Score 70% Off End of Season Lipstick Collections

The lipstick aisle rarely gets cheaper than it does at the tail end of a retail season. The global lipstick market is valued at $9.9 billion in 2025, and every brand in that race is motivated to clear shelf space when collections change. That means the window between seasons, late July, late December, and the weeks after any holiday push, delivers some of the most dramatic price cuts beauty buyers will ever see. If you shop end of season lipstick sales strategically, 50% to 70% off is achievable. This guide shows you exactly how.

Key Takeaways

• The biggest windows are July and January: After-Christmas sales frequently feature deeper discounts than Black Friday on remaining holiday sets and seasonal products, with markdowns reaching 50-70% off original prices. Summer clearance around National Lipstick Day runs close behind, so plan your calendar around both windows.
• Loyalty tiers amplify discounts significantly: Sephora's Beauty Insider program offers tiered membership levels, with Rouge members receiving a 20% discount during annual sale events, stacked on top of already-reduced clearance prices.
• Stock up only on what you know fits you: Deep discounts are common on less universal shades, seasonal color stories, and discontinued variations, and that can be amazing if the shade works for you, but if it does not, the discount is irrelevant.
• Sealed lipstick has real shelf life: Generally, if properly stored in a cool, dry place, most unopened and completely sealed makeup should last for 2 to 3 years. Stocking up at clearance prices is a smart move when a shade is confirmed to suit you.
• Multiple sale events stack across retailers: In many cases you can stack Sephora promo codes with other offers, use a valid Sephora discount code on items from the Sephora sale or clearance section, or redeem Beauty Insider points for credit, then apply eligible promo codes to the same order.

Quick-Start Prioritization Framework

Start here if you're:

• New to beauty sales: Target the National Lipstick Day window at Ulta or Sephora, low complexity, high savings, no membership required.
• A loyalist with points: Stack Beauty Insider or Ultamate Rewards points on clearance items during a "Sale on Sale" or annual event for the deepest combined discount.
• A shade collector: Check MAC Cosmetics' "Goodbyes" section regularly, limited-edition and discontinued shades disappear fast and rarely return.

Where to Find End of Season Lipstick Deals

National Lipstick Day (July 29): The Mid-Year Peak

The most reliable annual moment for lip-focused savings is July 29. Ulta Beauty treats it as a week-long event, with their annual National Lipstick Day sale typically running in the days leading up to and following July 29, with discounts across lipsticks, glosses, liners, and other lip essentials from a wide range of brands.

Every year on National Lipstick Day, expect various beauty retailers and brands to offer deals typically ranging from 20% to 50% off, with Ulta, Macy's, Anastasia Beverly Hills, ColourPop, and Kylie Cosmetics among the participants. In past years, the event has gone further. National Lipstick Day is July 29 and Lancôme has celebrated with 50% off lip makeup including lipsticks, lip gloss, lip liners, and more.

The action is: sign up for email alerts from two or three retailers the week before July 29. Discounts launch early, often Saturday before the holiday, and the best shades sell out within hours.

Sephora's Sale Calendar: Multiple Discount Windows

Summer Deal Week (early July) and National Lipstick Day (July 29) provide strong mid-year savings windows for summer beauty and lip products, while One-Day Deals events in March and late August through September can reach up to 50% off select products.

The Sephora sale is a go-to place for deep discounts on clearance and sale products, with a stunning range of cosmetics, fragrances, makeup tools, and more available with up to 70% off. The caveat: most promotions are membership-gated. In many cases you can stack Insider to claim the best deals, but it is free to become a Beauty Insider.

Pro Tip: Enhance Sephora savings by applying point multiplier codes during bonus events, using the Sephora credit card for additional cardholder rewards, combining seasonal discounts with point redemptions, and taking advantage of free shipping offers alongside other promotions.

MAC Cosmetics Goodbyes: The Collector's Corner

For anyone who has ever fallen for a limited-edition shade, the MAC Cosmetics Goodbyes section is the most important bookmark in your browser. This makeup sale event features a variety of top-rated products, with up to 40% off exclusive Pro products before they are gone forever, including holiday-exclusive, seasonal, and limited-edition products across lips, face, eyes, and skin.

MAC Cosmetics Goodbyes section limited-edition products and shades that are no longer in production, meaning this is the last chance for collectors, makeup artists, and MAC fans to get their hands on these unique items. The smart move: check the Goodbyes section monthly, not just during major sale events, because new clearance shades rotate in quietly throughout the year.

