Everyone should be adding sunscreen to their day-to-day skincare routines, but if you’re strapped for cash (or simply just don’t like spending on extra skincare products), don’t worry because you could get sunscreen samples for free.
- PinchMe - Grab a GIANT box of free samples shipped right to you from some of the world's most popular brands.
- Daily Goodie Box - What's better than one giant box of free stuff? TWO giant boxes of free stuff. Join Try Products to get even more free samples.
- P&G Rewards - Get over $100 in coupons to stuff you already buy, plus enter to win weekly gift boxes and gift cards.
Here are 5 methods that have worked for me…
5 Ways to Get Free Sunscreen Samples
1. Get Sunscreen Samples from Skincare Brands
As a general rule of thumb, when you follow a brand online, you need to do three things to maximize your chances of getting freebies.
First, subscribe to their newsletter. Second, try to join their loyalty program (most of these programs are free to join and require only a form sign-up). Lastly, follow their social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, and LinkedIn to name a few).
Doing these things is essential to freebie hunting because not all brands offer free samples all year-round.
The following brands currently have an active sampling program:
- California Baby: California Baby produces mineral-based sunscreens that are concentrated and made of plant-based ingredients. Their sunscreen sample pack is only available for doctors, but other products are offered to anyone (just fill out the form and receive your gifts).
- Supergoop!: The company has been developing “feel-good sunscreen” since 2005. Every now and then, Supergoop! resumes free samples for its SPF Squad members so make sure to register an account and get rewarded every time you shop and receive a free gift on your birthday.
- Laroche-Posay: The company is giving away Anthelios melt-in sunscreen milk to US residents. Fill out the form with your details to receive a sample tube.
- Meaningful Beauty: If you buy a product from Cindy Crawford’s beauty brand, you can get a chance to get sunscreen freebies or other products with SPF. The company’s Black Friday deals are always something to look forward to – they discount their sunscreen systems to a whopping 25% with free shipping to boot.
- Suntegrity Skincare: This brand offers a bunch of SPF samples in different forms (lotion, makeup, etc.), but what I like about Suntegrity Skincare’s samples is that you get two or more shades, so you can actually sample the products first to fit your skin tone. If the free sunscreen samples are unavailable (they sometimes get sold out), you can still try the products out for super-cheap one-dollar tubes.
Make sure you follow sunscreen brands like Sun Goddess, KLENSKIN, Palmer’s, PCA Skin, and Color Science that currently do not have free samples, but may resume their promos in the future.
If you’re a dermatologist or any derma healthcare professional, brands like Aveeno, MooGoo, Kenvue Pediatrics, Gold Bond, Cerave, and Neutrogena (among others) are giving away sunscreen products for you to sample or give away to your patients.
2. Beauty Box Sunscreen Samples and Rewards from Retailers
They come in different names – beauty box, welcome box, birthday box, but the concept is the same.
Subscription beauty boxes like Birchbox ships you a bundle of products on a monthly basis as long as you pay for the subscription.
The problem with this program is that you can’t choose which products to “buy” – you have to trust the company that they’ll be sending you only the best of the best skincare, cosmetics, hair care and other beauty products.
These boxes are also offered by retailers to customers who join their loyalty programs. Retailers like Sephora, Ulta Beauty, or Sally Beauty partner with brands and showcase their products on these beauty boxes.
The good thing about this is you’re always updated with the coolest beauty products. The bad news is if you’re looking to use sunscreen or other SPF products, you usually don’t have control over what products you’ll receive.
Ulta Beauty
Ulta Beauty has one of the most sought-after beauty gift boxes around.
The company offers every member of its Ultamate Rewards (the brand’s rewards program) a FREE gift during their birthday month.
Recipients do have to opt-in to the newsletter to receive the gift coupon, which is scannable at the store or available for use online.
Go to my post dedicated to Ulta’s birthday giveaway and how you can get yours too!
Sally Beauty
Just like Ulta, Sally Beauty has a comprehensive Rewards program, which gives its loyal customers a bunch of deals and freebies such as:
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- Welcome gift and birthday gift
- Free shipping on all orders
- Members-only discounts and rewards
- Anniversary gift (Get a surprise gift on the anniversary of your account opening)
Sally Beauty’s loyalty programs come in tiers – the more you spend on the brand, the more freebies you get to receive each year.
Nordstrom
While Nordstrom is more of a huge department store than just a retailer of beauty products, members of the Nordy Club (its loyalty program) could still receive free items.
Download the app, become a member, and follow news of promotions and freebies so you could get into the deal before everyone else.
