August 10, 2018

Sephora Beauty Insider Updates And Cash Rewards Are Coming or At Least Gift Card Rewards With Stipulations

Sephora Beauty Insider updates and cash rewards (or at least gift card rewards but hey, I’ll take it) are coming for 2018-2019 with new rewards and benefits! To kick things off Sephora is having a Beauty Insider Appreciation Event later this month that gets 20% off for Rouge Members, 15% for VIBs, and 10% for BIs but wait, there’s more!

Here’s some of the updates happening with more on the way for 2019!

New Points System
VIB and Rouge now earn points faster now with VIB members earning 1.25 points for every $1 spent and Rouge members earn 1.5 points for every dollar spent. (Insider members continue to earn 1 point for every dollar spent.)

Gifts and Rewards

  • VIB and Rouge can now choose between a birthday gift or get 250 bonus points
  • VIB and Rouge members will be able to choose from Full-Size Rewards (Unfortunately available in the Rewards Bazaar)

Gift Card Rewards
Rouge Members can redeem 2,500 points for $100 Gift Cards

I love that they are updating their rewards but Ulta does still have advantages over Sephora. For example, the virtual gift card still comes with a stipulation that it will be available on Rewards Bazaar Days Only (Tuesday and Thursday) and in limited quantities. That means it’s a catch 22 if you’ll get one or not since they’ll likely sell out fast. This is a permanent feature now in the Rewards Bazaar which means if they do sell out you can still try again next week but still annoying there aren’t unlimited quantities that are redeemable for points at any time you want! You also need to redeem the amount in total so you can’t carry any balance on the virtual gift card they give you which means any remaining amount will not be reimbursed. It also expires in 90 days once they send it to you via e-mail.

New Beauty Insider Profile
Starting on August 14th there will be a new version of your Beauty Insider profile that will be your destination for everything Beauty Insider related where you can view your year-to-date activity and your current points balance, redeem rewards and gifts and learn about your Beauty Insider benefits.

All I can say is they are trying! It’s not the best of updates but it’s progress!

What do you think of the latest Sephora Beauty Insider updates?

What would be your ideal Sephora reward benefit situation?

37 Comments

About the Muse

Isabella MuseIsabella is just an average everyday geeky girl who doesn’t blend her eyeshadow correctly, wears too much blush, and hopes she never finds her holy grail products because she likes the thrill of the chase so much. Her mission is to bring you super honest reviews on makeup, skincare, fragrance and all things beauty. She’s in no way an expert on the topic and she sure as hell isn’t a super model. But she’s passionate about makeup and is seeking like-minded individuals that like pina coladas, getting caught in the rain, and ones that enjoy spending hundreds of dollars at Sephora without feeling buyer’s remorse. If you’re that person feel free to reach out and leave a comment or follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Bloglovin‘.

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Comments

  • Michelle

    Are these all starting 2019, or are some starting earlier? I’m a bit confused.

      • Isabella Muse

        sorry I was replying on a different post duh! These start 2018, I listed the dates for the changes in my post with more items being added in 2019 according to Sephora.

  • Alison

    Bless their hearts, they’re trying! It’s nice that you can earn points faster, but the gift card parameters are lame, and I know I’ll never get one before they run out. Full size products sound nice…can I choose whatever I want, or is it a limited selection available in limited quantities for a limited time? If they let me redeem points for any full size product I want, I’d be happy! I think it’s likely that I will still choose to purchase at Ulta whenever possible. If Ulta carried Drunk Elephant, my life would be complete! Greetings from Kentucky Muse! Looong time reader, but don’t comment often 🙂

    • Isabella Muse

      they are just in a messed up way lol! All are reward bazaar which sucks as you’ll have to fight over it and it’ll sell out fast ;( GREETINGS from New York ;-D Thanks for reading my dear!

  • Alison

    I see now that the full size products will be available in the Rewards Bazaar, which means I probably won’t want any of them, and if I did they’ll be sold out. Lame.

    • Isabella Muse

      yup! also the gift cards will be in the rewards bazaar too which means you’ll have to fist fight someone to get one!

      • Alison

        If they made the gift cards available (no limited quantities) a couple days per month, that would be worth something. If you miss out, it would be because you tried on the wrong day, and not because there were only 4 available to begin with.

    • kjh

      Does anyone else think that rewards are put up, already sold out? Or that they are vapor-product? Gone happens even if you go in exactly when they drop. I gave up.

      • Chris

        I had 300 Rewards points at Sephora & I got an e mail listing August Rewards. One item for 100 points was the GWP sized Lancôme Genifique serum. I went over there on Friday to my local Sephora & it wasn’t at the register showcase; so I asked where is it? Another cashier went back into the stockroom to check & brought 3 out for me. You didn’t have to even make a purchase! But I did a minor thing “� UD Double Life eyeliner pencil. I’m not a fan of their reward choices either but this month they had a product I would use.

  • Kish

    I knew they would limit the gift cards. I’m pretty much over Sephora at this point. I’ve been Rouge for 5 years or so but I don’t think I’ll hit it for next year. They’ve gotten rid of brands I liked plus a lot of stuff I like is now at Ulta also and their rewards program is a lot better. I just hit Diamond level there and its got some great reward options.

