The Ulta 21 Days of Beauty event is the beauty retailer's biggest sale of the year, and, lucky for us, it happens not once but twice annually . The fall edition of the Ulta 21 Days of Beauty sale is back, through Sept. 18.
This event offers a 50% discount on top-selling beauty products during 24-hour-long flash sales — available while supplies last. Ulta offers Weekly Steals (weeklong deals) on select products. Just note that you can't use Ulta coupons on Beauty Steals (bummer).
We're sharing how to use Ulta savings hacks to get the most out of the sale, including free gifts with purchase.
Download The Krazy Coupon Lady app for the latest money-saving tips, deals, and coupons.
Best Ulta 21 Days of Beauty Deals
Ulta 21 Days of Beauty is a twice-a-year, 3-week sale with daily 50% off deals.
Every day during the Ulta 21 Days of Beauty event, Ulta discounts a predetermined set of products for that entire 24-hour period, both in-store and on Ulta.com. These are called the Daily Beauty Steals. The next day, the deals expire and are replaced by new Daily Beauty Steals.
Think of it like the Amazon Prime Day Lightning Deals but for beauty. Some of these deals are available in-store, while others are online only. All of the live deals expire at 11:59 p.m. CT before new ones activate at midnight.
Ulta 21 Days of Beauty runs Aug. 29 - Sept. 18.
This timing matches last year's summer sale exactly. The sale kicks off on the last Friday of August and runs for 21 days.
Recent Ulta 21 Days of Beauty dates:
-
March 7 - 27, 2025
-
Aug. 30 - Sept. 19, 2024
-
March 8 - 28, 2024
New in 2025: Weekly Steals (Deals That Run a Whole Week)
In past years, Ulta's 21 Days of Beauty deals ran for 24 hours only, but for the spring 2025 event, they introduced Weekly Steals. And they're bringing them back for the summer sale. These deals run seven days and kick off every Friday of the sale.
Secrets to Hacking the Ulta Sale for Bigger Savings
Yes, there are ways to make a great sale even better. Let's get to it.
Ulta Diamond and Platinum members get free shipping on Beauty Steals, no order minimum, plus early access to deals
Check your status, people. If you're an Ulta Beauty Rewards Diamond or Platinum level member, you get free shipping on daily Beauty Steals during Ulta 21 Days of Beauty. That means you don't need to hit the typical $35 threshold to have your order shipped for free. Not a member? Ulta Beauty Rewards sign-up is free.
Plus, Diamond and Platinum members get early access to some of the daily and weekly deals. In the past, these members have gotten a day of early access both online and in stores.
Combine daily Beauty Steals with free gift promotions.
You don't have to be a mathematician to know that while 50% off is great, free is better. Ulta always has tons of free gift offers with purchases. During the spring 2025 sale, for example, you could get a free multi-piece gift set when you spend $50 on Beauty Steals (aka items marked down for 21 Days of Beauty).
Other times, it's a complimentary travel-size product; other times, it's a free full-size product. These promotions each have a specified spend threshold to get the free gift. If there's a 50% off Beauty Steal for a brand that's also running a free gift promotion, you can get even more for your money.
Look at this hypothetical free gift situation:
For the sake of argument, let's say there's an offer for a free Clarins 3-piece gift with any $65 Clarins purchase, and the Clarins Double Serum will be a Beauty Steal for $47.50 (regularly $95). This puts you at $17.50 from that $65 purchase threshold for the free gift.
Consider adding a Clarins Facial Cleanser (regularly $31) and signing up for Ulta text alerts to get 10% off a regular purchase (the discount doesn't include Beauty Steals). This will knock the cleanser down to $27.90. Your total for the Double Serum and the Cleanser will total $75.40, but then you'll get a free 3-piece gift set as well (added value).
That means you're getting $126 of Clarins products plus a 3-piece Clarins gift for only $75.40. And you're hitting the $35 free shipping threshold.
You might be able to find some Ulta 21 Days of Beauty deals at Target.
Some Targets have Ulta stores in them (until 2026, anyway). And you can use that to your advantage during 21 Days of Beauty. If an item that goes on sale during the event is available at Target, you can get it for 50% off at Target. So, if something you want sells out at Ulta, try your luck at Target.
Linking your Target Circle and Ulta Beauty Rewards accounts unlocks additional ways to save.
There's another layer to this, if you're a member of Target Circle (if you're not a member, you should be - it's free).
For starters, you can link your Target Circle and Ulta Beauty Rewards accounts so that when you shop at Ulta Beauty at Target, you earn Ulta Beauty rewards points.
Plus, if you have a rewards balance with Target Circle, you can redeem those rewards toward your Ulta 21 Days of Beauty purchase. For example, I earn Target Circle rewards constantly, but I rarely have enough Ulta Rewards to earn a discount. So, if I shop at the Ulta within Target instead of at Ulta itself, I can redeem my Target rewards to bring my total down at the register.
Finally, if you have the Target Circle Card, you can get 5% back on your Ulta-at-Target purchases.
While not all the 21 Days of Beauty items will be available at Target, it's still worth checking so you can reap the above benefits.
Order Beauty Steals online over the course of a few days; then choose free in-store pickup to grab them all at once.
Taking time out of each day to head to the store for 50% off products isn't ideal. But if you buy online and choose free in-store pickup, you have five days from the date of purchase to grab your order from Ulta. That means you could buy a few Beauty Steals on different days, but just make one trip to the store to pick them up. Just remember to pick up your orders within five days of that first purchase. And know this: Items sell out quickly, so there's a chance your order may be cancelled if what you want sells out before the store can fulfill your order.
Related Reading:
