Before you buy

Shopping with Cult Beauty

The code

**FIRST15** gets you up to 15% off your first Cult Beauty order when you spend over £25. That's it: it's a one-shot welcome code, so don't waste it on a single lip balm. If this is your first order, I'd build a basket of the bits you'd buy anyway (the pricey serum, the SPF you're about to run out of) and let the percentage do some real work.

Delivery

Standard UK delivery is £3.95 and takes 2 to 3 days, and it's free on orders over £30. That means a first order just over £30 gets you the code and free postage in one go, which is the sweet spot I'd aim for.

Next-day delivery is £5.95 if you order before 1am, and free on orders over £100. There's also Click & Collect to more than 8,500 collection points, an eco delivery option at £3.95, and same-day delivery for £9.95 in selected Birmingham, Walsall, Wolverhampton, Dudley and Tipton postcodes if you order before 1pm.

Returns: read this before you swatch

You've got 30 days from receipt to send things back, but beauty returns are strict. Products have to be unopened, with the packaging and hygiene seals untouched, and any free gifts that came with the order go back too. UK returns cost £2.99. So if you're unsure about a shade, don't break the seal until you're sure you'll keep it.

Loyalty

Cult Beauty's loyalty scheme gives you a Status Point for every £1 you spend, and every 100 points turns into £5 of credit. Climb high enough and next-day delivery gets cheaper or free, which matters if you're a regular.

Cult Beauty pays by card, PayPal and Klarna among others, and the code can be pulled early like any other, with Cult Beauty's terms deciding what counts.