Beauty Retail Rewards (not named Sephora or Ulta)
We’ve already spilled the tea on the beauty rewards heavyweights: Ulta Beauty Rewards and Sephora’s Beauty Insider and how to get the most of those rewarding programs. But what about the other players in the beauty game that offer serious skincare, glam goodies, and (hopefully) some perks for your purchases? We dove into five other beauty loyalty programs to see which ones are worth joining, and which ones are just slapping on some lip gloss and hoping for the best.
(💡Helpful tip: when we talk about about “return value”, we mean how much you get back in rewards compared to what you spend to earn it. Example: If you spend $100 to earn $10 worth of points or credits, your return value is 10%. The higher the percentage, the better!)
Beautylish.com
Beautylish is an e-commerce gem known for curating the best global beauty finds (think K-beauty faves) and offering a boutique feel you don’t usually get from the big guys. Gorgeous site. Great personalized vibes. But what about the rewards?
Program: Beautylish Rewards
✨ Benefits:
· $1 = 1 point
· 250 points = $5 store credit
· 500 points = $15 store credit
· 1000 points = $40 store credit
· You decide when and how many points to redeem
⚠️ Watchouts:
· Points expire one year after earning
💰 Return Value: 2%–4%
👩🏻⚖️ Our Verdict: Somewhat rewarding. The return value is on the low end, but we love the redemption flexibility. Plus, we’ll give a little grace, since they’re a smaller company and likely can’t afford to roll out the gold-plated red carpet like the Ulta’s of the world.
BLUEMERCURY
This luxury beauty retailer caters to folks who treat a $300 face cream as necessary as water. With over 180 boutique stores and a growing online presence, Bluemercury is fancy. But does their program live up to the luxe label?
Program: BlueRewards
✨ Benefits:
· $10 Beauty Card for every $250 spent (issued quarterly)
· Free standard + 2-day shipping
· Full-size birthday gift
· Welcome gift upon joining
· 3 tiers, but…meh
⚠️ Watchouts:
· Spend doesn’t roll over to the next quarter if you don’t hit a $10 reward
· Beauty card must be used in a single purchase. Leftover value? Poof!
· Quarterly reward earning capped at $150
· Higher tier benefits are so underwhelming, we won’t waste digital ink on them
💰 Return Value: 4%
Not tragic, but not thrilling for such a high-margin category.
👩🏻⚖️ Our Verdict: Barely rewarding. The reward value is fine, but the program is riddled with restrictions. We do appreciate the welcome and birthday gifts, though. Silver linings.
DERMSTORE
When you need skincare that actually does something (think retinol and nearly-medical-grade stuff), Dermstore is your destination. Their product assortment isn’t cheap, but my-God they work. Good news? Their loyalty program works too!
Program: Dermstore Rewards
✨ Benefits:
· $1 = 5 points, 500 points = $5
· Extra earning opps: 1000 points for completing profile, 50 points for a review, etc
· Redeem for any product—no exclusions!
· Choose how much and when to redeem (in $5 increments)
⚠️ Watchouts:
· Points expire after 1 year
· Only 14 days to use rewards once points you convert points
💰 Return Value: 5%+
👩🏻⚖️ Our Verdict: Rewarding! Even without bonuses, 5% is pretty good and you can only go up from there by completing challenges. The real win is in the extras and flexibility. We love the no-exclusions policy on redemption. Do a couple of reviews and fill out a profile, and you’re racking up value fast.
e.l.f
e.l.f. (eyes, lips, face) brings high-quality, affordable makeup to the masses, sold just about everywhere from Amazon to CVS, and backed by a big do-good, feel-good energy. Their rewards program? Also good. Really good.
Program: Beauty Squad
✨ Benefits:
· $1 = 10 points
· Earn from any retailer—just upload a receipt
· Redeem points for products, discounts, or e-gift cards
· Bonus points via games, activities
· 3 tiers: Fan (0), Pro (1000), Icon (2000)
· Welcome & birthday gifts
· Points don’t expire if you stay active annually
· Cashback available via PayPal and Venmo
⚠️ Watchouts:
· Max $10 redemption per order
· Max monthly earning: 750 points earned online and 750 via receipts (i.e., $150 spend total per month)
💰 Return Value:
· $ off = 5.5%–8%
· Product redemptions = up to 20%+
· Other retailer e-Gift cards = ~1% (skip these)
· Bonus points make the program even sweeter
👩🏻⚖️ Our Verdict: Very rewarding! Great flexibility, solid base value, and awesome options whether you want a freebie or a discount. Being able to earn across all retailers is a huge win. Higher tiers could use stronger perks, but overall? A lipstick smile.
Sally Beauty
Sally Beauty may not have the glam of Ulta or Sephora, but don’t underestimate it. With over 3,200 stores and a cult following for haircare and beauty basics, Sally’s delivers, especially with its rewards program.
Program: Sally Rewards
✨ Benefits:
· $1 = 10 points → 500 points = $5
· Elite tier: $200/year spent = $1 = 12.5 points
· Free shipping on all orders
· Elite members get a $5 birthday reward
· Members-only savings + bonus points
· Points don’t expire if you make one purchase/year
⚠️ Watchouts:
· Only 30 days to use reward certificate
· Certificates are auto-issued at 500 points
💰 Return Value:
· 10% for base members
· 12.5% for Elites
· Even higher with promos
👩🏻⚖️Our Verdict: Very rewarding! A simple, high-value program with low barriers to Elite status. Super easy to understand, and frankly, impressive too. Thank you, Sally!
🎯 summary:
None of these programs is a total flop and so our dreaded “robbed” category was avoided (yay!). But if you want the most bang for your beauty buck…
⭐ ⭐Very Rewarding: e.l.f. and Sally Beauty. Killer return values reaching 10% or more, flexible redemptions, and low elite qualification thresholds
⭐ Rewarding: Dermstore. Good return value of 5% and higher, and no redemption exclusions.
😐 Somewhat Rewarding: Beautylish.com. So-so return value of 2-4% but it’s simple.
👎 Most Restrictive: Bluemercury. So so return value of 4% for such a luxe retailer, and lots of sneaky restrictions we’re not a fan of.
Leave us a comment! Do you agree or disagree? Any further tips about about any of these Reward programs?
