Liberty sees record queues for Beauty Advent Calendar launch

A record number of customers queued outside of British department store Liberty this morning, patiently waiting to get their hands on its highly-anticipated Beauty Advent Calendar.

With over 100,000 people signed-up to the waitlist, the department store opened its doors early at 9.30am to accommodate commuters and meet demand.

Customers queued around the block in front of the London store, the retailer said, with people waiting outside as early as 6am.

To celebrate the launch of Liberty's tenth Beauty Advent Calendar, the department store offered tea, coffee and bespoke biscuits to those waiting in the queue.

In addition, those who joined the queue were entered into a free raffle to win their own Beauty Advent Calendar.

Customers were also joined by the artist behind the new box illustration, Clym Evernden, for live art recreating the calendar design directly onto a Liberty window.

Adorned with a playful design that reimagines the iconic shopfront with "all the sparkle", this year's advent calendar contains over £1040 worth of product and retails for over £250.

With 29 items available, the calendar features exclusive and cult favourite beauty brands, as well as a jewellery entry from Estella Bartlett and the chance for five customers to win a "Golden Ticket" worth £1000 to spend at Liberty.

In addition to its in-store launch, the calendar also went live online at midnight - with 10% of units sold before 6am. This comes after 20% sold via Liberty's pre-sale for its Beauty Drop subscribers, ahead of the official launch today.

Read TheIndustry.beauty's round-up of the beauty advent calendars of 2023.