How to Leverage Loyalty Program Birthday Discounts with Seasonal Sales at Ulta and Sephora

If you’re a rewards program member at Sephora and Ulta, make sure to stop by those stores around your birthday. You’ll get a free gift! And if you’re not signed up for these free programs, it’s time to do it. Seriously, there’s no downside to a birthday present.

At Sephora, you can claim your prize two weeks before or after your birthday, as well as any time during your birthday month. At Ulta, it’s available during your birthday month only.

Chances are, there’s also a price-cutting promotion in effect around the time you turn another year older. That means you can make your birthday perks go even further by visiting during a seasonal sales event. Then you can buy yourself a second gift at a discounted price.

We’ve broken down exactly how to claim your birthday reward from Sephora and Ulta and depending on what month your birthday falls in – how to bundle and maximize your birthday reward with other top sales.

How Ulta Celebrates Your Birthday

If you’re an Ulta Beauty Rewards member, make sure you’ve added your birth date to your member profile by the eighth day of your birthday month. You can claim your free Ulta Beauty Rewards birthday gift any time during that month. Here’s what you’ll get:

• Choose one free gift from among several options (travel-sized versions or deluxe samples of popular beauty products).
• Receive 2X rewards points on every purchase throughout the month.
• Receive a $10 off coupon (if you’re one of the higher-tiered, Diamond or Platinum members).

How to Leverage Birthday Perks at Ulta With Seasonal Sales

Ulta will send you a coupon code via email or a notification on the Ulta Beauty app. You can pick up your free gift at checkout, online or in the store. There’s no purchase necessary.

But before you visit, find your birthday month in our list below and make sure to stop in (or go to  the site) on a day when Ulta is having sales. Then you can buy something else for a lower price—and receive 2X the rewards points while you do so. And if you’re a Diamond or Platinum member, you’ll have an extra $10 coupon to bring down the sale price even more.

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How Sephora Celebrates Your Birthday

You can sign up to be a Sephora Beauty Insider any time—even if it’s during your birthday month—and receive a birthday gift. Here’s what you’ll get:

• Choose one free gift from among several options (travel-sized versions or deluxe samples of popular beauty products).
• Alternatively, choose to receive 250 rewards points instead. 

How to Leverage Birthday Perks at Sephora With Seasonal Sales

As a Beauty Insider, you can pick up your free birthday gift in the store with no purchase necessary. Higher-tiered Insiders (at the VIB and Rouge levels) get to choose from a wider range of gift options. You can also claim your free gift online at checkout—though in that case, you have to make a minimum purchase of $25. 

But before you head to the store or site, check the list below to learn when Sephora is having sales during your birthday month. If a product you like is on sale, you may want to skip the predetermined gifts and opt for the 250 rewards points instead. That way, you can add those points to your existing point count—and potentially reach the 500 points you need to take an additional $10 off your sales event purchase.

January Birthday

Head to Ulta during the first three weeks of the month to capitalize on its discounted skin care products, shampoos and conditioners. There are two events happening during this time. The Love Your Skin Event is a mix of Daily Beauty Steals (in which the store sells some of its most popular skin care products for half price on specific days) and weekly discounts of 30% off on scores of other products. The Jumbo Love Event is your chance to buy liter-sized versions of popular shampoos and conditioners for up to 45% off. 

Head to Sephora during the first two weeks of the month to take part in the Sephora Skincare Sale. Each day of this event, the store discounts a different skincare brand by 50%. (And it’s the normally pricey ones like Lancome, Estee Lauder, Clinique and Kiehl’s.) 

February Birthday

Head to Ulta around February 19, which is National Lash Day. Last year, Ulta gave a 30% off discount on select mascaras and lashes throughout the week. Pick up your birthday gift and receive 2X the rewards points as you stock up on these lash-related products.

Head to Sephora on Presidents’ Day Weekend (around the third Monday in February) for its annual Presidents’ Day Sale. Not only will you get a birthday gift, but you’ll find markdowns of 50% off on products throughout the store, including makeup, perfume, skincare and hair care.

March Birthday

Visit Ulta during the last three weeks of the month for the Semi-Annual Beauty Event (formerly known as 21 Days of Beauty). Each day of the sale, a different product is discounted by up to 50% off. The store announces its weekly sale schedule (exactly which products will be discounted) a few days before the price cuts go into effect.

Visit Sephora during the last two weeks of the month for its Oh Snap! Sale (also known as Sephora’s One Day Deals), which is basically the same promotion that Ulta has going. You get 50% off a popular product for one day only, and the product changes daily throughout the event.  

April Birthday

Stop in at Ulta during the second and third weeks of the month, which is the time frame when the retailer runs its Spring Haul Event. Not only will you get a birthday gift, but you’ll have a chance to snag some deals on some of the most prestigious brands in makeup, hair care and skin care.

