Discounts and offers Health and Cosmetics

Beauty deals and health savings, from refills to big buys

A health and beauty routine is paid for in two ways: small purchases that come back every few weeks, like shampoo or vitamins, and occasional ones, such as a prestige fragrance or a year of contact lenses, where a single order runs high.

The same type of product is sold at very different prices, from drugstore lines to prestige labels, and pharmacies carry store-brand versions of many over-the-counter medicines next to the name brands. 

Makeup deals from prestige counters to the pharmacy aisle

Beauty retailers and brands also release codes and sales throughout the year, and on the health side an FSA or HSA lets you pay for eligible items with pre-tax money. To get the most from all this, sort your routine first: everyday products are worth buying in a larger size or on a schedule when a discount comes up, while for the few items you'd only buy from one brand, the best move is to wait for a code.

Prestige beauty, tested first

Sephora carries makeup, skincare and fragrance from a long list of prestige and indie brands. Foundations or serums from different labels can be compared on one site before you apply a code. Many of these brands also sell travel-size versions of their bestsellers, a low-cost way to check a shade or a texture on your skin before buying the full size.

Discounts on prestige beauty tend to gather around a few big moments, such as Black Friday and the retailer's own seasonal sale events, and the holidays bring gift sets that put minis of several products in one box.

Skincare in the size you actually use

Kiehl's sells several of its best-known skincare products in more than one size. When a code comes along, that's the size to reach for on a moisturizer or cleanser you use every day: the larger bottle usually has a lower price per ounce.

Restocking at the drugstore

At a national pharmacy chain like CVS, over-the-counter medicines, personal care and drugstore makeup can go into one order. Before choosing between a name brand and the store brand, compare the Drug Facts panel on the two boxes: it lists each active ingredient with its strength. US drugstores often let you use a manufacturer coupon together with the store's own promotion on the same item. Their weekly deals rotate from one category to another, and items that keep for months, such as toothpaste or razor cartridges, are the ones to stock up on when they're featured.

Supplements with a quality seal

iHerb sells vitamins, supplements and natural personal care from many brands. In the US, supplements don’t need FDA approval before they go on sale, so a seal from an independent tester such as USP or NSF is a useful check that the bottle contains what the label says. Many supplement stores also offer a lower price on recurring deliveries, a good fit for the products you take every day.

Contact lenses by the year

At 1800 Contacts you can order lenses from the major manufacturers with your existing prescription. Under the FTC's Contact Lens Rule, your eye doctor has to give you a copy of that prescription after a fitting, even if you don't ask for it. With the prescription in hand, you can compare sellers. A full year's supply brings the price per box down at many retailers, and some lens manufacturers add a rebate on annual orders.

What an FSA or HSA can pay for

With a Flexible Spending Account or a Health Savings Account, part of this category can be paid with pre-tax money. Since the CARES Act, over-the-counter medicines no longer need a prescription to qualify, and menstrual care products were added to the list. Contact lenses and solution, prescription glasses, first aid supplies and broad-spectrum sunscreen are generally eligible too, while makeup, everyday skincare and most vitamins are not.

A promo code and an FSA or HSA card work together: the code lowers the price, and the account pays what's left with money that hasn't been taxed. Many online pharmacies and retailers accept these cards at checkout, and when an order mixes eligible and non-eligible products, you'll usually need a second payment method for the rest. Keep itemized receipts, because plan administrators can ask for proof of what you bought.

FSA balances generally have to be used within the plan year, although some plans allow a grace period or carry over part of the money, while HSA funds roll over from one year to the next. Checking your remaining FSA balance a few weeks before the deadline leaves time to spend it on eligible items you already buy, such as contact lenses or allergy medicine.