I had heard a lot about Ulta beauty stores but until a couple of weeks ago I had never actually visited one. The nearest one to my home is in Queens but it is still pretty far from nearby, so imagine how excited I was when I pulled into a Barnes and Noble car park when I was recently in Rhode Island and next door was a brand new branch of Ulta... and I mean brand spanking new as it had only opened the day before. Of course I managed to while away a couple of hours there making a few purchases and gathering a few impressions of the Ulta experience.
The Store.
The store was brand new so obviously it was immaculate. The decor was very light and bright and there was a small hair salon and a Dermalogica face station offering mini treatments and skin analysis.
To the right of the door were the higher end brands, the central front part of the store had promotions and mid range brands that appeal to younger shoppers and behind this there was a small perfume section with mostly department store type scents. On the left side of the shop were budget make up brands with a small range of Korean skincare behind them. Beyond that drugstore hair and body care products were stocked along with salon haircare.
The general feel and layout of the store reminded me a lot of Boot's stores in the UK.
The Brand Selection.
I was surprised at the vast range of brands carried. They covered every price point and there were brands to appeal to all age groups. There were department store brands such as Estee Lauder and Lancome, drugstore brands, Korean brands, international high street brands such as The Body Shop and No7 and a very good selection of mid range Sephora/Blue Mercury type make up and skin care as well as a great selection of haircare and body care ranging from drugstore to high end.
Customer Service.
Staff were friendly and helpful. There are numerous special offers both in store and online along with a free to join loyalty card program that offers redeemable points on purchases and birthday gifts etc.
The Purchases.
Well, I had to have a little splurge whilst here didn't I?
Although I'm not a huge fan of the Mario Badescu range I do like their Enzyme Cleansing Gel very much especially as a morning face wash in warmer weather and their Facial Spray with Aloe, Herbs and Rosewater is a very good budget friendly refreshing spritz so I picked up both of those items.
I have been intrigued (and somewhat frightened) by Japanese Foot Peeling Masks after seeing them on Youtube. Tony Moly Changing Magic Foot Peeling Shoes are a Korean dupe for the originals. The plastic booties contain a mix of lactic, glycolic and fruit skin peeling agents, you wear them for an hour or so and a few days later your feet shed their hardened skin in a horrific, yet apparently truly satisfying, lizard like way. So far I have been too much of a wimp to put these to the test but I will very soon and report back.
I also bought a sachet of The Body Shop British Rose Fresh Plumping Face Mask simply because I liked the sound of it and thought it would be a good addition to my travel bag for a pampering session while away from home.
I have wanted to try out the Your Skin But Better CC Cream from It Cosmetics for some time so I was pleased to see that Ulta had a large range of It Cosmetics and while I did dabble with the CC Cream it didn't impress me enough to purchase it... Unlike the Naturally Pretty Eyeshadow Palette which caught my eye and did tempt me! I'm not the biggest fan of palettes, after an initial play session I find that I only use one or two colours and ignore the rest, but there was something about this palette that screamed my name. It has fourteen matte shadows along with a larger pearl transformer that you can use to sweep on top of the other colours transforming them into shimmering shadows. The packaging is sturdy and although it does contain a mirror I was happy to see that there weren't any cheap brushes or applicators included. I have already used the four darker shadows as liners and tried out most of the remaining ten and they are all flattering and highly wearable. I find the formula of these shadows to be outstanding. Containing collagen and Vitamins A, C, and E, they (allegedly) protect the skin around your eyes. The colours are true to the pan and they apply like a dream with no fallout whatsoever. They feel velvety smooth, are easy to blend and build beautifully on the lid. They also last all day without creasing, even when used without an eyeshadow primer. Indeed I think these are currently my favourite eyeshadows!
As I was so impressed with the shadows when I swatched them on my hand I picked up an eyeshadow brush from It Cosmetics to try as well - the Airbrush 112 which reminded me of my all time favourite the MAC 217. