box, this doubles as a masterclass in fragrance layering. Yes, it’s an investment, but with over $720 of product behind the doors, and twelve colognes to help him find his next signature, it’s worth it. It goes fast, so decide early.
10: Dossier 12-Day Fragrance Advent Calendar
Price: $49 | Doors: 12 | Why we love it: The perfect way to try some of the most sought-after perfumes of the moment, for less than a full-size bottle of one of them. Twelve 5ml Eaux de Parfum, Made in France: Seven cult scents from Dossiers (Santal 33, Lost Cherry, Baccarat Rouge 540, Flowerbomb, and Kilian’s Love, Don’t Be Shy) plus five of its own originals, such as Winter Kiss & Ord Dusk and Ord Dusk.
It’s the easiest way to find her signature scent before committing to a full bottle, and at $49 it’s the best value beauty or fragrance calendar on this list. Perfect as a stocking stuffer, a Secret Santa gift, or something small for yourself.