After-Christmas Sales: The Deepest Discounts of the Year

Why January Is the Best Month for Lipstick Deals

The winter holiday season loads retailer shelves with gift sets, limited-edition collections, and seasonal lip shades. Once January arrives, all of that inventory needs to move.

After-Christmas sales frequently ideal for self-gifting, using holiday cash or gift cards, or stocking up on luxury beauty products you might not splurge on at full price. After-Christmas sales frequently pricing on holiday merchandise and new promotional offerings on core products makes late December through January a strategically advantageous time for building your beauty collection while maximizing savings.

In practice, this often means additional savings on top of clearance prices. Past Sephora "Sale on Sale" events have offered an extra 20% off sale items including skin care, hair care, and makeup during this exact window.

Gift Sets: The Post-Holiday Sleeper Deal

Stocking up on post-holiday clearance sale makeup allows you to expand your beauty collection without stretching your budget, and it is also an excellent way to experiment with new colors or products you might not have tried otherwise. Gift sets, bundled across the holiday season, often drop to their lowest prices in late December and early January. Retailers need the shelf space, and the sets that did not sell as presents become your best bargain.

Pro Tip: To get the most out of a gift card, consider timing your purchase with major sales events, combining a gift card balance with a site-wide discount or a "gift with purchase" offer can stretch your budget much further.

How to Shop Smarter: Strategies That Actually Work

Know Your Shade Before You Click "Buy"

In my experience, this single rule saves more money than any coupon code. Shade matching deserves extra attention because deep discounts are common on less universal shades, seasonal color stories, and discontinued variations, and that can be amazing if the shade works for you, but if it does not, the discount is irrelevant.

Tools like virtual try-on features help solve this. Ulta's GLAMlab lets you snap a selfie and test shades before buying, while Sephora's AR try-on inside its app works in the same way. Use these before a sale event, identify your confirmed shades, and then act fast when the discount goes live. This is especially useful on Sephora's shade finder tool, which helps shoppers research and discover their perfect foundation or lipstick match across multiple brands.

Stack Discounts Across Three Layers

I have found that the shoppers who score the best prices rarely rely on a single deal; they combine three layers: the retailer's sale price, a loyalty reward or points redemption, and (where possible) a newsletter or app-exclusive code. Sephora's Beauty Insider program lets shoppers decide whether to redeem 500 points for $10 off a purchase or trade in varying amounts for products at the Rewards Bazaar, with cash redemptions giving a minimum return of 2%, while members earn one Beauty Insider point for each dollar spent.

Ulta's Ultamate Rewards program is known for its incredible flexibility, points can be spent like cash on almost any product in the store, with no brand exclusions, making it one of the most successful retail loyalty programs in any category.

Time Clearance Sections, Not Just Sale Events

You do not always need a holiday weekend to score a strong price, in fact, some of the best beauty finds appear during routine inventory refreshes, daily markdown cycles, and limited-time flash sales, and end-of-season periods can be especially strong for color cosmetics tied to packaging themes, gifting, or holiday collections.

Bookmark the clearance or "Last Call" pages at your preferred retailers. ColourPop's Last Call section regularly stocks 50% off restocked sale favorites. Too Faced's clearance section features markdowns on cruelty-free formulas. Buxom's Last Call page offers serious savings on limited quantities. Check them weekly, not just during major sales.

Pro Tip: The most effective strategy for beauty deals is simple: restock staples during reliable sale windows, reserve gift sets and premium items for stronger seasonal promotions, and compare discounts based on final value rather than the headline alone.

Understanding Lipstick Shelf Life: How Much Should You Stock Up?

One of the most common questions around end of season lipstick deals is whether it is safe to buy multiples and store them. The answer, with a clear limit, is yes.

Bullet vs. Liquid: Different Rules Apply

Typical shelf lives include lipsticks at 12 to 18 months after opening and powder eyeshadow at 24 months. However, sealed and unopened products have more runway. When left unopened, a lipstick can last up to three years before any spoiling occurs because they are airtight, meaning that no air or moisture can get inside.

Liquid lipsticks are a different story. Bullet lipsticks typically last 1 to 2 years after opening, while liquid formulas and glosses expire within 6 to 12 months. That means stocking up on three or four bullet lipstick backups of a proven shade makes sense. Buying six liquid lipsticks you will not open for a year does not.

