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Monday, January 26, 2015

My First Experience with Sephora Flash (Free Shipping Subscription)

My previous post about the Sephora Flash subscription program was by far the most popular blog post I wrote last week, so today I thought I'd let you know about my first experience with this service.

NOTE: Sephora Flash is a free shipping subscription program that costs $10 per year. With your $10 enrollment fee, you will receive free 2-day shipping on all orders placed at Sephora.com (no minimum order required) for an entire year, beginning when you enroll HERE.


Keep reading to find out about my first experience with Sephora Flash...

I enrolled in Sephora Flash the day I posted about it (January 22nd), which was last Thursday. I placed my order late in the afternoon on Thursday and received my shipping confirmation less than two hours after I placed my order.

I received my order today (January 26th), Monday, which is right on schedule per the Sephora Flash Shipping Schedule. If I had placed my order WITHOUT using Flash, I would have received my order this coming Wednesday.

I want to note here that the moment you enroll in Sephora Flash, your account becomes active. In other words, when you place Sephora Flash in your cart, you automatically receive free shipping on THAT ORDER (provided you actually purchase a physical item; obviously there's nothing to ship if you're just buying the subscription and you can't get your free samples without ordering something else).

So to take advantage of my "automatic" free shipping, I ordered two items. One of them I can't show you here because I ordered it as gift for someone, but here is the other item I ordered that day:


Finally, right? I cannot believe it took me this long to finally buy a Beauty Blender, but I really wanted to try the real thing before I review some of the various drugstore dupes that are on the market. So now I can actually compare the real thing to the dupes! 

And here are the FREEBIES I received with my order:


I always tend to check the Sephora page on Retailmenot.com for codes before I place my Sephora orders, and I noticed that they still had the Elizabeth and James Nirvana sample duo code available. 


I love that it comes in a little matchbox-style box:


These are generous, deluxe sample vials with spray nozzles. If you haven't tried these fragrances yet, they are quite lovely. My favorite is Black though, because I love that soft leather note. I do love White, but it reminds me too much of Stella by Stella McCartney (which I have been wearing for years) so it's too familiar to really stand out or feel special to me. Either way, I'm happy to have these free samples.

And speaking of free samples...


I'm really happy with the sample choices on the Sephora site right now. I needed another sample vial of Prada Candy (I hoard them and I'm not ashamed to admit it). Miss Dior Blooming Bouquet is nice, but not quite for me--I'm glad I was able to give it a test-drive via this sample. 


Both fragrance samples are deluxe vials with spray nozzles, but the Nirvana samples are slightly bigger, which makes that Nirvana freebie even better to me!


My third selection for my free sample was the Soap & Glory Sugar Crush Body Buttercream, which I had already been wanting to try (I'm such a sucker for anything lime-scented). And let me tell you, it didn't disappoint. It smells absolutely heavenly and it feels so silky on the skin.

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS: So far I'm incredibly pleased with the Sephora Flash subscription service. This was a perfectly flawless transaction from the beginning to end, and everything arrived just like a "normal" order from Sephora (sturdy box, lots of paper padding inside the box, etc.). I think that for $10 per year, this program is a no-brainer if you shop regularly on the Sephora site. I do want to mention that there ARE some items that are excluded from free 2-day shipping due to shipping restrictions (aerosols, nail polish and any other items that must ship via ground). But I want to make sure you're aware that your shipping will still be FREE with those items--you just won't receive them in two days since ground requires more time in transit. You will know exactly which items qualify for 2-day shipping before you order--just look for "FREE FLASH SHIPPING" in red letters, which will appear right under the price in the product listing. If you want to see what an item looks like that is restricted from free 2-day shipping but will still ship for free via ground, click here.

Are you already enrolled in Sephora Flash? If so, how has your experience been with this program? I'd love to hear from you!

The products featured in this post were purchased with personal funds. For more information, click here.
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26 comments

  1. This is a great deal! At the end of last year I spent $50 on stuff I didn't even want just so I'd hit "Rouge" status, which I wanted mostly for the free shipping. I wouldn't have bought all that stuff if I knew they were doing this program!

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  2. I totally forgot about this. I am definitely signing up for it!! Oh and I can't wait for review on the dupes and the beauty blender!! Woot! One day soon I am going to splurge and get a beauty blender. I use a local brand here and Real Techniques though, and I like them both. I have just heard that the Beauty Blender is still better .... hmmmm !

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  3. I am so glad that Sephora is doing this. I haven't signed up yet, but I will when I place my next order on their site. I think you'll love the beautyblender, too. I've tried a few drugstore dupes and none were as good as the original!