Sephora
If you’re buying something at US Sephora, check the site for samples from participating brands. You’ll need a purchase, then add-to-cart the samples, such as:
It's a giant box of free samples and it comes right to your door at no cost.
Click here and get yours.
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- Shiseido Sunscreen Sample – This was Sephora’s 2007 Best Sunscreen winner, the Shiseido Ultimate Sun Protection Cream SPF 55, which is offered as a sample once restocked.
- Kate Sommerville Sunscreen sample – Receive a Kate Somerville SPF 55 Serum Sunscreen deluxe sample, free with any merchandise purchase.
If you can’t find free sunscreen at Sephora, your next best bet is to check out bundles at super-low prices.
For example, Sephora’s Sun Safety Kit in 2021 was sold for just $39 even if the bundle of products total over $220. It included more than a dozen sunscreen products and makeup with SPF designed to protect skin from the sun.
Check out Sephora’s Favorites page whenever you plan to buy some skincare items because you might get to receive branded sunscreen samples as well.
3. Sunscreen Samples for Events
Blue Lizard Australian Sunscreen proudly sponsors local and national events by donating thousands of sunscreen samples a year.
You’ll need to fill out the form and agree to representatives of the company attending your event and spreading awareness around the importance of sun protection.
ScreenCancer is a non-profit organization that brings educational materials, sunscreen samples, UV bands and other tools to help early cancer detection.
The company also arranges for mole scanning to be done at your event. Get in touch with ScreenCancer by calling 01634 931010 or emailing them at post@screencancer.com to find out more about getting sunscreen samples.
If you go to a dermatologist, ask them about possibly hosting an educational seminar about sun protection and the possibility of giving away free sunscreen samples.
Many companies send dermatologists samples to give away to clients, so they’re the perfect resource for this.
4. Become a Ninja in Finding Online Deals
If you’ve been following my posts, you know that you can always find deals online… you just need to know where to look or what to do.
- Join product discovery and reviews platforms.
Sites like Influenster, Bzzagent and PINCHme are online communities dedicated to trendsetters, who are rewarded for posting honest, unbiased product reviews to benefit the rest of the community.
Signing up for these sites is free. Once you sign up, you’ll be given an impact score based several factors such as your social media reach, the number of people you refer to the sites, and whether you link back to Influenster/PINCHme/Bzzagent from your blog or social media.
The higher your score, the more likely you’d be sent boxes of free products. The only problem here is you’re not guaranteed to receive just sunscreen samples. But since it’s free, the carefully-curated box is still a welcome gift in my household.
- Join contests on social media
As I said above, if you already have a favorite sunscreen brand, make sure to follow them on social media.
The reason for this is because brands often announce giveaways and contests on social media. Some even conduct the entire event on that particular platform.
Being informed about these free events give you a higher chance of getting free sunscreen samples. But manage your expectations – contests and giveaways are still a game of luck and freebies are not guaranteed.
- Become a beauty influencer
If you don’t know it yet, the older you get, the more you should include sunscreen into your skin care routine. As such, you’ll be needing sunscreen for the rest of your life (unless you decide not to leave your house anymore).
Because of this fact, becoming a beauty influencer, YouTuber, or blogger is a tried-and-tested way of receiving free samples. If you’re targeting sunscreen freebies, maybe focus your efforts on reviewing sunscreen products one at a time. You can also provide skincare advice, and recommendations.
Companies love collaborating with these beauty influencers since their target audience is exactly the market of these brands. As such, brands send a ton of freebies voluntarily.
What’s amazing about becoming a beauty blogger/influencer is that your income potential increases as you add a platform like YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, a blog, etc. to your brand. Every platform has their own money-making creator programs that you can take advantage.
5. Visit your local department store or drugstore.
Beauty stores such as Sephora, Ulta, Macy’s, Nordstrom, and Lush offer free samples on a daily basis.
Yes, they have beauty boxes online, too. But if you’re just looking for sunscreen products, visiting Walmart, Target, Costco, CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid and other similar department stores and drug stores is better since you’ll be able to take to brand reps in person.
Some Walmart and Sam’s Club locations even have Freeosk, which is vending machine that dispenses free samples.
Beyond Free Sunscreen Samples: Looking for More Beauty Freebies?
Interested in receiving other beauty samples?
I’ve done the research and created a list of nail care freebies, hair color, free deodorants, soap, lip balm giveaways, bath bombs, free branded lipstick, skincare samples, and my favorite: free makeup. Enjoy!
