Beauty

[Sooner]

I never go in ours because I simply don't have that much interest in cosmetics.  Well, let's say I'm a minimalist when it comes to cosmetics, so there are a few products I use and don't need anything else.  

[ID2]

I just wish Beauty.com was still in business! I preferred shopping with them far more than I do with Sephora or Ulta. 

[cherry]

I've never been in an ulta. We have one  but , I got turned off at Sephora

Sephora is in a shopping center ,and  it just gave me shivers to see eveyone using the testers

I'd rather  not do that ,everyone dip in, thing

[just bee]

I remember when I was in high school (1970s), my mother gave me one of those holiday Estée Lauder GWP that was full of cosmetics.  I loved that thing and brought it to college with me.  I'm 58 and I still have the mint green plastic box that once held all those beautiful colors.

I had posted earlier about Ulta's emails and special offers and today they're spotlighting a mint green train case (or you can get pink) -- a 72-piece collection.  They have a slew of these cases on their site -- all types -- and they're under $20.

All I can think is that if I had daughters or nieces (or, at my age, grands), I'd be looking at these as gifts.  They look like fun!

[brandiwine]

The Ulta near me has tons of stuff, but no one will help the customers.  The staff is just short of rude.  Checking out is a nightmare.  Coupons and reward points were only good on certain things.  Went to the Sephora in the JC Penney.  Extremely nice and helpful staff.  Smaller, but much nicer atmosphere.  Easy check out.  No more Ulta for me. I am lucky enough to have a Bare Minerals store about 20 minutes away.  Always a great experience.

[momoftwo2007]

I love Ulta. It has the best specials and sales.  Right now on Ulta's website, the black friday preview ad is up. I have so many items on my list. 

[Shanus]

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@momoftwo2007 wrote:

I love Ulta. It has the best specials and sales.  Right now on Ulta's website, the black friday preview ad is up. I have so many items on my list. 

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@momoftwo2007  I’ve become an ULTA fan, too. Used to be Sephora VIB Rouge, but other than free shipping, I never took advantage of the other perks. I was accumulating points to trade for “gifts” I never used. With ULTA, it makes so much more sense to get $.

The only drawback is that some stores are messier than others and sale’s help may not be experienced. 

[momoftwo2007]

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@Shanus wrote:

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@momoftwo2007 wrote:

I love Ulta. It has the best specials and sales.  Right now on Ulta's website, the black friday preview ad is up. I have so many items on my list. 

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@momoftwo2007  I’ve become an ULTA fan, too. Used to be Sephora VIB Rouge, but other than free shipping, I never took advantage of the other perks. I was accumulating points to trade for “gifts” I never used. With ULTA, it makes so much more sense to get $.

The only drawback is that some stores are messier than others and sale’s help may not be experienced. 

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@Shanus Yes, I definitely like ULTA's reward system better than Sephora's.  And I am a samples junkie.  ULTA always have promotions for a big bag of samples with certain amount of purchase. 

[River Song]

I have a love/hate relationship with Ulta, lol.  There are three Ulta stores within 10 miles of my house and each store has a slightly different selection of high end makeup/hair care/tools.  I find it very useful to peruse products on their website, read the reviews and then use their store locator to see if the product I'm interested in is in any of the three stores in my area.  This has saved me a ton of time and running around from store to store looking for a particular item.

I'm 60 and the young sales associates at my Ultas are friendly and ask if I need help, then leave me alone when I say I'm just browsing.  But, if I approach one of them with questions, they are quick to be helpful.  If the sales associates aren't helpful in your stores, complain to the store manager because it is their fault for not properly training their employees on customer service.

I've noticed that Ulta's prices on the low end stuff is higher than WalMart but about the same as Walgreens.  You have to watch for the sales and use their coupon, otherwise, it's cheaper to buy the same product at WalMart.  I do like that Ulta will accept manufacturer's coupons that you can combine with their store coupon and sale BOGO's.  I also like that they will accept returns of opened and used products that don't work for you.  I also prefer their points system to Sephora's points system.  I'm really pleased that Ulta is starting to carry more K-beauty (Korean) products.

There is a JCPenney Sephora store near me but the larger Sephora store is 45 minutes away, so I don't shop at Sephora very much.  Invariably, the one item I want to buy is not available in the smaller JCPenney store, so that is rather annoying.  Their sales associates do tend to hover but can be very helpful when you are trying to, say, find a foundation color.  One time in the JCPenney Sephora, an older sales associate (my age) tried to help me find a foundation to match my light-medium cool complexion.  She tried every brand they had in the store and no match, lol!  What is with the foundation brands that everything is geared towards warm complexions?!  The drugstore brands Maybelline and L'Oreal have a better selection of foundation colors than the high end stuff...it boggles the mind. 

[jaxs mom]

Most of the brands I buy aren't available at Ulta, and the many Ulta stores I've been in, in numerous states have a pretty limited cosmetics department. I do like going there for nail polish. If they actually sold the brands I buy I'd shop there more often.