Why Sephora is awesome

I’m a big fan of Sephora. Not because they carry just about every beauty brand you could ask for, but because they offer tons of free stuff. Seriously. If you sign up for their Beauty Insider program, you earn points for every dollar you spend, which can then be cashed in for products. You’ll also get a free birthday gift every year, as well as frequent free samples when you shop. If and when you earn 100 and 500 points within one year, you also receive special gift products.

When you sign up for the Beauty Insiders program, make sure to input your email. Normally, I avoid companies’ email lists like the plague, but sometimes Sephora will send out some real gems. For instance, I once received an email coupon, valid for 24 hours, for a full size Ojon shampoo and conditioner. When I went to snatch this up at the Stanford Mall Sephora, I found out that each bottle was selling for $25! So yeah, for a simple input of my email address, I received $50 worth of completely free product. Incidentally, I love what that shampoo and conditioner do to my hair and wish I could afford $25 shampoo. Hah.

Why else is Sephora great? Beauty Insider or not, if you have a product you’re interested in test-driving, but don’t want to shell out the dough to purchase the full-size product, try asking one of the sales associates for a sample of the product. I’ve done this a number of times, both at the Valley Fair and Stanford locations, for everything from Frederick Fekkai hair products to perfume to skincare items.  It’s a great way to try out that $50 skin cream to make sure it works for you, before dropping big bucks and finding out the hard way it doesn’t.

In conclusion, while I wouldn’t exactly recommend paying regular price for products at Sephora to someone on a strict budget, the perks of shopping there and signing up for their Beauty Insider program can save you a lot of money and give you access to beauty products you might not otherwise be able to afford.