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  4. I'm definitely planning on signing up for this- it will be so nice to be able to order online, get freebies, etc. without having to spend $50+. Thanks for sharing your experience!

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  5. I got my order today also! I've heard great things about the Sephora Collection Kiss Me balms ( the round ones, link of like EOS), so I ordered one in Strawberry Fizz. EmilyNoel83 just post a video mentioning a few of them, and I absolutely love it! It's like a balm but pigmented, and so comfortable. If you haven't tried them before you should definitely order one! I think they're around $8. I also have been lusting over the Bite Beauty lipstick in Palomino for over a year, and saw that they'd still had the mix n mingle minis, so I ordered the Palomino/Violet one. It's such a tiny little thing, but a great way to try out the colors before buying the full size! I also skim retailmenot before any online purchase, and used the codeNewBeauty, which is "choose 2 of 10 deluxe samples." I opted to try the Dermaclear Micro water, and Philosphy Renewed Hope in a Jar eye cream. I also got the soap and Glory buttercream, Dr Jart radiance beauty balm, and an Algenist Eye Cream. Like you, I can't wait to take advantage of the sale page! I wish Ulta would catch on and do something like this! I could do some damage with Ulta free shipping!

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  6. i was lucky enough to get Flash when it was still in beta. i absolutely love it and am glad i get to keep it. it's such a great deal!

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  7. Sephora has always treated me right. Shipping was impeccable before, now even better. Ulta still charges me shipping no matter how much I spend simply because I have a PO Box.. and take close to two weeks to get my items to me. It's usually a day or two before they even ship it.

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  8. I was part of the beta testing for this so I've been enjoying this for the last 18 months. It has been fantastic! My nearest Sephora is on the other side of town and it's not always practical for me to go there. With this, you can order anything, any time. I used to wait until I needed (wanted) $50 worth of product but now I can just order whatever I want. Love it!

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  9. I got my order today with flash shipping. Everything was perfect. Thanks so much for the info. I love your blog.

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  10. I signed up for the flash shipping, but haven't ordered anything else yet. I collect my spare change and then exchange it at the CoinStar for Sephora gift vouchers, and I haven't yet filled the drawstring bag that I got with some free samples from Sephora.

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  11. I don't think this is well known yet because I placed an order on the 23rd for over $50 to get free shipping... Sigh. I signed up today. VIB Rouge's seem angry according to the FB page. I'm a VIB and think $5.95 overnight shipping is a steal. At least they don't have to pay $10.

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  12. Thank you for posting about this! I was wondering if it was worth it or not.

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  13. I went for it, but didn't order anything else (yet)....thanks for sharing this last week and your experience today...I am addicted to a couple Boscia products (the makeup breakup oil and charcoal Konica sponge), and now I don't have to scour the site for clearance and cheap stuff to make that last few bucks for free shipping! :)

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  14. Omg thank you for posting this ! I'll def be subscribing to this.

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  15. Speaking of PO boxes.. was reading the fine print and the flash service is not available for them. FYI.

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  16. I was able to sign up via mobile. I just went on the Sephora site on my phone, scrolled all the way to the bottom and hit "desktop" . This switches it over to desktop mode on the site and then I searched for "flash subscription" and sure enough it showed up and I was able to sign up for it like that.

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  17. Good to hear it went smoothly. I signed up for it as well a few days ago but I haven't ordered anything yet. But in the past not having free shipping always deterred me from ordering a lot from Sephora (unless I spent $50 of course).

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  18. Glad you enjoyed your Flash experience! I'm glad as a VIBR that we get it added for free, the 3 day becoming 2 day is a nice perk, and six dollar overnight is awesome. The girls complaining on FB and other sites like spoiled princesses really make me laugh. They think they're special and their money is better than other people's money. Only THEY deserve things! Good lord some people are so entitled.

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  19. I would love to be able to subscribe BUT not available in Canada....

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  20. This is a really great idea! There's been plenty of times I only wanted one or two things from Sephora but didn't want to pay for shipping. I can definitely see this coming in handy

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  21. I wish something like this were available to Canadians. I love shopping at Sephora but the nearest one is an hour drive away and it's not always practical for me to spend the $75 required for free shipping :(

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  22. Thanks for letting us know last week. I already made use of it! :)

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  23. What an amazing service! As a Rouge, how did I miss this?

    xx Kelly
    Sparkles and Shoes

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  24. i prefer the white beauty blender. i've tried a couple of the original but the pink dye always bleeds on me!

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  25. Is it delivered thru ups or usps

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