Scoring Big on Makeup Must-Haves

Makeup deals are my weakness. Why pay full price? Sales are everywhere, but sometimes I’m just hoarding. Last week, I found a Covergirl mascara I didn’t even know I owned at the bottom of my bag. It’s probably expired. Oops.

Top Makeup Discounts Right Now

I scroll through all the usual suspects—Sephora, Oz Hair & Beauty, you know. Oz Hair & Beauty keeps pushing those “Buy 2, get 1 free” deals. Did I restock? Of course. Did I need three? Who knows. This is math I never learned in school.

Here’s a table of stuff I stumbled across:

Anyone else see a discount and suddenly “need” everything? I convince myself I’m saving money, then my cart is $150 and I’m like… what happened?

Popular Lipstick Deals

Lipstick deals are everywhere. If I got a dollar for every promo, I’d just buy more lipstick. Covergirl’s doing buy one, get one half off, and Sephora’s got those value packs (three shades you’ll never wear, but one perfect nude). Free mini-lipsticks with beauty boxes—okay, “free,” but shipping is never really free.

Stuff I’m eyeing:

• Buy one, get one half off (Covergirl, at a bunch of places)
• Value packs at Sephora (one decent shade, two “maybe someday” colors)
• Free minis with beauty boxes (I fall for this every time)

Ordering lipstick online is a gamble. Most of my makeup bag is “maybe for a costume party?” shades. My cat tried to eat a lipstick once. No clue why. These deals are only good if you keep your expectations low and, somehow, don’t buy everything.

Hair Care Essentials — Where to Save

Kenra Professional bottles always catch my eye, probably because I keep forgetting I have a backup stash. Not just Kenra, though—aisles of shampoo, scalp scrubbers, “hydrating” masks all end up in the deals section. Why do I always leave Target with six extra things? Someone explain.

Best Hair Care Deals of the Month

Buy-one-get-one deals at Target are real—actual price drops on shampoo and conditioner pairs. Sephora’s big on limited-time mask bundles. And those silicone scalp brushes from Amazon? They’re everywhere, and I still don’t know if I’m supposed to use them every day or just when my scalp feels weird.

This month, it’s all about moisture: squalane masks and flaky scalp treatments. Gift card-with-purchase offers keep popping up—Target and Ulta love dangling $5 cards like bait. There’s always some clearance product mispriced in the corner, which is more fun than it should be.

Kenra Professional and Other Top Picks

Kenra Professional stuff is everywhere—“$2 off styling spray” ads haunt me. Ulta’s bundling Kenra shampoos, two for $20, but which conditioners count? Who knows.

It’s not just Kenra. SheaMoisture, Function of Beauty, and those brands with names I can’t pronounce are all doing mini-size freebies, especially if you shop on Wednesdays (why Wednesdays?). Sephora’s got combo kits with squalane and scalp soothers that are supposed to save money, but unless you’re buying two, it’s not a big difference. Every “hydration” product promises to “soften hair AND soothe scalp,” like I can only pick one. If you can actually keep up with promo codes, you’ll probably save more than you lose in bobby pins.

Limited-Time Offers and BOGO Specials

Thursdays mean sales, apparently. Random brands, classics like mascara, and deodorant (seriously, deodorant is always in these deals) suddenly show up with buy one get one 50% off. There’s never a pattern. Limited-time beauty deals just flash up, and half the time I’m not even looking but now I’m considering a lip oil three-pack.

How to Spot Buy One Get One 50% Off Offers

You know how sometimes the signs are neon and in-your-face, and other times it’s like, “Spend $20 on skincare, we’ll toss in a second random serum for half price”? I open the app and it’s “BOGO” all over, but of course, everything I actually needed is mysteriously excluded—like, why are hair ties never included? The banners never make sense. I wish they just said what’s actually on sale. They always highlight blush, hair masks, shampoo, whatever, and then suddenly there’s this table on the sale page:

Why is it always lavender? Seriously, peppermint would be so much better. Anyway, I keep getting distracted by those timers—like, why is there a digital clock next to lipstick? Drives me nuts. The fine print is a novel, and I just want to know if nail polish counts. Tried it once, didn’t work, still paid full price. Figures.

Maximizing Limited-Time Beauty Bargains

I can’t remember who said to check both the app and the desktop, but now it’s a habit. One time I was in line at Ulta, and there’s a screen behind the cashier flashing something about 100 bonus points if I downloaded their app. Now my cart feels like a weird game—should I add a “Beauty Under $25” just for a free sample? Suddenly I’ve got a pile of “free” stuff I didn’t even want.
“Free gift with purchase.” That phrase always gets me. Supposedly, the value is $90? Last time, I got three travel lotions that didn’t even fit in my quart bag at TSA. If I manage to stack it with a BOGO 50% off on hair care, I feel like I’ve won, but honestly, do the deals ever stack? I can never tell. I probably misread, like, every time.

Here’s what I do, more or less:

• I check the home page for flash deals, because most bargains are buried somewhere.
• I try promo codes if I remember—good luck finding them when you actually need them.
• I look for “gift with $75 purchase” deals—Amazon and Ulta go wild with those.

Somehow, I end up with two random face masks, a brow pencil, and a coupon that’ll expire in two hours. It sits there, haunting me, until the next sale. Meanwhile, there’s another BOGO 50% off sunscreen and I waste an hour wondering if I need more, even though it’s raining and I haven’t seen the sun in days.