Ulta vs Sephora Where Should You Shop?

It's the question that every girl and makeup fanatic asks themselves at one point. Should I go to Sephora or Ulta?It's a valid question they are both great stores you can get great quality products for decent prices. But where should you shop?

Let's talk about the differences first which aren't that much.

At Sephora- you get great customer service and you have consultants that can show you how to use the products. They are also educated in skin care(make up & fragrance) so they can recommend skin care products, and the AMAZING Color IQ device that can determine your foundation shade in less than 5 minutes and it's almost always accurate. They also have a skin care quiz you can take on their website as well as a feature on their app that can tell you your face shape and where to contour. You also get free samples on just about everything.

Ulta- has an extensive supply of beauty including drugstore and prestige brands, and assistances to help you find your make up. They also have a salon in the back of the store that can help you apply makeup at anytime and style your hair. They also have great deals can their rewards program is killer.

So as far as customer service Sephora takes the cake. But that's not the only reason we go, us beauty addicts can't resist a good deal and special treats. So let's take a look at some of the must go to beauty stores have to offer in their reward programs.

Sephora.... You get your choice of travel friendly sized perks you can redeem for 100, 250, or 500 points. Earning points are extremely easy for every dollar you spend you get a point and they never expire. You get a free birthday gift every year on your birthday months, you also get mailers and exclusive emails for coming in and getting free stuff. They're are different levels. Regular Beauty Insiders get beauty sessions and all the stuff mentioned above. If you're a V.I.B. you get all that plus first dibs on beauty products, V.I.B. only gifts, advanced offers to sales and exclusive shopping events. Now if you're a V.I.B. Rouge you get a glossy red card, a red lipstick from Marc Jacobs (or whatever exclusive lipstick), you get all the BI and V.I.B. rouge benefits plus unlimited access to the beauty studio( meaning free makeovers whenever you want), free shipping on all online orders, special gifts. and exclusive events.

not to shabby.. let's see how Ulta compares

With Ulta you get.. They're 3 levels as well wink, smooch, cha-ching. You earn points for every dollar that you spend. You can redeem these points for anything, like anything like dollar amounts. The points expire at the end of the year so you have a full calendar year to use it on anything. You also get a birthday gift and you get double points during that entire month. You can also get double points on certain  products. When you hit the platinum level your points never expire, you also earn the points faster and an additional birthday gift. As a member you also get exclusive mailers, coupons, and invites for special events.

hmm this one is a tough one..but I like the fact that I can use coupons at ulta as well as redeem points on my purchases. Instead of just getting points and getting free stuff, So I have to go with Ulta.

So we know what the stores have to offer, let's compare them.

At sephora,   I can't redeem my points like I would like, but occasionally I do get a coupon for a percentage off my entire purchase not often but I do. At Ulta I get coupons too but it only includes the drugstore brand, and I can go to any store and use a coupon on drugstore makeup. At sephora I get more advice from educated people but ulta has more options. But at Ulta I can use my points to take off some money off my products on certain items.

The bottom line. I will choose sephora. Ulta has some strong points but at the end of the day it's all about customer service. I also get more or better deals at sephora because when I do get coupons I get it off premium products not just drugstore. I can play with the products and get real advice from people educated in it. The quality of the store over all is better, and that color IQ is awesome!

I would say go to Ulta if you like a good deal, and don't need to much help and you want to be left alone when you shop. But if you need a little more help and want to be shown the products (also try them out before buying) go to sephora. It really depends on what's more important to you.