Go to Sephora during the second week of the month, when Beauty Insiders like you can take part in the Sephora Savings Event. That includes deals on products throughout the store (with varying discounts depending on your rewards tier) and 30% off all Sephora Collection items for Beauty Insiders in all levels. You also get more rewards points than usual on your purchases, depending on your tier.

May Birthday

Visit Ulta during the last two weeks of the month so you can benefit from the Ulta Member Love Event. Not only will you get a birthday gift, but Ulta Beauty Rewards members get 10X the rewards points when you buy certain products.

Visit Sephora during the first week of May or during Memorial Day Weekend. The start of May is when the retailer unveils its Oh Hair Yeah! Sale, slashing prices on hair care products by up to 50% off. You can also get 3X the rewards points on perfume. And the long holiday weekend features discounted prices on items throughout the store.

June Birthday

Stop by Ulta during the last week of June to pick up your birthday gift—while also stocking up on name-brand shampoos and conditioners at the Jumbo Love Sale. This also coincides with Ulta’s Summer Love Sale, when summer skin care products are discounted up to 50%. There are also some BOGO deals on makeup.

Stopping by Sephora this month won’t guarantee you any sales events. But you can claim your gift up to 14 days before or 14 days after your actual birth date. So people with early June birthdays can pop in at the end of May (during Sephora’s Memorial Day Weekend sales). And those with late June birthdays can visit in the first week of July (during Sephora’s Summer Deal Week). 

July Birthday

Visit Ulta during the first two weeks of the month, as the Summer Love Sale will still be going on. Or, stop in during the last week of the month. You’ll get a birthday present for free and a lipstick for 50% off in honor of National Lipstick Day (July 29).

Check out Sephora around the first week of the month if you want to be there for its Summer Deal Week. (In 2024, this took place July 4 – 10.) You’ll find sales of up to 50% off cosmetics and perfume and 25% off skincare and haircare items.

August Birthday

Visit Ulta’s site during the second week of this month to catch its annual, 72-hour, online Flash  Sale. Or stop by the Ulta store during the last few days of this month. That’s when the fall version of the Semi-Annual Beauty Event begins. Each day of the sale, a different product is discounted by up to 50% off. 

Visit Sephora during the last week of the month, when the store holds a rival sale to Ulta’s Semi-Annual Beauty Event. This is the fall version of Sephora’s Oh Snap! Sale (One Day Deals event). You get 50% off a popular product for one day only, and the product changes daily throughout the event. 

September Birthday

Visit Ulta during the first two weeks of the month, when the Semi-Annual Beauty Event is still going. Or go during the last week of the month, when Ulta unveils the Fall Haul Sale and slashes prices on rarely discounted brands.

Visit Sephora during the first two weeks of the month as the Oh Snap! Sale (One Days Deals event) continues. 

October Birthday

Visit Ulta during the first three weeks of the month to claim your birthday gift and take advantage of the daily deals from its Gorgeous Hair Event. Each day during this event, Ulta discounts a different hair care product up to 50% off. Or, stop by on October 2 to get a free brow-related gift with purchase as Ulta celebrates National Brow Day.

Visit Sephora during the first two weeks of the month to take part in this store’s own hair care sales event, the Oh Hair Yeah! Fall Sale. Or, stop by on October 2 to enjoy 30% off certain brow products, commemorating National Brow Day.

November Birthday

Visit Ulta during the second week of the month to catch The Hello Holidays Sale, which is three days of low sale prices throughout the store. Or, wait and visit during the Black Friday / Cyber Monday weekend, when the store discounts lots of popular products up to 50% off and offers deep price cuts on doorbusters.

Visit Sephora during the Black Friday / Cyber Monday weekend, when you’re bound to stumble across some of the best deals of the year on products throughout the store. Your Sephora birthday gift will be like icing on the cake.

December Birthday

Visit Ulta any time this month and you’ll likely score a great deal. The month kicks off with Ulta’s annual 25-day Holiday Beauty Blitz, with price cuts of up to 50% off popping up each day. Then the Jumbo Love Event (for oversized shampoos and conditioners) kicks in during the last week of December.

Vist Sephora any time this month, since the store is brimming with ongoing promotions. You’ll either hit the “Gifts for All Event” or the “Fragrance For All Event,” when Beauty Insiders get at least 20% off on scores of products. After Christmas, there’s an End of Year sale, when prices are slashed on holiday-themed products and other items Sephora needs to sell fast. And the Sephora Skincare Sale begins, too—running through the first few days of January. And the yearly sale cycle begins again.

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Enjoy getting extra birthday gifts? Check out our list of 150+ Places to Get Birthday Freebies.

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