According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Labor Day was originally established to show the "strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations." But we think the holiday is best celebrated as a way to recognize what a boss you are — and take a much-deserved break from being that boss. (FYI: This goes for everyone in an entry-level job, too — because "boss" is a state of mind, after all.)
Have you been working so hard that the summer slipped by without proper chill-time? Will a brighter shade of red lipstick make you feel more confident approaching fall? Now’s the time to give that #NoDaysOff M.O. a rest and treat yo'self to a little R & R — and a beauty boost. A slew of brands, from indie natural lines to cult-favorite makeup lines, are offering weekend-only discounts to celebrate the baller in you.
Between a free shot at making our laundry smell like an Oscar-winning actress and a whopping 60% off of nourishing hair-care products, there are deals aplenty — including a few exclusive deals for Refinery29 readers.
Check out some of the most spectacular Labor Day steals, ahead, and enjoy your extra day off. On Tuesday, we can get back to our regularly scheduled grind looking like a million bucks.
This NorCal indie brand is made for sensitive skin and uses natural actives. And the packaging? Swoon! In an exclusive for Refinery29 readers, the brand is offering a $20 discount on any of its micro-batch, full-size serums. Our favorite? The Youth serum, packed with fatty acids, phytonutrients, and antioxidants. Use code: LABORDAY20 through Monday.
This global beauty brand is known for sourcing fair-trade ingredients — and offering lots of deals around holidays. In-store discounts include 30% off of gifts; buy three, get three promotions; and gifts with purchase. Online offers through Monday include these deals plus a 24-hour flash sale in which products are 40% off sitewide.
Skin Food, an ultra-hydrating, cure-all cream is also used by pro makeup artists as a subtle highlighter — just add a little shimmer to the mix. Score it at 30% off with promo code SKIN.
With products made from shea butter, marula oil, and monoi oil, Carol’s Daughter is home base for hydrating hair and skin products. This weekend, it’s offering up to 60% off everything it makes. As if that weren't enough, those who purchase more than $35 in products get a free gift item.
Just because winter is coming doesn’t mean we have to lay off the glowy highlighters and cheek colors. Indie naturals line Ittsē is reducing all bronzers and illuminators (originally $8.99) by 30% through Wednesday
Did your chest get a little too much sun exposure this summer? Make efforts to help undo the damage with this line of products especially formulated for the décolletage, available at 30% off (with code LABORDAY) through September 5.
Vita Liberata is offering a limited-edition Labor Day Self-Tanning Kit ($40) available this weekend only. It features the brand’s Fabulous Gradual Lotion, Body Blur, and a soft tanning mitt. It's perfect for those who want to (safely) tan long into fall.
This organic and holistic skin- and hair-care line incorporates aspects of Ayurveda, herbalism, and aromatherapy. Though Monday, it’s exclusively offering Refinery29 readers 30% off anything on the site with code REF2930.
At this online mecca for K-beauty, select items are marked down 50% now through September 5.
Double down on French essentials: Purchase $40 or more in products this weekend and receive $33 in products, including the best-selling Crème Prodigieuse and Nuxellence Eclat. Spend $60 to receive the beauty kit, plus a Huile Prodigieuse Dry Oil.
Now, your laundry can smell as good as an Oscar-winning actress: this weekend, score a 2-oz. Fine Linen Wash wash with any purchase from Kai Fragrance (Cate Blanchett, Naomi Watts, and Charlize Theron are fans).
This indie naturals brand makes beautiful products that rarely go on sale. Rack up free gift cards with purchases of $150 or more through September 5.
Ready to switch up your fragrance with the season? Buy one, get one free at Perfumania stores or get 20% off and free shipping online using the code LABOR.
This hair-care line looks and performs like a fancy salon brand, but is much more affordable. Verb is providing a free travel-sized version of its best-selling hair smoother, Ghost Oil, with any $14 purchase or more with code LABORDAYXVERB.
Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics
There’s never been a better time to stock up on your favorite color-rich products: discontinued Lip Tar colors, Pure Cosmetic Pigments, makeup brushes, and more are 30% off with code LABORDAY16.
Snag any product in this range designed to help boost lash, brow, and hair growth at 20% off through the month of September.
