Beauty Samples With Purchase: Sephora, Ulta and Shoppers Rules

Free samples with purchase are the cheapest way to try a product before paying full price for it. They aren’t free, though: each store sets its own minimum, its own exclusions, and a “while supplies last” line that ends a lot of offers early. Here is how the three biggest beauty retailers in the US and Canada handle them.

Samples vs gifts with purchase

Stores mix the two terms, but they work differently.

• Samples are small sizes you pick at checkout with any order. There is usually no minimum beyond buying something.
• Gifts with purchase (GWP) are tied to a promotion. You spend a set amount, often on one brand, and the gift is added to your order.
• Points rewards are a third thing: at Sephora, Beauty Insider points can be traded for deluxe samples. Our Sephora vs Ulta rewards comparison covers how those work.

Sephora

Sephora’s samples and promotions page says you can choose two free samples with every online merchandise order. The rules on that page:

• Samples ship with merchandise only, so you can’t order samples alone.
• The selection is limited and changes often.
• Promo codes for gifts have a minimum, and taxes and shipping don’t count toward it.
• Gift cards don’t count toward any minimum.
• Promotions are limited time, while supplies last, and Sephora may limit redemption to one per client.

Beauty Insider rewards are separate. Sephora’s loyalty page says rewards worth 50 to 749 points need a merchandise purchase online, while rewards of 750 points and up ship with no purchase. Rewards ship only to the US and Canada.

Pick samples of things you would actually buy at full size. A sample lets you test the formula before you spend on it.

Ulta

Ulta's gift-with-purchase page lists offers by brand, each with its own spend minimum. In October 2026, one example was a choice of gift with a $22 Ulta Beauty Collection purchase.

The fine print on Ulta’s current offers repeats a few rules:

• Many are online only, on shipped orders. Pickup and same-day delivery are not eligible.
• The threshold can’t be combined across shipping, pickup and same-day delivery in one order.
• Shipping, gift cards, tax and gift wrap don’t count toward the minimum.
• It’s one gift per customer, while quantities last.

Ulta’s 21 Days of Beauty sale runs on its own schedule. See our Ulta 21 Days of Beauty guide for the dates.

Shoppers Drug Mart

Shoppers Drug Mart is a Canadian chain, so this section only matters if you shop in Canada. In the US, Sephora and Ulta are the two big sample programs.

Online orders at Shoppers shipped free at $35 or more before tax, with an $8 fee below that, per the beauty page in October 2026.

The catch, and how to avoid it

Samples cost nothing extra, but a gift with purchase can push you into spending more than you planned. Before you add a product to hit a threshold, check that:

1. You would buy the extra product anyway in the next month or two.
2. The gift is still in stock. “While supplies last” offers can end before the stated end date.
3. The order qualifies, meaning the right fulfillment method and no gift cards in the total.

Skip “sample lots” on resale marketplaces too: you can’t tell if they are real or how old they are.

For a monthly supply of small sizes without a purchase, our guide to cheap beauty sample boxes compares the subscription options.

Sources checked October 2026: Sephora: samples and promotions, Sephora Beauty Insider program, Ulta: gifts with purchase, Ulta: international FAQ, Shoppers Drug Mart: beauty.