  • Tj

    Im getting the sense that they are trying to compete with Ulta but they need to try harder to get my money! Ulta will continue to have me as diamond because the deals/point system, etc to damn good girl!

  • moda31

    I have no intention of ever being rouge again, so I suppose the minor updates to the VIB status are a win for me. The day that Ulta offers better shipping benefits for platinum members though, it’ll be pretty much over for Sephora as far as my needs are concerned.

  • Isabella

    percentage back in actual dollars after reaching xx$ amount spent
    would be my choice
    have some points but there is nothing in the piddly products I would like

  • Cindy

    Lame. Still won’t un-sour me on Sephora LOL. Ulta CASH rewards to get whatever I want are where it’s at!!

  • Jujubes

    I much prefer a full size product reward or cash too! It’s a welcoming change, as I find that with my reward points (750 pts and above) all the rewards are gone within minutes of them being made available on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I saved up all my points and have yet to really use them. If I could turn them into cash /gift card/full size product that’s a much better deal!

  • Dee

    The limited quantities in the bazaar are what drives me crazy and now gift cards too? They make it too hard for their shoppers to take advantage of the perks.

  • Sophie

    Not sure if it’s tied to the new BI profile system, but I was asked to sign into my BI account when I asked for some samples in store earlier today. This was in a Las Vegas location. Seems like a way to track and possibly limit the ability to get samples. I hope it doesn’t roll out to all stores…

  • MissMercurial

    I do actually like Sephora’s program and welcome the extra point earning changes. I think the difference for me is that Ultas have been harder to find/get to in my neck of the woods until recently, so earning points didn’t add up to much since theirs expire much faster. In contrast I’ve got almost eight hundred points with Sephora from over the course of a couple years, so I like that aspect.

    I’d love to see a “purchase Flash membership with points” option at VIB. At that level you’re obviously a repeat offender/customer and being able to “buy” that kind of upgrade would definitely make me more likely to spend with them. From a psychological/marketing perspective it’s much easier to induce buying items this way because the process of deciding to make the purchase is that one step easier – take Amazon Prime shipping as an example. Since you don’t have to factor in the cost of shipping, the price of the item is what you make your decision on and there’s no roadblock to trip you up and make you reconsider the total you’re paying.

  • Chris

    Just a little comment on their websites “� using Safari or Firefox browser, you can check stock in nearby stores at Sephora. Unfortunately, you can no longer check local stores for stock at Ulta, you have to call each store now. When I asked Ulta via e mail if they were going to put this feature back, they told me to use Chrome. I’m kinda disappointed that their website only works on one platform.

    • Anu

      Thanks for that update Chris, I was just wondering the same thing when I wanted to pick up a product in store at Ulta and I couldn’t for the life of me find the option to find it in store. That is why, wasn’t using Chrome. Hmmm I hope they update that, cuz I’m not a Chrome user.

    • Lori Pease

      Really…I use my Chrome as my browser and Ulta took out the availability in store option for that browser also because I can’t check my local Ultas anymore to see if something I’m interested in is available there or not. I’m not wasting gas on going to Ulta just to find out if they have something I want or not>

    • Susan

      Chris, I noticed the “check for local store’s stock” feature was missing from Ulta’s web site too, but now it’s back. I use Firefox. It’s still a crappy system, though, as Ulta’s site often says something is in stock but it isn’t and vice versa. Seriously, in this day and age, where everything is computerized, how hard is it to make this work properly??

  • Brian

    I was excited at first until I noticed that these new rewards will be under the Rewards Bazaar and that the gift cards expire. With my luck I will never get my hands on a gift card. I feel like these changes will just result in me having more unused points lol

  • Chelsey

    The rewards bazaar is ridiculous. They offer a pitiful amount and honestly I think I just makes people more mad than if it hadn’t been offered at all. I rarely spend my points and now? Oh yay! I’ll earn even more points to never spend because no one will ever get anything. I wish they’d just do like Ulta and say this many points and you can redeem for $5+ off your purchase.

  • Agona

    Isn’t this earlier than when they usually have their fall sale? For some reason, I thought that was an Oct/Nov thing.

  • Chris

    I stand corrected! I just checked on Firefox & Safari browsers & that option is back (check stock by store zip) again. I guess I wasn’t the only one who complained!

  • EJS

    Still isnt Ulta. Sephora needs to do a straight forward percent of total spending as the reward with any product you want. I am spending more at ULTA and less at Sephora as Ulta gets better brands and products, because the Sephora gifts are not very good anymore (and if they are they sell out immediately).

  • TC

    I’m pretty sure I read that they will be increasing the stocks of product over 750pts in the Rewards Bazaar by 25-75% so they there is an increased chance of meeting demand. Maybe saw that in their forum.

  • lauren

    I was excited about the new gift card reward until I saw the stipulations, store gift cards expiring isn’t legal in canada. The only ones that are except from that are mall gift cards and even then its only after 15 months or those for a specific service like a massage at a spa. So these gift cards are probably only going to be a US reward.

    • TC

      They get around this in Canada by calling it a ‘reward card’ so it’s not subject to the same rules as a gift card, it’s basically something hey are giving you so they can make their own rules on how, when to use and if and when it expires.

      I do wonder if they will change things in Canada though – 1000cad is more easily spent with everything being 30% more expensive here then the states, plus a $100cad reward card is worth more than a $100usd card.