In a previous post, I mentioned that Sephora is my favorite store.  And what girl doesn’t?  I’ve seen more than one article about how to save money there; and also my articles on Sephora happen to be the most popular.  So I figure, why not share the knowledge?  And I’ve been blessed to become a VIB Rouge member several months ago.  Would you like to know the inside details?  Keep reading!

 

Ways To Save Money To Sephora!

                                                                             

1. Bookmark your favorite items & wait for them to go on sale.  This is true especially of limited edition items.  (If they are items that are regular staples, then sorry, it probably won’t go on sale.)  i.e. when I bought Sephora Collection’s Beautiful Crush Palette, it was originally $50.  Now months after it has come out, the price has gone down to $30.  If I had waited, I could’ve saved myself some money.  You can check out my review on the palette here!
2. Shop the sale section online.  You’d be surprised because this section is not available in store.  There, you can see items that were selling at retail price, & now they’re trying to discontinue them & sell them at a discounted rates.  At one point, the Naked Flushed Palette was going for $15, while the usual retail price is $30.  That’s literally half the price!
3. Join their Beauty Insider Membership.  When you sign up for their (completely!) free membership, you’re entitled to a free gift on your birthday!  Last year it was 2 lipsticks by Nars, & if you’re a VIB Rouge member, you get an extra with it.  So I got 2 lipsticks & an eyeliner from Nars!  On top of that, you can earn points whenever you shop & scan your card.  When you accrue points, you can redeem them for free deluxe samples!   And for 500 points, you can get entire sets of deluxe samples!  I’ve gotten sets of makeup from Marc Jacobs & Giorgio Armani!
4. Shop online & always check their coupon codes.  Here you will need that Beauty Insider Membership, & you will need to shop on their website.  Quite often, they feature free gifts with purchase, as long as you spend $25!  And the free gifts are constantly changing!  And I’ve gotten bags & bags of free stuff!  When you go to Sephora.com, make sure you click on their Weekly Specials to see what they a have in store for you now!  You can also click on what offers they have for you right before you check out & pay!
5. Also check out their value sets section.  Here they make all kinds of sets in different sizes, starting at only $10!!  And of course, the prices go up from there.  You can find all kinds of sets / kits that are great deals & also make great presents!
6. Get free makeovers, tips, whenever you want with no obligation to buy!  The great thing about Sephora is that they always have makeup artists on hand to give tips / demos.  Any question on your mind about makeup, feel free to drop in & ask!
7. Attend one of their free classes!  If you check out Sephora.com, they offer free classes on how to apply makeup.  Click to check out what classes they offer at the Sephora near you!
8. You can get a student discount!  If you’re in college, you can go to studentrate.com & get 10% off!
9. Get palettes instead of singles.  Like the value sets, palettes are a far better deal for your money than individual colors.  i.e. the Urban Decay Junkie Vice Lipstick Palette is $20 for 12 shades, vs. $17 for 1 lipstick.
10. Wait for the coupon.  Twice a year, Sephora will send out a 15% off anything coupon; in the Spring & the Fall.  That’s the time to get that fancy thing you’ve been saving up for!
11. Utilize the Sephora brand.  Sephora makes it own brand of makeup & skincare products, which is made in the same factories as Marc Jacobs & Christian Dior.  Made with similar products, but with a big difference in price!  A Sephora Collection‘s mascara is $10; a face mask is $6.  A lipstick is $12.  Get great quality makeup at drugstore prices!
12. If you’re not satisfied, return it.  Unlike some drugstores that refuse to accept returns on opened makeup or beauty products, Sephora will almost always take it back.  Tried something?  Didn’t like it?  Return it!
13. Get some free samples!  Is there a high end product that you’d like to try, but don’t know if it’s worth it?  Ask for a free sample!  For every visit, you can ask up to 3!
14. Get cash back on the Ibotta app.  With this app, you can get rebates on purchases just by uploading your receipt on it.  Then get $20 Sephora gift cards!  Amazing, right?
15. Avoid the travel sizes.  Yes, we all adore travel sizes, they’re so convenient, light & can fit in your bag.  However, usually they are priced much higher than their regular sized counterparts.  If you can get the regular size, go for it.

 

What’s It’s Like Being A Beauty Insider vs. VIB Member

Once you sign up for their Beauty Insider membership, & once you’ve spent $350, you automatically become a VIB member.  In my honest opinion, I didn’t see much of a difference between Beauty Insider & VIB.  As a VIB member, you get access to all of these free gifts with purchases, whereas a Beauty Insider would not.  But ALL members get a free gift on their birthdays.  Also with both memberships you could sign up for free 2 day shipping for a year, for only $10!

 

 

What it’s like to be a VIB Rouge Member

Of course, there are the perks that they will list for you on Sephora.com, but I can give the skinny on what the differences are from a inside perspective.  Like I mentioned above, to become a VIB member, you need to spend $350 in a year.  To reach VIB rouge, you need to spend $1000!  And you need to spend just as much the following year to maintain it.  There are some slight differences between VIB, & VIB Rouge, & I will list them here for you!

1. You get access to new products first, & there are certain products online that are available to VIB Rouge only.  Not a lot, but there are some.
2. Free shipping all year long.  Where as the other memberships have to pay $10 a year, for you it would be free.
3. You get a coupon for anything off in store.  I think this was only available to VIB & VIB Rouge members, where we got a coupon by email for 20% off anything at Sephora.  But that comes maybe once or twice a year.
4. You have access to private events.  There was one event that I received an email about, where you could get 15% off all day (for you & a friend) & they were giving out free clutches to the first customers who came.  I did go, got my 15% off discount, & got the clutch.  For whatever reason I wasn’t impressed with it & ended up giving it away.  I was also told that every once in awhile some Sephora stores offer a free private brunch to VIB Rouge members.  I inquired about it in store, & was told that it only happens once a year.  I would be interested in going, but have yet to see it happen.

Bottom line: Is it worth it?  I think it is worth it if you really are a makeup addict, or have a need to buy makeup on a regular basis (i.e. like a makeup artist).  That would be amazing!  To pick up all these things for work & get all these free perks that go along with it?  I do think that Sephora is not only a great source of makeup, but also great skincare products.  So if you, or someone close to you needs special skincare needs, it could be worth it as well.  Otherwise, trying to maintain VIB Rouge status is really not worth the $1000 annual price tag that comes along with it.

I do think that the Beauty Insider membership is worth signing up for.  Like I said before, it is free!  I hope you found the inside information useful & save yourself some money the next time you go!  And check out my other article, 11 Things You Didn’t Know About Sephora..  And A Way To Get A Free Gift With Purchase!