6 Legitimate Ways to Get Free High-End Makeup

This is probably the most important blog post I will ever write because in this article, I’m going to share with you a few super easy ways to get free high-end makeup.

I’m not talking drugstore makeup samples. I’m talking full-sized Urban Decay. Completely free, and 100% legit. You’re welcome.

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1. Free Sephora Gift Cards from Ibotta

No joke… last month, I was able to go to Sephora, pick out $100 worth of makeup and pay nothing for it. I’m not gonna lie; it was pretty amazing.

This is the easiest method to get free high-end makeup, and I use it religiously. Ibotta is this super cool app that gives you money to cash in rebates and scan your receipts after shopping.

It’s not entirely related to makeup, but I found out about this app from a makeup group on Facebook. After you get to $20 (which is pretty easy to do), you can cash out points for Sephora gift cards.

In fact, if you sign up today with my link, you’ll get $10 after you redeem your first rebate (which excludes the “any item” rebates).

Let me tell you a bit more about it…

I haven’t been using it that long, and I’ve already accumulated over $100  (and that’s with me forgetting to use it sometimes). This is a realistic amount of free Sephora gift cards that you can expect to get if you use this app.

This isn’t just my luck – I’ve seen others get $100 in free Sephora makeup just by using it whenever they grocery shop.

This Is How You Make The Big Bucks with Ibotta:

• To maximize the money you’ll get back, browse the rebates before going grocery shopping.
• Make a list, and buy items that will give you money. For instance, it’s common to see deals such as $3-$5 back for baby formula or diapers… or $1 for buying a specific brand of lotion, toothpaste, cream cheese, toilet paper, etc. Oh. And There are tons of rebates on alcohol. Sometimes they even have $.50 rebates for scanning a coupon with anything on it.
• Once you redeem the rebate, simply take a picture of your receipt and then you’re done. The money is usually added to your account within an hour.

For instance, let’s say you are going to buy toilet paper at Walmart. Get on the app ahead of time and see what brands of toilet paper are on rebate.

Unless you are super picky, go with the brand that will give you the biggest rebate. Just to show you how easy it is, here is what I earned yesterday on my grocery shopping trip:

You can also get a certain percentage of your total order back when shopping through Amazon, Groupon, travel-booking sites and way more. For example, if you launch Amazon through this app, you’ll get 3% back on your total spent.

If you are feeling optimistic, you can even invite some of your friends to use the app for additional money in your pocket… I haven’t made too much money by doing this, but it definitely does help.

Okay, so let’s say you sign up with my link and get $10 after you redeem your first rebate… There are also monthly bonuses that will give you additional money if you redeem a certain amount rebates. For instance, I just got an additional $2 for redeeming three offers this month.

How long will it take?

I can almost guarantee that if you sign up, get the $10, and then use this app whenever you go grocery shopping (and do other online shopping), that you’d probably get enough money to cash out a Sephora gift card within the first month.

Bam. That’s a free Urban Decay mascara or lipstick… within the first month! Just think of all the other free high-end makeup you’ll get over the years of using this app.

If you’re not feeling the Sephora gift cards, you can just have cash money sent to your Paypal account. I promise you that it is legit and it’s totally worth trying.

This life hack is so amazing, that I even wrote an entire blog post about it: How to Get Free Makeup From Sephora.

If you sign up today with my link, you’ll get an additional $10 after you redeem your first rebate:  >>Ibotta<<

2. Ipsy/Birchbox/Boxycharm Points

Okay, I’ll admit that this is not a 100% free way to get free makeup, but it is really cheap and involves ways to get free high-end makeup beyond what you pay for.

If you have a monthly subscription box like Ipsy, Birchbox or Boxycharm, you can earn points that you can use to buy full-sized makeup products with (Birchbox has a pretty good opportunity for free makeup – keep reading).

Ipsy

Ipsy is probably my favorite subscription box because it usually has pretty good products.

It costs $10 a month, and they send you five oversized samples of makeup, hair products, skincare products, etc. It’s pretty impressive, but that’s not what this post is about…

When you receive the products each month, you can review them for 15 points per product and an additional 10 points for an overview review of the glambag.

If you share your glambag on Facebook, you’ll get another 10 points. They also give you points for following their social media accounts and referring friends. Long story short, you can redeem these points for more products.

The upside is that it’s pretty easy to build up enough points to cash out. The downside is that Ipsy only lets you chose certain products that you can buy with points, and the selection is hit or miss.

At the time of writing this article, there were not many good products available, but I have seen the option to buy full-sized eyeliners, etc. in the past.

If you are interested, here is a link:  >>Ipsy Glam Bag<<

Birchbox

Birchbox is the same concept ($10 per month for five oversized samples), but they have a much better point system.

If you buy anything from Birchbox.com, you’ll get 1 point for every dollar you spend and $5 for every friend you refer. If you reach “Ace” status by purchasing $300 in products from their website (excludes box subscription), you’ll get even more points.

Like Ipsy, you’ll get 10 points (which equals $1) for every product you review. Unlike Ipsy, you can use your points like cash money in their online store, which features products from high-end brands such as MAC, Bobbi Brown, Stila, Smashbox, Clinique, Benefit and much more.

If you are interested, here is a link:  >>Birchbox<<

Boxycharm

Boxycharm is another beauty box subscription program that is supposed to be pretty legit. However, since I haven’t received my first box yet, I can’t give you an accurate review (I’ll keep you updated).

