Introducing Sephora Strategies, Glossy’s new monthly series breaking down the latest strategies of the retailer and its most popular brands.
Since its launch in 2020, Makeup by Mario has hit a number of landmarks. In 2023, the brand founded by makeup artist Mario Dedivanovic raised $20 million in funding. In 2024, it hired investment bank J.P. Morgan to explore an exit. And in 2025, Makeup by Mario was included as one of the free birthday gifts in the Sephora rewards bazaar for the first time.
Since the launch of its Beauty Insider Loyalty Program in 2007, Sephora has allowed Insiders to redeem a free gift either two weeks before or two weeks after their birthday. 2025 marks its biggest birthday offering yet with seven participating brands, ranging from color cosmetics like a Makeup by Mario lip kit to fragrance minis from Juliette Has a Gun. For Sephora, crafting that annual collection is a massive opportunity to drum up excitement among its discerning customers.
“What we try to do generally is create emotional connections with our clients because beauty is such a personal category,” said Emeline Berlind, svp and gm of loyalty at Sephora. “The way we’ve tried to make the birthday gift feel exciting and special is part of that overall objective of creating this emotional connection.”
Of Sephora’s more than 40 million loyalty members, roughly one-third will redeem their birthday gift each year; that proportion is even higher for Rouge members, who spend at least $1,000 in a calendar year at Sephora, of which roughly two-thirds will redeem a birthday gift. That makes it an enticing opportunity for far more than just the customer celebrating their special day: For Sephora, it’s a chance to show loyal consumers why they should keep shopping at the beauty giant over the growing competition. And for participating brands, it’s a rare opportunity to give customers a risk-free way to try their products.
“[For brands] Sephora’s birthday gift is highly desirable, highly competitive,” said Paula Floyd, CEO and founder of beauty retail agency Headkount. “The acquisition opportunity is massive, and that’s really why people want to do this.”
Choosing the birthday lineup comes down to conversations between Sephora’s loyalty team, brands and Sephora merchants, Berlind said. Most brands will put forth their hero product as the reward, with birthday rewards typically featuring a set like a lip duo in order to set them apart from Sephora’s standard rewards. Berlind said Sephora keeps track not only of who redeems the birthday rewards, but also of their shopping behavior after redemption.
“We definitely see a benefit both to the brands that are participating in the gift and to the Sephora business overall,” said Berlind. “A lot of times, [customers are] excited to buy the full size of the product they get in that reward or they get other items from that brand.”
While it’s beneficial for Sephora to include emerging brands in the lineup, Floyd estimated that a brand doing anything less than $50 million in sales would not have the infrastructure to participate in the birthday program, as the brands have to foot the bill for the samples. “In order to make the numbers work, they’d have to be in full distribution,” said Floyd. “They’re your bigger brands heading for big skies, acquisitions, exits. They may have just gotten a big infusion of capital that is allowing them to prepare for their big exit.”
Sephora’s birthday program has evolved from offering only a single option to now offering a range of products that represent the whole Sephora store, from hair care to fragrance. But competing retailers are catching up to the value of free birthday gifts. Bluemercury began its rewards program, which includes a birthday gift, in 2019. In 2024, Ulta Beauty revamped its birthday rewards program to offer its 42 million rewards members a lineup of free birthday rewards in lieu of one predetermined sample. This year’s Ulta birthday rewards span color cosmetics and skin and body care, including brands like Peter Thomas Roth and First Aid Beauty.
Such programs are especially crucial to attracting younger shoppers.
“The younger the consumer is, the more influence a loyalty program has,” said Larissa Jensen, svp and global beauty industry advisor at market research firm Circana.
According to data from Circana, 85% of Gen-Z and millennial beauty consumers reported that a loyalty program has either a very strong influence or a somewhat strong influence on their purchases. Of Gen X consumers, 76% reported that loyalty programs have a very strong influence to a somewhat strong influence, while 62% of boomer consumers reported a strong or somewhat strong influence.
Sampling, whether in the form of free samples or gifts with purchase, has always been an important part of the beauty retail ecosystem, Jensen said. But it’s especially important for a high-cost-of-entry category like fragrance: According to data from Circana, 72% of consumers said rewards or loyalty programs are important when deciding where to buy fragrance, compared to 35% when shopping for skin care and 38% for makeup.
While the birthday program is a coveted spot of real estate, Berlind said Sephora encourages its brands to explore other sampling opportunities as well as the birthday model. Floyd added that in-store displays like Sephora’s Beauty on the Fly section, which includes mini and travel-sized products near checkouts, can also be a valuable conduit for acquiring new consumers.
“Mini still rules with customer acquisition,” said Floyd. “They can try it. They don’t feel like they’re overspending.”
Sephora’s rewards program is still evolving. Berlind said Sephora will introduce a new perk in February for Rouge members where they can exchange 1,000 points for $20 off a purchase. In addition, Sephora will add two new fragrance birthday rewards from Kayali and Burberry later in the year.
While getting in on the birthday bazaar may be a huge get for a still nascent beauty brand like Kayali, even the household names are likely to want a piece of the birthday cake.
“You are always striving [for new customers], whether you’re the Dior or Chanels of the world,” said Floyd. “When I think about those [legacy] brands, even more so than ever, it is important for them to go into these programs. Because the landscape, the competition and the market share have changed. And they change so frequently.”
