The Best Things In Life Are Free: An Ode to Sephora

True story: I paid a visit to Sephora about a week ago to get a refill on a few cosmetic staples. When I got to the register, I simply could not find my Beauty Insider card anywhere. Weirdly enough, they weren't able to "find me" in their system either (the nerve!). Fortunately, the fix was an easy one; I just signed up for a new card, problem solved. And I thought nothing more of it.

Then, a few days later, I received a welcome email from Sephora. Though I wasn't technically new to the program, this was great for two reasons. For one, they called me "gorgeous" (flattery will get you everywhere), but more importantly, they offered me a free Philosophy Miracle Worker Kit with my next purchase. How did they know that I looove Philosophy? Again, I didn't think much of it--having recently filled my Sephora needs and all. That is, until today, when I realized I needed a new bottle of Fekkai Coiff Perfecteur Anti-Frizz Silkening Creme.

With a mission to get online to place my order (so as to cash in on the Philsophy promotion, obvi), I decided to check my gmail first. Waiting in my inbox was another Sephora email, this time wishing me a happy birthday and offering me a free lip gloss tri-pack in honor of my birth month. More gifts? Needing no further motivation, I scurried off to Sephora.com to place my order.

Now, if you're a Sephora addict like me, then I don't need to tell you that you get three free samples with every online order. I opted for: Urban Decay lip stain in sellout (their products have the best color names, hands down); Bare Escentuals primer; and Hourglass tinted moisturizer. Never say no to free gifts, right? And this is how, for the total purchase price of one item, I walked away with more free make-up and samples than I even know what to do with!

The moral of the story is that I am loving Sephora right now, and loving the concept of free gifts more than ever. Hot tip for all the budget fashionistas out there: it (quite literally) pays to be a Sephora Beauty Insider. And as the saying goes, the best things in life are free!

Image: (1) Sephora ad, courtesy of Guest of a Guest (http://guestofaguest.com/).