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Ultimate Beauty Hack To Save Money For Hair, Makeup, & All Beauty Products!
As some of you may or may not know, I’m a self-proclaimed beauty product junkie. I also, however, am a bit frugal. Which can sometimes create a predicament, to buy or not to buy? To save or to splurge??
The back and forth can be maddening…You know that guilty feeling you get after your latest online shopping spree? Ugghh should I have gotten that??
That’s how I used to feel ALL THE TIME!! Always second-guessing my buying decisions…
Which is the reason why I decided to write this article… to help those of you like me, beauty product lovers…makeup lovers & hair product lovers, who also happen to be penny pinchers!! I want to share a way to save money on makeup, hair, and beauty products, while also getting paid some extra cash.
Now, around late 2017, money became super tight, and while I absolutely LOVE hair, makeup, and nail products, I found myself restricting my beauty splurges to ONLY skincare.
Since I’m in my early 40’s, looking as young as I can for as long as I possibly can is a pretty big goal of mine. So restricting myself on skincare just wasn’t an option. Sadly, I ended up cutting back on my makeup, hair, and nail product purchases.
But in November of 2018, things changed! Yay!!! Finally!! You see, I stumbled across something pretty valuable, Ebates now called Rakuten.
Smart shopping, deals, and saving money are all essential to me. So, today I want to talk about, how you can save on makeup, hair care, and most anything you want (even non-beauty items) every time you shop online, by getting FREE cash back just as I have done.
You see, part of the appeal of my Ebates/Rakuten discovery was when I realized it was a genius way to get money back every time I get the insatiable urge to buy new things… this season’s hottest lipstick, makeup brushes, or that latest fancy hair tool!
Now, I can buy what I want and need without feeling guilty about it, cause every time I shop, money comes right back to me in the mail!! A serious win-win situation!!!
Is It Legit?
I remember sitting on the couch while visiting my family for the Thanksgiving holiday. I kept seeing commercial after commercial for something called Ebates, now called Rakuten. And with the idea of holiday shopping on my mind (Christmas was a few weeks away), I was very intrigued by what I kept hearing.
Now at first, I was apprehensive, only because it sounded like too much of a good thing…but then I thought about the fact that it was aired on the Hallmark channel, which gave me more assurance. Let’s face it, that network wouldn’t risk their credibility with viewers by using an advertisement for something that was a scam.
I signed up, purchased holiday gifts for friends and family, and have continued to use it for buying beauty products…Yes, hair care, nail, and makeup, finally!!!
Not only that, I use it on everything, and I mean everything…household items, cleaning supplies, work supplies, and more.
I genuinely LOVE how I’m able to get some money doing what I already normally do or need to do. And that added bonus, I can have a guilt-free beauty shopping experience too! Saving money on beauty products has never been easier!
How Does This All Work?
Think of Rakuten as a sort of helpful and gracious middleman if you will.
Ebates/Rakuten has teamed up with thousands of popular stores with all kinds of products, stores like Ulta, Sephora, Macy’s, Nike, Bloomingdales, CVS, everything from Walmart to Neiman Marcus, Tory Burch, & Saks.
Rakuten features and promotes these stores on its website for members to check out. If a Rakuten member decides to buy something from one of the featured stores, that store then pays Rakuten a percentage of the sale that they receive.
Rakuten then shares part of that commission (% of sale made) with its member (aka you), allowing you to get cashback.
So essentially, when you buy something online from one of the featured stores through Rakuten, they rather graciously send you some money back.
Why would the store do this?
In exchange for promoting their website and sending them customers, the store is delighted because they were able to get a sale. And they thank Rakuten for the referral, if you will, with a commission.
Rakuten ends up thrilled because they got a cut for the referral. And ultimately, you end up benefiting because you make some money back on something you were planning to buy anyway! Everybody wins…you, the store, and Rakuten!
Still, confused? Here’s an example…
You go through Rakuten and buy some makeup from a store like Ulta. Let’s say Ulta is offering 8% for the holidays.
In return for sending them the customer (you), Ulta pays Rakuten a percentage. Rakuten then gives you a portion of that percentage as thanks for using their site. And you get the 8% cashback!!
You can see how this pays off over time when you consider the fact you were planning to buy that makeup anyway at some point. Sure, you could have purchased as you used to do without Rakuten, paid the exact same amount to Ulta for your makeup, but you would make no money back.
By contrast, going through Rakuten, you pay the exact same amount to Ulta, but instead, you get 8% cashback and save money on that makeup item.
How much money do you make back? Each store is different, but you can easily find out when you log in to your Rakuten account.
Just scroll or search for your favorite stores, and with each store, you will see a percentage number listed.
Additional Perks & Pros
- It’s Easy peasy to use! You just go to the Rakuten website or use the app, login, click on the store of your choice and shop as you usually do. Rakuten then sends you money back through a check or PayPal.
- Best of all, I love that it’s entirely free to become a member and sign up. There are no monthly payments or fees to become a member what so ever!
- Add to that that you can still use coupons, get discounts, and store deals, even while getting cashback. You can see what deals are available as they are shown featured on Rakuten.
- During the holidays some stores offer double cashback!!
- You can earn up to 40% cashback at 2500+ popular stores.
- Unlike some other cashback memberships, you don’t have to fill out forms or earn points to earn your cashback.
- Bonus offers, incredible deals, promo codes, discounts, and coupons!
- They even include options for travel and vacations (flights & hotels), subscription boxes & services, and some in-store cashback options!
Only Cons I Could Find
- Not available in all countries.
- Shipping and taxes, unfortunately, don’t qualify for cashback rewards.
Wrap-up: Save Money On Makeup, Beauty, & Anything You Want Or Need
It’s kind of a no-brainer to use Rakuten for all your purchases. A person can either a)buy from the store’s website without Rakuten and get no money back or b)buy the exact same thing using Rakuten to access the store’s website and get that same item for the same price but also get money back.
This is precisely the reason I use it for absolutely everything, beauty products plus my everyday living & product needs. I save money on makeup, nail & hair products, printer ink cartridges, house cleaning supplies, holiday shopping gifts, and more!
Use Rakuten (Ebates) every time you buy something online and you can start getting some of your money back! SIGN UP FOR FREE HERE, so you can use my code and GET A $10 WELCOME BONUS after your first $25 spent.
Related Articles:
- How To Save Money During The Holidays: 7 Easy As Pie Ways!
- Preparing For Christmas: Ways To Make The Holidays Easy & Stress-Free
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wow, I will try this at home. but I’m using rejuvenation3d right now and its producing good results can you tell me if I should keep using it for acne?
Hi there…I could give you a skincare consultation if you’d like…shoot me an email at [email protected] and we can discuss some options for you.