Sephora

Sephora rarely discounts prestige brands on the shelf, and it does not need to: almost all of the saving runs through Beauty Insider, its free loyalty programme, and the events attached to it.

The savings events. Two or three times a year Sephora runs a members' sale, with the discount tiered by membership level. Rouge members get in first and at the deepest rate, VIB next, then Insider, each for a few days. The percentage is the same across most brands, which makes these events the only reliable moment to buy a full-size prestige product below list.

Points and rewards. Every dollar earns points that convert into deluxe samples, full-size products or Beauty Insider Cash at set thresholds. Points are worth most on the reward-bazaar items rather than on samples, and Cash can be applied at checkout like a discount.

Free samples and gifts with purchase. Sephora adds samples to most orders and runs brand-funded gift-with-purchase offers continuously. These are worth watching when the item you want never goes on sale, because the gift is often a full-size product from the same brand.

Promo codes exist but are narrow: they are usually tied to an event, a brand, a first order or a minimum spend, and they are entered in the promo box at checkout. A code that claims a flat percentage off any prestige order at any time is almost certainly expired.

Sale and clearance. Sephora's own sale section carries discontinued shades, previous-season sets and value kits. Holiday gift sets, released from October, are frequently better value per millilitre than the same products bought separately.