I have been doing this for a decade and honestly I am so satisfied with how I shop now. I once saved a ton on expensive cream before a wedding by just pivoting. It was such a relief.

• Check Sephora at Kohls because they run different coupons sometimes.
• Use the 500 points for $10 off if you dont want to wait. Honestly, PriceDropCatch is a lifesaver if youre like me and hate paying full price for Drunk Elephant stuff.

@Reply #1 - good point! tho I'd argue brand-direct isn't the absolute peak for ROI. Over the years I've tracked the data and department store events consistently beat Sephora for La Mer.

• Saks gift card promos: usually $100 back on $400
• Neiman Marcus cash-back stacks Honestly, 25% is fine, but those 30% effective returns are mathematically superior for a tight wedding budget. Sephora's 15% VIB discount is sub-optimal for luxury skincare.

VIB 15% offers convenience but low savings. Brand-direct hits 25% which works well for my budget data. Im satisfied with brand-direct ROI tho... the sample-to-spend ratios are superior.

Lol I was literally about to post the same thing. Glad someone else brought it up.