A TikToker has revealed that insurance plans can cover, perhaps surprisingly, the expense of your favorite skin care and beauty products at Sephora.
In the clip posted on TikTok, Dianis — who goes by @dianis3518 — unveiled the list of luxury products your FSA and HSA can be spent on, including Clinique, Murad, SuperGoop! and First Aid Beauty.
“You can use your FSA/HSA at Sephora! Thank @Joyce Mattei for the tip,” she captioned the video with over 360,000 views. Mattei informed the TikToker about the FSA & HSA hack, but many skin care enthusiasts are unaware of it.
Flexible spending accounts (FSAs) and health savings accounts (HSAs) let you set aside pre-tax money, sometimes directly from your paycheck, to pay for eligible medical expenses, explains the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Sephora details what over-the-counter health care products and treatments qualify for FSA and HSA spending in-store and online.
“Sunscreens with SPF 15+, acne treatments, acne preventions, medicated skin treatments, blue light therapy masks and prenatal vitamins” are listed as eligible Sephora purchases online.
Some of the most expensive products that can be written off include Shani Darden by Déesse PRO LED Light Mask for $1,900, DRx SpectraLite™ FaceWare Pro which cost $455 and La Mer sunscreen for $115.
Other popular brands eligible under FSA and HSA are Origins, Kiehl’s Since 1851, Murad, Topicals, Touchland, Summer Fridays, Cay Skin, Soleil Toujours and Nécessaire.
Most products do not need a medical prescription to be considered under the insurance plan, but the ones that do “require a letter of medical necessity from your doctor,” the Sephora site reads.
The retailer has visible identification badges on eligible products to make the shopping experience easy for those who want to use their insurance coverage. Loyal Sephora shoppers can also accumulate “Beauty Insider Points” for health-related purchases.
However, there are some stipulations when swiping. Sephora does not accept FSA and HSA debit cards as payment, but they do take regular credit or debit cards.
When submitting payment, the receipt and any other required documentation must be shared to your benefits provider to claim reimbursement.
Although FSA and HSA have plenty of benefits, they do follow different spending rules.
FSA uses the “use it or lose it” method. “You’ll lose any funds you don’t spend by the end of your plan year unless the plan has a grace period or carryover feature,” explains Aetna. However, HSA funds “roll over year to year.”
The skin care hack has many Sephora fans ready to rack up a stack under their FSA and HSA.
“Pls I do not need to know this,” pleaded one person. “ITS OVER FOR MEEEE!!”
“No way! Gonna check this out!” added another.
“My HSA wishes I didn’t see this lol,” someone joked.
“We have money left on ours and we only have three months left in the year!” thanked a Sephora shopper.
Some people shared other ways they can take advantage of their benefits.
“I just used all my fsa money on my Ōura ring lmao,” laughed one person about the finger-based health tracking system.
“I used the rest of my FSA to pay for a portion of my LASIK Eye surgery the Best Decision I Made,” commented another.
