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Great question! In your case, the cost of custom samples for your beauty ecommerce business would typically be considered a business expense rather than cost of goods sold (COGS). This is because you're buying these samples for testing and decision-making purposes, not for direct resale to your customers.

So, you'd generally deduct these costs in the year you pay for them as a business expense. However, if you end up selling these samples later, you would need to account for that in your income. As always, it's a good idea to keep detailed records of these transactions.