Trying a new foundation shade or lip color at full price can feel like a gamble, and a small sample takes most of the risk away. The good news is that many beauty brands and retailers are happy to let you test products first, if you know where to look.
This guide covers the loyalty perks, checkout samples, gift-with-purchase events, and sampling programs that can put new makeup in your hands in 2026. Some routes are completely free, and several need a qualifying purchase, which each entry notes clearly.
Offers rotate quickly. Sample menus change often at retailers like Sephora and Ulta, “Bonus Time” windows come and go at department-store beauty counters, and sampling programs open on their own schedules.
Everything below reflects how these programs generally work as of 2026, so double-check the current details on the brand’s or retailer’s official page before you count on a specific offer.
Peek: Join the Community and Get Matched With Beauty Brands
Yotpo Sampling is the program brands use to put products in front of real shoppers, and Peek is its shopper community. You join, and when a relevant makeup or beauty brand runs a Yotpo Sampling campaign, matched members get an email invitation asking whether they would like to try the product.
You simply say yes or no. If it is a yes, the brand ships the product to you, and you share an honest review once you have tried it.
Matches depend on your profile, so invitations come to you, and there may be stretches when no beauty campaign is running. Your review is yours to write in your own words, and it simply reflects what you honestly think of the product.
Peek sits alongside the other routes in this guide, so you can join now and keep using the loyalty programs and checkout samples below while you wait for a match.
Sephora and Ulta: Loyalty, Birthday Gifts, and Checkout Samples
- Sephora Checkout Samples: Place a paid order on Sephora.com and you can add up to two free samples that you choose from a rotating list on the first checkout page. A purchase is required, so this works best when you were already planning to buy something.
The selection changes with stock, so a specific shade or formula is not guaranteed to be available on any given day.
- Sephora Beauty Insider Birthday Gift: Joining the free Beauty Insider program and adding your birthdate gets you a birthday gift during your birthday month, often a rotating makeup or skincare set from a featured brand. You can also choose 250 Beauty Insider points instead of the gift.
Redeeming in store is free, while redeeming on Sephora.com requires a $25 minimum purchase. Gift options change from year to year, so check the current terms.
- Sephora Beauty Insider Rewards Bazaar: Every dollar you spend as a Beauty Insider earns points, and those points can be redeemed in Sephora’s Rewards Bazaar for samples, minis, and occasionally full-size makeup.
It is a slower route, since points build up through ongoing spending. Still, it is a legitimate way to turn routine purchases into extra products to try, and the available rewards change over time.
- Sephora at Kohl’s Birthday Gift Redemption: If your local Kohl’s has a Sephora shop, Beauty Insider members can redeem the birthday gift there or on Kohls.com, with no minimum purchase required.
Selection and stock can differ from a standalone Sephora store, and gifts are available while supplies last. It is worth checking if you already shop at Kohl’s.
- Ulta Beauty Rewards Birthday Gift: Ulta Beauty Rewards is a free loyalty program, and members get a birthday gift offer during their birthday month. The gift is chosen from a rotating selection of brands set by Ulta.
Gift options can change from year to year. Save your birthdate in your profile and opt in to Ulta’s emails before your birthday month so the offer reaches you. Online, you add the gift to an order that includes at least one other product, and in store you use the code from your birthday email or the Ulta app.
- Ulta Gifts With Purchase: Ulta regularly runs brand-specific gift-with-purchase promotions where reaching a spending threshold earns a free deluxe sample or small sample kit. The threshold varies by offer.
You usually add the gift to your bag yourself, and it turns free once you reach the required spend on select products in the shipped portion of your order. Pickup and same-day delivery often do not qualify, so read the terms on the offer page before you check out.
Brand Checkout Samples and Loyalty Perks
- MAC Checkout Samples: On MAC’s own website, a “Choose free samples” option sometimes appears in your shopping bag when samples are available. MAC offers it as a limited promotion, so it is not a guaranteed perk and availability comes and goes.
When it does appear, it is a simple way to try a new shade in a smaller format before buying full size. Check your bag at checkout to see whether any samples are offered that day.
- tarte VIP: tarte VIP, tarte’s loyalty program, lets members earn points on qualifying orders at tarte.com and redeem them for rewards. Points can go toward coupon discounts or select full-size and mini products from the rewards shop.
Sample and gift perks are not guaranteed, so check the current program terms before assuming a small order will qualify for a free sample or gift.
- e.l.f. Beauty Squad: e.l.f.’s free Beauty Squad program gives members a birthday gift at every tier. You earn points through purchases, receipt uploads, and other activities, and higher tiers add perks such as free shipping on qualifying orders and the chance to try new products before launch.
