I've been a Sephora Rouge member for like five or six years now so I usually know the drill—wait for the 20% off to drop, load up the cart, and hit checkout the second it goes live. But honestly this year feels different with how much prices have spiked lately. My usual holy grails like the Tatcha Dewy Skin Cream and my Kerastase oils have jumped so much in price that even with the discount it feels like I'm barely making a dent. I’m trying to be way more disciplined because I’ve got a wedding to go to in October and my budget is strictly capped at $300 this time, yet my current loves list is sitting at well over $600.

I know the Sephora Collection is always 30% off during the event which is a solid deal but I’m struggling with the high-end stuff. I've heard some people say it's actually cheaper to buy directly from the brand websites if they do 25% off sales around the same time but then I lose out on my points and I'm really trying to maintain my status for next year. Is there a better way to strategize this or maybe some way to stack rewards that I’m missing? Are there specific value sets that are actually worth it or should I just wait for Black Friday? How are you guys actually getting the most bang for your buck without blowing a hole in your savings...