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Sephora vs. Ulta

Where your money goes further this season: the Sephora Holiday Savings Event against Ulta's Early Black Friday and Black Friday, with the loyalty math and the exclusions that change the answer.

The short answer

Sephora this season

  1. Sephora · Holiday Savings Event: Rouge early access Upcoming
    Oct 30 to Nov 9
    20% off for Rouge members, plus 30% off Sephora Collection. Code reported as ALLONSALE; confirm in the Sephora app.
    Who qualifies: Rouge ($1,000 a year)
    Exclusions: Reported: Byredo and gift cards; Sephora Collection has its own 30% offer and does not stack. Limits: Dyson 2, Shark Beauty 3, The Ordinary 3. Beauty Insider Cash and Rouge Rewards cannot be combined.
    Reported, not yet on the retailer’s page Checked Oct 28. Source
  2. Sephora · Holiday Savings Event: VIB and Insider Upcoming
    Nov 3 to Nov 9
    15% off for VIB and 10% off for Insider, plus 30% off Sephora Collection for every tier.
    Who qualifies: VIB ($350 a year) and Insider (free)
    Exclusions: Same exclusions and limits as Rouge.
    Reported, not yet on the retailer’s page Checked Oct 28. Source
  3. Sephora · Black Friday and Cyber Monday Upcoming
    About Nov 26 to Dec 1
    Not announced. In 2024 and 2025 Sephora ran up to 50% off select gifts and daily Cyber Week deals.
    Who qualifies: All shoppers
    Exclusions: Select items only in past years.
    Projected from past years Checked Oct 28.

How the Sephora event works

  • Tiers are earned by spending in a calendar year: Insider is free, VIB at $350, Rouge at $1,000.
  • One code covers every tier and is reported as reusable throughout the event. Confirm the code in the Sephora app before checking out.
  • Sephora Collection is reported at 30% off for every tier, as its own offer that does not stack with the tier discount.
  • Reported exclusions include Byredo and gift cards. Per-order limits are reported on Dyson (2), Shark Beauty (3) and The Ordinary (3).
  • Beauty Insider Cash and Rouge Rewards are reported as not usable with the event discount, so save them for after.
  • New this year, as reported: Rouge members can invite up to five friends to a one-time 20% off during Rouge early access.

Ulta this season

  1. Ulta Beauty · Early Black Friday On now
    Oct 25 to Nov 21
    Weekly rotating deals, up to 40% to 50% off select items. Weekly drops Nov 1 to 7, Nov 8 to 14, Nov 15 to 21.
    Who qualifies: All shoppers; some offers Platinum and Diamond only
    Exclusions: Deal prices cannot be combined with coupons or codes.
    Confirmed Checked Oct 28. Source
  2. Ulta Beauty · Two-day online deals Upcoming
    Oct 30 to Oct 31
    Online-only deals for two days.
    Who qualifies: All shoppers
    Exclusions: Not combinable with coupons.
    Confirmed Checked Oct 28. Source
  3. Ulta Beauty · Black Friday Upcoming
    Nov 21 to Nov 28
    Up to 50% off select items. Online from Nov 21 at 8pm CT; in stores Nov 22 at 10am through Nov 28.
    Who qualifies: All shoppers; some offers Platinum and Diamond only
    Exclusions: Coupons generally exclude doorbusters; no price matching.
    Confirmed Checked Oct 28. Source
  4. Ulta Beauty · Cyber Monday Upcoming
    Nov 29 to Dec 1
    Online only, Nov 29 at 12am CT through Dec 1 at 2am CT.
    Who qualifies: All shoppers
    Confirmed Checked Oct 28. Source
  5. Ulta Beauty · Big Holiday Beauty Sale Upcoming
    Nov 29 to Dec 24
    In store and online.
    Who qualifies: All shoppers
    Confirmed Checked Oct 28. Source

How Ulta's season works

  • Ultamate Rewards tiers: Member is free, Platinum at $500 a year, Diamond at $1,200. Some Black Friday offers are limited to Platinum and Diamond.
  • Points earn at 1, 1.25 or 1.5 per dollar by tier. 100 points is worth $3 and 2,000 points is worth $125, so saving up raises each point's value from 3 cents to about 6 cents.
  • Ulta's 20% off coupon for Rewards members last ran through Oct 8 and excluded fragrance, Chanel and gift cards. None is live as of Oct 28, 2026; if one returns, it will appear above.
  • Ulta Beauty at Target ended in August 2026, so Target is no longer a route to Ulta deals or points.

Your actual savings

Enter what you plan to spend. This compares the up-front discount and, separately, the rewards value you would earn.

Sephora points: 1 per dollar, worth 2 cents each as Beauty Insider Cash, up to 4 cents for Rouge Rewards. Ulta points: 3 cents each at 100 points, up to about 6 cents at 2,000. Before tax and shipping.

Same set, two stores: what our product data shows

Most gift sets are sold at only one of the two: of the sets we track, 671 are only at Sephora and 577 only at Ulta, so for most gifts the store is decided by the set, not the sale. 28 are sold at both. At regular price all 28 cost the same at both stores, so the Sephora event price is lower unless Ulta puts that set into a weekly deal or a Black Friday doorbuster deeper than your tier discount.

Browse Sephora sets › · Browse Ulta sets ›

What happened last year