This indie bath-and-body brand based in Lakewood, WI, uses minimal ingredients to make lip balms, beard tonic, salt sprays, and more — all wrapped in gift-worthy packaging. (What’s more, it donates 10% of profits to charity.) Between now and September 5, stock up on hostess gifts with 30% off products sitewide with code LABOR30.
This luxurious natural skin-care line is gifting one of our all-time favorite masks, which hydrates and exfoliates. The $90 skin brightener is free with orders of $200 or more through midnight on Monday.
Nobel Prize-winning tech and natural actives are harnessed to make this results-driven skin-care line, offered at 10% off through Labor Day weekend, with code LABORDAY.
StriVectin is giving away a full-sized, AHA-fueled Instant Revitalizing Mask (originally $62) with the purchase of $50 in products online.
Finally, an excuse to take the plunge on the brand’s beloved Pro Palettes. They, and all other products, are 35% off with online orders of $75 or more. Such orders will also come with a free travel-size Front of the Line PRO Eye Pencil in black.
Booking a treatment from one of Hollywood’s favorite derms is tricky. Fret not, because products from Dr. David Colbert’s line are much easier to nail down. Score a free Colbert MD Balance Purifying Cleanser (originally $60) with online purchases over $250 and a box of Colbert MD Illumino Anti-Aging Brightening Masks (originally $100) with online purchases over $500 through Monday.
With Lights, Camera, Lashes 4-in-1 Mascara, Tarte has given us one of the best lash-definers in the game. And its Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush? Well, let’s just say there are plenty of ways to score discounts this weekend (through Monday), which spike to 30% off for those who spend $100 or more.
You can help support suicide prevention by buying a #OneLoveOneHeart Kit, a cute canvas bag stocked with Dr. Brandt Microdermabrasion, Needles No More Wrinkle Smoothing Cream, Needles No More 3-D Filler Mask Sample, and Pores No More Pore Refiner Primer. Then, reap further rewards: 35% off all other products on the site.
We’ve raved about Sapelo before. The under-the-radar, Savannah-based brand injects a little Southern comfort in our skin-care routine with its Softening Emollient (originally $95), a serum-oil hybrid that dials up natural glow. Get it at 25% off on Labor Day.
Little-known fact: C.O. Bigelow makes the most gorgeous-smelling candles. Our favorite? Smoke, which smells just like a campfire. Get it and all C.O. Bigelow-brand products for 20% off on September 5 and 6
We can’t get enough of Dr. Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Medi-Spa Daily Peel — which is a bummer for our bank accounts, because they don’t come cheap. Until now. Though Monday, get this editor favorite or any other product on Dr. Gross' site for 20% off.
If you’ve been waiting to get this game-changing cleansing brush, now may be the perfect time to take the plunge. With the purchase of $129 or more in products, get a full-sized Gentle Hydro Cleanser and a beauty bag (normally $45), along with free shipping. Use code CLEANSKIN at checkout.
When trying new beauty products is your job, it’s rare to use a product to its last drop. But Megan McIntyre, beauty features director, does just that with this brand’s Intensive Daily Moisturizer. Try it or any of the brand’s other products for 15% off through Monday, using code LABORDAY.
At Finding Ferdinand, you can make (and name) your own custom lipstick using its online tools. Make your own creation for 15% off or grab a ready-made shade — the offer extends sitewide. Plus, all orders will include a red mini lipstick as a gift with purchase.
Everything — including skin care and mineral cosmetics — from this eco-minded and cruelty-free brand is 20% off with code LABOR.
Navigate through Cover FX’s online shade-finder, then give your skin just what it needs with Cover FX products — including Custom Cover Drops, Click Sticks, Custom Infusion Drops, Custom Enhancer Drops — at 20% off with code CUSTOM through September 5.
The stylish skin- and body-care products produced by this Williamsburg-based apothecary are made with the help of adults with physical and mental disabilities. Try any of its organic and natural products at 35% off Saturday through Monday.
Inch ever closer to #mermaidhairgoals with mica-infused Golden Waves Sea Salt Shimmer Spray from this indie brand. This and all other hair-, body-, and skin-care products are 20% off through Monday with code HOLDON.
It’s in just about every celebrity makeup artist’s kit. And it’s about to go on major sale at Target. Embryolisse Lait-Crème Concentré — along with all other products from the brand — will be offered at buy one, get one half-off from September 4 to 17.
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