Maybe you’re a newbie to the glittery world that is Sephora or you’re an expert Sephora saver and know the timing of its important sales and events throughout the year. Regardless, there are important things to know about being loyal, snagging rewards and saving money.
Sephora sells beauty products on, what some would consider, the high side of the price scale. Don’t get me wrong, not everything at Sephora is higher-end and higher priced. But you won’t see drugstore beauty brands lining the shelves either.
The beauty store is like most in that it has semiannual sales and offers savings opportunities throughout the year. The Sephora Beauty Insider program isn’t completely unlike Ultamate Rewards at Ulta. Both have different loyalty tiers depending on your spending threshold, free birthday gifts, and other special ways to earn bonus points. Where Sephora differentiates itself is how members get to pick their rewards.
The Rewards Bazaar is where Sephora offers cool products in exchange for a certain number of points. But you first have to be a loyalty member first, and then earning rewards at Sephora will be perhaps one of the easiest things you’ll ever do in life.
Sephora Beauty Insider Program
You must join the free Beauty Insider program since there’s no good reason not to because it’s free. Everyone starts off as a Beauty Insider. But once you’ve spent $350 in a calendar year, you’ve officially achieved the “Very Important Beauty Insider” or VIB status. Spend at least $1,000 in a year, and congratulations, you’ve got Rouge status, the highest tier you can get.
Don’t stick up your nose at the basic Insider tier because it gets you lots of stuff without spending a ton to get to that Rouge status. Here are some of the top Insider-level perks (and for VIB and Rouge members):
- Sephora Birthday Gift.
- Access to the Rewards Bazaar.
- Free standard shipping with no minimum purchase.
- Beauty Insider Cash.
- Access to Seasonal Savings events.
- Access to Point Multiplier events.
- End-of-year discount.
- Auto-replenish option.
- Same-day delivery.
Regardless of whether you’re an Insider, VIB or Rouge member, when it comes to earning points per dollar, you’re equal. This used to not be the case, but it is now. Loyalty members earn 1 reward point for every $1 spent online, in stores and at Sephora at Kohl’s stores using your Beauty Insider account email. Sephora also offers opportunities to earn bonus points with the Seasonal Savings and Points Multiplier Events.
The differences in the loyalty levels are more obvious during Seasonal Savings Events. Rouge members are given access to sales first and receive 20% off throughout the duration of the sale. A few days later, VIB members are given access with 15% off and during the last days of the sale, Beauty Insiders are given access and 10% off.
Rouge and VIB members used to earn more points all year, which changed in 2020. Now, every loyalty level earns them during Points Multiplier Events that come around throughout the year and could be tied to specific brands. Any unredeemed points will expire when you haven’t made a purchase for 12 months or more, but that’s not something you need to worry about if you’re a dedicated devotee of Sephora.
If Sephora is the only place you shop to get your beauty fix, then loyalty matters. But if Sephora isn’t your only go-to, don’t fret over reaching a higher tier or holding onto your current one. Being a low-level Insider might be the only time you’re considered basic, but this basic status could be the best money-saving option at Sephora.
Sephora Rewards Bazaar Points by Level
The Sephora Rewards Bazaar gets new additions every Tuesday and Thursday morning. If there’s one you’re eyeballing, you need to be quick because these rewards go fast — I mean really fast. Pay attention to the size of the reward you’re trading your precious points for, not to mention your time and attention. Ask yourself if the return on your points is actually worth the reward financially.
Sephora doesn’t break these rewards down into levels, but it makes it easier to follow. Here’s a look at the current reward options for you to drop your precious Sephora rewards points on:
Level 1: 100 Reward Points
You’re a Sephora novice, but you’ll quickly climb up the tiers with every purchase. In this first level of the Rewards Bazaar, you’ll be able to cash in on sample sizes from brands like Olaplex, Brigeo, Drunk Elephant and Laura Mercier, to name a few.
Or, you can save up your new rewards points and let them ride to the next second tier. Since 100 points took you $100 to earn, is that free sample size really worth that much? Some of these sample-sized products are super easy to get without using your points when you have a gift with a minimum purchase coupon.
Level 2: 250 to 499 Points
By the time you’ve reached the second level and you’ve become a VIB member at 350 points, you’re well on your way to becoming skilled in the ways of Sephora. As you see, you can choose to receive a bundle of two products or a special size that’s not available for purchase from the luxe brand Augustinus Bader.
You could also choose to keep trucking away and save those points for something bigger.
Level 3: 500 to 749 Points
The third level of the Rewards Bazaar begins to open more doors, thanks to your Sephora expertise, including the Charity Reward equaling a $10 donation to Project Glimmer for your 500-point redemption. Plus, select brands now come with more products as you make your way up the ladder.
Beauty Insider Cash
All loyalty members can get Beauty Insider Cash by redeeming 500 points for $10 off their purchase, in-store and online as long as your purchase is $10 or more. You can use this discount at the same time with sample promos, credit card rewards, Rouge Reward, and discounts like “Oh Snap” sales.
But remember, the fact you have 500 points means you’ve already spent roughly $500 to get $10 off your purchase.
Level 4: 750 to 2,999 Points
Wow! Look at you reaching the pinnacle of the Rewards Bazaar and Rouge status at 1,000 points. Your shopping and point-saving potential is well rewarded at this second level from the top. And with it comes super cool products to choose from. The Freck Drop sold out, but it could be replaced at any time. You can also donate your points for bigger monetary rewards to Project Glimmer.
Savings Perk: When you pick a reward that requires using 750 points or more, it ships for free without you having to make a purchase.
If you’re a point saver and a Rouge member, a 2,500-point exchange gets you a $100 gift card you can use to get whatever Sephora products you want. But you aren’t able to return any of those products, so choose wisely, especially since you’ve already spent about $2,500 at Sephora by this point.
Level 5: 5,000 to 19,999 Points
At this point, you’re a legit Sephora rock star. How have you been able to save up all these points? You get to go to industry events (which may not be near where you live), a professional beauty consultation, and a lot of full-size products.
The last reward was worth 5,000 points and included the first-ever IRL Glow Recipe Summit, plus full-size Glow Recipe products and swag. This gives you an idea of the cool rewards and freebies to come by just being a Sephora Beauty Insider.
Now you get to decide whether hitting VIB or Rouge status really pays off in the end or whether staying a basic Insider is the real way to go.
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