It is a points program rather than an automatic free sample with every order. That makes it a better fit for regular e.l.f. shoppers than for one-time visitors.
Prestige Brand Samples and Gift-With-Purchase Offers
- Fenty Beauty Checkout Samples: Fenty Beauty often includes a free sample or two with online orders at fentybeauty.com during limited promotions, and Sephora has run its own Fenty deluxe sample offers with qualifying orders. These offers are not always prominently advertised, so look over your cart and checkout page carefully on the day you order.
As with other checkout samples, it depends on a paid order and on current stock.
- Clinique Bonus Time: During periodic “Bonus Time” windows, spending a qualifying amount on Clinique products has come with a multi-piece gift that can include makeup and skincare minis. These events run at department stores and beauty retailers that carry Clinique, such as Macy’s.
These windows are not year-round, and the spending threshold and gift contents change with each event. Check the hosting retailer’s beauty promotions for current dates.
- Estée Lauder, Lancôme, and Other Department-Store Gift-With-Purchase Events: Beyond Clinique, other Estée Lauder Companies brands and prestige lines run similar gift-with-purchase promotions from time to time at department stores such as Macy’s, Nordstrom, Dillard’s, and Bloomingdale’s.
These events are brand and store specific, so the gift, timing, and minimum spend differ every time. If you already shop at one of these counters, ask a sales associate or check the store’s beauty promotions before a planned purchase.
A Free Monthly Sampling Program
- PINCHme: PINCHme is a free sampling platform that releases new samples once a month, on the first Tuesday of the month around midday Eastern time. Samples are matched to your profile and ship to your home with free shipping.
Sign-up is free and does not require a credit card. Samples are first come, first served and go quickly, so some months you may not match anything.
You are also expected to review the products you receive to keep qualifying for future samples.
Smart Tips and How to Avoid “Free” Scams
Free samples are a favorite lure for scammers, so a few habits go a long way.
- Never pay a shipping fee to release a free sample. A genuine free sample does not need a payment to ship.
- Walk away from any site that asks for a credit card number or bank details before it will send a sample.
- Know the difference between a purchase requirement and a hidden fee. Sephora checkout samples and Ulta gift-with-purchase offers need a paid order, but the sample itself is never billed.
- Enter your name, address, birthdate, and email only on official brand or retailer websites, apps, or well-known sampling programs. Skip unfamiliar “free stuff” pages and pop-up ads.
- Go directly to a brand’s own web address instead of clicking a link in an unsolicited text, email, or social media ad. Scam pages often imitate real brands closely, and ads promising free boxes from big names are a common trap.
- Fill out your loyalty or sampling profile honestly and completely, since incomplete profiles typically get matched to fewer offers.
- Keep your expectations realistic. Mailed samples can take a few weeks to arrive, selection for any single campaign is never guaranteed, and offers, thresholds, and program rules can change without much warning.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are free makeup sample programs actually free, or is there a catch?
The programs in this guide never charge for the sample itself, and you should never need to pay a shipping fee to release one. Some retailer offers do require a qualifying purchase first, such as a paid online order at Sephora or a spending threshold that varies by offer at Ulta. That is a purchase requirement built into the promotion, not a hidden fee charged for the sample.
How long does it take for free makeup samples to arrive by mail?
Mail-based programs such as PINCHme can take a few weeks, since samples often ship in batches from brands or fulfillment partners. Samples that come with a regular online order, like the ones at Sephora, usually ship on the same timeline as the rest of that order.
Do I need a large social media following to get free makeup samples?
No. The routes in this guide do not depend on follower count. Checkout samples and birthday gifts depend on your account or order, while PINCHme and Peek invitations through Yotpo Sampling are matched to your profile, so completing it honestly and fully helps.
Can I get free makeup samples without buying anything?
Some routes do not need a purchase at all. Programs such as PINCHme and Peek invitations through Yotpo Sampling do not require a purchase, and the Sephora birthday gift can typically be redeemed in store, including at Sephora at Kohl’s, without a minimum purchase. Online checkout samples at Sephora and MAC, and Ulta gift-with-purchase offers, are added to an order, so those do need a purchase first.
How can I tell a legitimate free-sample offer from a scam?
Stick to known retailers, established brands, or recognized sampling programs rather than unfamiliar “free stuff” sites that surface through ads or forwarded links. Never enter payment or full financial details for something advertised as free, and never pay a shipping fee to release a free sample. When in doubt, type the brand’s or retailer’s own web address directly into your browser, and double-check any offer on that official page before relying on it.
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