Liberty has appointed British actress Helena Bonham Carter as its ‘Head of the Extraordinary’ as it expands its 2026 Beauty Advent Calendar campaign beyond a traditional product launch.
Bonham Carter stars in the luxury department store’s new short film, launching 2 September, in which she explores the 150-year-old department store in search of products worthy of this year’s calendar.
The campaign is Liberty’s biggest Beauty Advent push to date and aims to position the calendar as a wider cultural moment spanning film, social media, gifting, events and beauty discovery.
For the first time, beauty founders including Bobbi Brown, Lisa Eldridge and Violette Serrat will feature alongside Bonham Carter, with Liberty highlighting the personalities and stories behind the brands included in its edit.
The retailer has also seeded limited-edition digital cameras to members of its community, while the campaign will extend across social channels, influencer gifting and a launch event inside Liberty’s offices.
Liberty CMO Laura Simpson said: “Beauty Advent has become an increasingly competitive moment, so this year we wanted to create something unmistakably Liberty. Helena felt like a natural choice – original, individual and with a sense of eccentricity that mirrors the character of the brand.”
“But the campaign is also about showing more of what sits behind the calendar. Our relationships with founders, the expertise of our buying team and the stories behind the brands we choose are an important part of what differentiates the Liberty edit.
She added: “We wanted to bring those personalities forward and give our community greater access to the world behind one of our biggest annual launches.”
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