How to Store Clearance Lipsticks Properly

The clock on your lipstick's shelf life is heavily influenced by storage conditions. Heat, humidity, and direct sunlight shorten your makeup's shelf life by helping bacteria grow and by breaking down natural ingredients, and heat can also negatively affect any active ingredients in a product.

Store end of season purchases in a cool, dry drawer rather than in a bathroom cabinet, which accumulates steam and moisture. Do this, and you protect the investment you made during the sale.

Common Mistakes That Kill Your Savings

Ignoring Value-Per-Shade in Bundle Math

A 70% discount sounds incredible until you realize the bundle includes four shades you will never wear. One way to save on luxury beauty products is to understand bundle math, this involves calculating the cost per unit of a product when buying in bulk or as part of a set, and often, buying a bundle can be more cost-effective than purchasing individual products. Apply the same logic in reverse: a bundle deal fails if it includes shades that do not suit your undertone or lifestyle, regardless of the headline discount.

Waiting Too Long for "Deeper" Markdowns

I've learned this one the hard way. If you are buying staple foundation products complexion products, shop when your shade is in stock rather than waiting too long for the deepest markdown, and for trend-driven products like palettes or limited collections, earlier promotional windows are often safer than end-of-season clearance. The shade you want will sell out before the price drops further. Buy your confirmed shades in the first 24-48 hours of any sale event.

Skipping Email and App Alerts

The exact start and end dates of sale events vary year to year, so signing up for emails or checking the app is the best way to catch the sale as soon as it opens. Brands like ColourPop frequently share exclusive discounts, flash sales, and promotional codes on their social media platforms, follow them on Instagram and Twitter to stay updated on the latest savings opportunities. Missing the first day of a clearance event often means missing the shades entirely.

Frequently Asked Questions

When do end of season lipstick sales typically happen?

The two main windows are mid-summer (peaking around July 29 for National Lipstick Day) and late December through January (post-holiday clearance). The strongest savings windows in the beauty calendar include events in March and September for prestige makeup and skincare, along with Black Friday week in November for storewide savings across every category. Minor clearance cycles happen year-round whenever brands rotate seasonal collections.

Is it safe to buy lipstick in bulk during a sale?

Yes, within limits. Generally, if properly stored in a cool, dry place, most unopened and completely sealed makeup should last for 2 to 3 years. Stick to bullet and cream formulas for bulk buying since they have the longest shelf life. Avoid bulk purchasing liquid lipsticks unless you plan to open and use them within the year.

How can I find out if a shade is being discontinued before it disappears?

Check your preferred brand's clearance or "Goodbyes" section directly. When a shade appears there at a discount, it is usually a signal that production is ending or the collection is rotating out. MAC Goodbyes is the best place to find deep discounts on MAC clearance makeup, and sale items often include limited-edition products and shades that are no longer in production, meaning this is the last chance for collectors, makeup artists, and MAC fans to get their hands on these unique items.

How do I maximize savings on end of season lipstick collections?

Combine three strategies: shop during confirmed sale windows (National Lipstick Day or post-holiday clearance), use your loyalty tier benefits at the same time, and where allowed, stack a promotional code on top. Members can combine multiple offers to maximize savings, certain promotions can be stacked at checkout, with Rouge Reward cards combinable with Beauty Offer promotions. Knowing your confirmed shades in advance so you can act fast on day one of the sale is just as important.

Do all beauty retailers discount lipstick at the same time?

No, and that works in your favor. Every year on National Lipstick Day, expect various beauty retailers and brands to offer deals, with Ulta, Macy's, Anastasia Beverly Hills, ColourPop, and Kylie Cosmetics among the participants, but the exact dates, depths, and participating shades differ between them. Shopping across two or three retailers during the same window lets you compare the final per-unit cost and pick the better deal for each shade you want.

Final Thought

End of season lipstick deals reward preparation more than impulse. Know your shades in advance using tools like virtual try-on or a resource like Lipseek to research options before prices drop. Mark July 29 and late December in your calendar, join the free loyalty programs at Sephora and Ulta, and check brand clearance sections weekly year-round. The lipstick market sits at the intersection of beauty, personal care, and self-expression, three consumer motivations that prove resilient across economic cycles. The brands know this. Score the savings they are offering when the season turns, and your collection will thank you.

Sources

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