Marks & Spencer has been inundated with complaints from frustrated customers over a significant design flaw in its premium beauty advent calendar, just as the festive season begins.
Shoppers baffled by 'bad design'
Shoppers who purchased the £60 “25 Days of Beautiful” calendar started opening it on December 1, only to encounter immediate confusion. The issue centres on the numbering of the calendar's compartments, with day one proving notoriously difficult to locate.
One regular customer, TikTok user @catwearsblack, who buys the M&S beauty advent calendar annually, led the criticism in a viral video. "Marks and Spencer has messed up with day one of its advent calendar, and I’m going to show you why," she stated, pointing out that the number one was not present on the top layer of the box. "Now surely when you’re designing an advent calendar, putting number one on the top layer is basic common sense."
Social media erupts with confusion
The problem quickly gained traction online, with numerous other shoppers expressing their bewilderment. Another TikTok user asked on December 1st: "Am I being blind? I cannot for the life of me see number one." They continued, listing the visible numbers: "I can see two, three, four, five, six, seven… can’t see number eight, can’t see number nine… there’s ten. I just, I don’t understand. Am I being dense?"
The consensus among commenters was that the layout was poorly conceived. "No but that’s actually a bad design. Why would they put 1 under 2?" questioned one. Another echoed the sentiment, asking, "Why on earth did they do it like this though?" and describing it as "a brain test before you even get your goodies."
Some offered practical solutions, with one social media user suggesting: "Why not swap number one for two? And put it on top? It would make it immediately obvious that it has two layers." The design sparked so much confusion that one helpful commenter even inquired if the calendar was meant to be started from day 25 as a countdown.
What's inside the £60 calendar?
Despite the design controversy, the calendar is packed with high-value beauty and skincare products. The contents include full-size and deluxe sample items from a range of prestigious brands.
Notable full-size products featured are:
- Bloom & Blossom Off to Bed Indulgence Bath Oil (100ml)
- Clinique High Impact Mascara (7ml)
- Benefit Cosmetics Benetint (6ml)
- This Works Deep Sleep Body Cocoon (100ml)
Other premium items in the selection include products from Stila, Prai Beauty, Estée Lauder, Nails Inc, Weleda, Color Wow, Cowshed, L’Occitane, Emma Hardie, Percy & Reed, Living Proof, NUXE, and Dr. Paw Paw.
The calendar also contains accessories such as a Bloom Stainless Steel Gua Sha tool, a large hair clip, and a recycled wide-tooth comb.
The backlash highlights the intense scrutiny popular seasonal products face, where even a small design oversight can lead to significant customer dissatisfaction and viral social media criticism.