It features makeup brands such as Tarte, bareMinerals, Smashbox, etc. The difference is that this box costs $21 per month and you get 4-5 full-sized products.

Like the other two sites, you can earn “charms” that you can use to buy full-sized products. Unfortunately, like Ipsy, it seems like the selection is weak.

If you are interested, here is a link: >>Boxycharm<<

Additionally, all of these programs have monthly giveaways, in which you have an opportunity to win fabulous makeup and skincare sets.

3. Birthday Gifts With Reward Programs

There are a few reward programs out there that will hook you up with some free high-end makeup.

Ulta

Ulta has it’s Ultamate Rewards Program, in which you can earn points to buy more makeup. Just for signing up (for free), you can earn 1 point for every dollar spent and double points in the month of your birthday.

The more money you spend, the more points you’ll earn per dollar. 500 points = $17.50 off your next purchase.

Additionally, you can pick up a free birthday product in store during the month of your birthday.

Sephora

Sephora’s Beauty Insider Card is pretty similar.

You accumulate points for shopping there, and the more you shop, the more points you earn per dollar spent. The significant difference is that you can only buy select items with your points.

You can also get a pretty legit birthday gift during the month of your birthday. No purchase necessary.

Urban Decay

Urban Decay’s Beauty Junkies program is another similar program with points you can use to buy more makeup.

The good thing about this program is that you can also earn points by reviewing products, sharing products on social media, referring friends and more. They will also give you a free birthday gift.

Other Companies That Offer Free Birthday Gifts:

• Tarte
• bareMinerals
• NYX
• Clinique (with a purchase)
• Smashbox (after spending $75 within a year)
• MAC (after spending $150 within a year)
• NARS (with $50 order)
• Benefit

4. Giveaways

A lot of high-end makeup companies like to host giveaways for their followers on social media.

For example, Tarte did a #KissAndMakeup campaign to help stop cyber-bullying last year. They encouraged their followers to post a picture with the #KissAndMakeup hashtag, with a positive message.

Tarte made a donation to the Tyler Clementi Foundation each time someone used that hashtag. Oh…and they entered each person in a contest to win free Tarte for life. I can’t even imagine. 😍

While this method is not a probable way to get free high-end makeup, it’s not impossible. The best thing you can do is just follow the brands you like on as many social media platforms as possible and enter the contests.

You never know…you just might win.

5. Cash Back Credit Cards

So you can get a lot of free makeup with this method, as long as you are disciplined and have decent credit.

There are a lot of credit cards out there that will give you cash back for every purchase you make. Additionally, these credit cards will let you cash them in for gift cards (Sephora is pretty common) at a better rate than you’d get for cash back.

I have a CapitalOne Venture card (it was designed for travel rewards, but I can still cash out Sephora cards).

I use this card to buy everything. Ie pay most of our bills with it and buy groceries, gas, clothes, etc. with it.

The trick is that you must keep track of your balance and pay it in full each month. We have never paid a dime of interest, and we racked up $1,600 in points within the last year.

That’s a lot of Sephora gift cards… and a whole lotta free high-end makeup.

One of the supposed best cards for redeeming gift cards is the Discover it card. You get 1% cash back on all purchases and 5% cash back on certain revolving categories.

They will also match your cash back for the first year. Plus, there is a 0% APR for the first 14 months, and no annual fee. The only caveat is that you need pretty decent credit.

But if your credit isn’t up-to-par, don’t worry; there is a different version of the Discover it card that helps you build credit, while still getting some cash back.

6. Just Ask For Free High-End Makeup

Last but not least, you can always ask the company for free products.

While many companies probably won’t respond, some of them will. Bare Minerals, Burts Bees, and DermOrganic are examples of companies that are known to send out samples.

To do this method, simply look for contact information on the company’s website (sometimes listed under an “about us” or “contact” page). Let the company know that you are a very loyal customer, and if you are a blogger/influencer, let them know how much publicity they could get from you.

It has been suggested that you flatter the company with compliments and don’t directly ask for products. You could say something like, “a friend recommended your product to me, and I’d like to try it before purchasing.”

It’s definitely worth a try.

Final Review:

• Subscription boxes are fantastic ways to get free high-end makeup and even more cheap high-end makeup, but they do cost a smidge of money to get started.
• Cash-back credit cards can be pretty impressive, but you need to be disciplined, and it could take some time to build up enough points to cash out. The best rewards require decent credit as well, but there are options for those with lower credit.
• Asking for high-end makeup may or may not work, and you will probably get mostly samples. Bigger companies might be less likely to respond, but this is an excellent way to try new products from lesser-known companies.
• Free products on your birthday is a great way to get free high-end makeup but the choices are limited, and you’ll only get them once per year. Plus some companies require a purchase before giving free money.
• Giveaways are a pretty good way to get makeup and sometimes you’ll have good odds on blogs/influencers that are just starting out or have fewer followers. It’s also not uncommon to see giveaways these days on newer blogs.
• Ibotta will give you 10$ after your first (not “any-type”) rebate. It does require some work for you to plan out what groceries you will buy, but it pays well and makes it easy to accumulate enough money to get Sephora gift cards in a short amount of time. The downside is that online purchases could take up to 45 days for the rebate to post.

Now go get some free high-end makeup!

Your Turn: Did you enjoy this post? I’ll love you forever if you share it with your friends on your favorite social media website!

Are there any other ways to get free high-end makeup that I forgot about? Are you going to utilize these methods? I’d love to hear your feedback in the comments section below…