Sephora & beauty brand hacks: Your ultimate guide to free beauty products & discounts

As someone who grew up learning that looking your best every day is a way to start your day confidently; this quote resonates with me.

Since young, my mum has passed on tons of beauty knowledge to me, and I'm a beauty enthusiast today because of her.

NGL, I spend at least $500 a year on beauty products and facials.

Over the years, I have tried looking for ways to get the best deals from physical stores to e-commerce platforms, brand websites and even camped for vouchers during mega sales days such as 11.11 or 12.12.

This includes dropping by Sephora to get free samples, making use of birthday deals etc.

Back when I was a student, I even wrote product reviews on a beauty e-commerce platform every single day so that I can earn enough points to exchange for free full-sized products!

Regardless of gender, looking good or presentable is the most basic we can do especially when we attend social events.

If you're looking for ways to save money while getting quality products, you are at the right place.

You will not find names of big brands (e.g. Dior, Lancome) that require you to spend at least $800 to become Platinum/VIP/VVIP members in order to enjoy birthday perks or discounts, because that is not the purpose of this article.

That said, Mother's Day is also around the corner and if you haven't prepared a gift, you can pamper your mum by gifting her self-care products!

TD;LR: Best Sephora Singapore & beauty brands hack: Get free products & discounts + best credit cards for beauty purchases

Here are some hacks that can save you some money on your beauty products!

Click here to teleport:

• Sephora SG Hacks
• Free Samples on Brand Sites & Marketplace
• Mega Deals for Beauty Products
• K-Beauty
• Credit Cards for Beauty

Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post and there are no affiliate links.

Sephora Singapore hacks 

1. Sephora Singapore free membership and samples

When we're talking about makeup and skincare, the first thing that comes to mind is always Sephora.

If you're a Sephora newbie, you will be delighted to know that you can sign up for a free Beauty Pass Membership.

There are three tiers:

• White: Free
• Black: Spend $300 a year
• Gold: Spend $1,500 per year

This will unlock the following perks:

• Sign up for free Beauty Pass membership - accumulate points to exchange for free beauty products from Sephora's Rewards Boutique, including makeup, skincare and fragrance
• Free brow service by Benefit Cosmetics during birthday month
• Two times points accumulation for any purchase during birthday month
• Free birthday gift without having to spend money (black & gold Members only).

You can also ask for free samples!

The range of samples you can get is quite wide:

• Primer
• Foundation
• Eye cream
• Fragrance (after you've purchased a full-sized one, you can ask for a sample of other fragrances)

Generally, as long as a product can be squeezed out, you should be able to get a free sample tub without purchasing.

This is a great way to test out a product before actually buying it.

This can also save you from wasting money on a product that you may not like plus the hassle of returning it.

If you're shopping online, don't forget to redeem your free samples at checkout. You will get free samples every time you make a purchase online.

These samples can be from popular labels like Benefit, IT Cosmetics or Clinique - basically, any participating brands at Sephora.

The options will appear upon checkout, and you can also make use of membership points to get bigger goodies like full-sized makeup removers and body lotions.

2. Try the Sephora Fragrance Rollerballs

If you're into fragrances, try getting the Sephora-exclusive rollerballs, which are a smaller and pocket-friendly version of the scents in a full bottle.

The last I checked, a Marc Jacobs Daisy Dream Eau De Toilette full-sized (100ml) was $166 and a rollerball (10ml) was $36. 

If you prefer trying out different scents without going through an entire bottle, this could be an option for you.

Likewise, if you're a sucker for a certain scent, get the full-sized version as it will cost you less per millilitres, and it could last longer too.

3. Merge membership accounts

Now, this is an interesting one.

You can actually merge different Sephora accounts into one, and all points accumulated will be combined together.

If you have friends who are account holders but seldom use their Sephora privileges or frequent it, you should ask them if they are willing to give you their points.

Similarly, if you want to gift your girlfriend, wife or mother a Sephora Gift Card, you can register a new account first, then combine the accounts later (yes, there's an extra step but it is only a click away).

Free products on brand sites & marketplace

Did someone say free products?!

Yes, I've compiled a list of websites where you can redeem free skincare samples.

I'm a strong believer in skincare. If you have not started taking care of your skin, know that our skin starts ageing once we hit 25 years old.

The effects of ageing may not appear when you're in your early 20s, but trust me, once you start working, you will spot those signs.

Thankfully, there are brands that send samples to you for free, and a one-stop marketplace that have brand partnerships that give you discounts and/or free samples if you purchase products via these companies.

One-stop marketplace refers to platforms where there's a wide range of products availabl. The notable ones are Daily Vanity, Zalora and iShopChangi.

Just recently, I bought two tubs of Kiehl's facial mud masks from iShopChangi at 40 per cent discount.

You can start your skincare journey with these samples first.

Best deals for beauty products in Singapore

Needless to say, getting the best online deals should be on your mind ALL THE TIME.

When I say best, I meant 20 to 50 per cent sales off beauty items.

You might think that 20 per cent seems little, but that's because you haven't witnessed the mega long queues outside Ion Orchard's Sephora on a Black Friday where there was a 20 per cent store-wide sale.

I make a conscious effort to stack my vouchers (if allowed), camp for credit card vouchers, change the payment method to the one with the best cashback or discounts, and lastly use up any points/coins I've accumulated from my past purchases, and offset the total costs.

You can find discounts during these sales periods by jotting down the names and dates.

Don't forget to use money-saving tools that can give you cashback or rebates.

Start with k-beauty products in Singapore

"Blackpink in your area!"

Yup, I am a BLINK.

Just like the idols, I hope I can have baby-like skin too. To do so, you can consider K-beauty products.

Just like western brands, there are K-beauty memberships for brands such as Innisfree, Etude House, Tony Moly and Sulwhasoo, that provide perks to members.

I do own several K-beauty products and feel that they are usually more suitable for moisturising (btw, K-beauty is big on hydrating).

Most of the time, these beauty brands are also very generous with their samples (especially if you shop in Korea), but only after you've purchased an item in-store.

Most K-beauty products are often priced competitively and are significantly cheaper than those you find in Sephora. 

These are brands and platforms that carry products that are priced as low as $3 (not including shipping cost). Some brands exceed the $10 range but still remain relatively affordable.

Credit card deals for beauty products 

When we talk about shopping, we should not neglect credit cards that provide rewards.

As such, here are some of the best credit cards for women:

For cashback lovers, there are cards such as AMEX True Cashback, UOB Absolute Cashback, DBS Live Fresh etc.

Likewise, you should read the product reviews to find the difference and pick the one that suits your lifestyle the most.

Closing thoughts

Makeup helps us feel confident and skincare helps to give us healthy skin that glows, with and without makeup.

If you're still struggling with choosing the brands, have questions on memberships, and which credit card to purchase your beauty kit, you can start a discussion and ask our friendly Seedly Community for advice and suggestions!

This article was first published in Seedly.