Ulta vs Sephora

[juliahenry]

Which do you prefer? And why?

I'm asking because I need to go get a few things and I'm not sure which store to go to. There are things I like and dislike about both, so I figured I'd ask here to see if one is more or less popular.

[pugz]

Ulta is easier for me to get in and out of since Sephora is at the mall. They have frequent coupons but they exclude some of the brands I like such as Tarte and Philosophy.

Sephora has all the free samples and pretty much any beauty product you can imagine plus a kick ass return policy.

but I am totally a Target girl at heart

[nsl]

I loathe Ulta and avoid them if at all possible. Their associates don't know much about any of their products or promotions, the selection (of high-end brands) isn't nearly as comprehensive as Sephora's, returns are really difficult there depending on who you get, and the store near me is always ridiculously disorganized. Going to Sephora is a dream by comparison, even if it means dealing with pushy salespeople.

[mfluder]

Nov 11, 2012 20:37:48 GMT -5 nsl said:

I loathe Ulta and avoid them if at all possible.

This, this and this.

Ulta drives me nuts. I only go if I have to. I can browse around Sephora for a while, but I get in and out of Ulta as quickly as possible.

My sales people are never pushy though (but they do know me lol), but always helpful and knowledgeable. Ulta people stare at me blankly when I ask questions. Especially hard ones like where is X in the store.

[Deleted]

Ditto nsl. I am a Sephora girl.

[jewel]

Ulta is easier to get in and out because it is a stand-alone store. They have more coupons (but usually exclude the brands I'm interested in). The store is also much bigger with more variety, and a big clearance section.

That said, I love Sephora and it is well worth it. The Salespeople tend to be friendlier, more helpful, and more knowledgeable. They'll give you free samples of anything you'd like to try, in a little container to take home. Their return policy (they'll take anything back, with or without receipt, for any reason) is just unbeatable. I'm much more willing to spend $$$ on an item if I know I can return it if it doesn't work out.

[mfluder]

Oh and I third their easy return policies. They are wonderful.

[kittycatlove]

I like them both for different reasons. I like Sephora for high end make-up and skin care. The salespeople are really helpful with both. I go to Ulta for lower-end make-up staples I use and my hair care products. I don't need to deal with the salespeople at Ulta for those things so I'm in and out with what I need.

[Kore]

My Ulta is like Walmart. I hate going in there. it's new, but it still manages to give a big box vibe with unknowledgeable sales associates (cashiers, really) and too much going on. The cashiers either completely ignore me, or they follow me up & down the aisles like I'm going to steal something. The aisles are long & low in the drugstore section. I don't buy specific $$ hair stuff, so that's all wasted on me.

Our Sephora, on the other hand, is like going to visit your girlfriends for happy hour. They recognize me, greet me like an old friend (which normally I hate, but they do it well), then leave me alone to browse. They're really knowledgeable about the products, freely offer samples, have a wonderful return policy, and frequently give me free stuff for being a VIB. I know not all Sephoras are equal, but ours is great.

Both Sephora & Ulta have exterior entrances at the mall, so it's easy to get into both.

[ejpint]

My Ulta sucks. They seem to employ frumpy, disinterested people who have no knowledge of the products they sell. They are also often out of whatever I'm looking for.

My Sephora? They know me. They are my people.

Sadly, I moved a few months ago and there is no Sephora here. My Sephora is two hours away I haven't been in since July. They probably think I died.

[Deleted]

I rarely go to Ulta -- there isn't one in my city -- but I'm not a huge fan. I swear that every time I go into one looking for something specific, they're out of it.

I do like that they have both drugstore-ish and mid-end products in one place though.

I like Sephora more, though I'm not a huge Sephora fan. The perfume smell drives my allergies crazy, the stores near me are always madhouses, and because of the madhouse factor it is hard to find someone to answer questions (though when I do, they're always nice). But mostly, Sephora doesn't sell a lot of my favorite brands so it isn't that useful to me. So I tend to buy stuff at websites like spalook and dermstore because they carry more of my skin brands, or on Saks's website.

[Deleted]

Sephora has better products on the whole. Their return policy is fabulous.

Its also much closer to me.

[cjeanette]

Nov 12, 2012 13:08:17 GMT -5 ejpint said:

They probably think I died.

:-(

[agnes]

I like Ulta for items I know I like and have a coupon for. It's easy to get to and there's almost always less people.

I love Sephora's return policy and they seem to have a wider selection than Ulta.

[abramos]

I am impartial to both. Ulta and Sephora are at malls and I break out in hives when I go near a mall. I shop alot online.

[BNL2]

I prefer Ulta because I can easily get in and out. I also don't use a lot of beauty products so Ulta meets my needs for conditioner, lotion, and random lipsticks. My sephora is in the mall and always a complete madhouse. I go there when I want to try something new and I'm not sure what I want, but I really try to avoid it.

[dexteroni]

Sephora is much better overall. I go to Ulta for drugstore items when they're on sale, because when you also use a coupon, it's often the cheapest place to get it. I also buy Pureology there when I have a 20% coupon. But I don't really browse for new items there - the selection of higher-end items isn't nearly as good, the atmosphere isn't very pleasant, and the employees don't really seem to be able to give information or recommendations.

[Deleted]

I prefer Ulta because I can get both high end and drugstore products at the same place. I love NYX products and have found some other inexpensive makeup brands/products at Ulta that I like that I don't think are carried at my drug store. One is a $10 eye shadow primer that I like just as much as the Too Faced Shadow Insurance I was using. I typically research so much online that I don't need to ask the salespeople any questions, so I've never noticed a difference between Ulta and sephora salespeople.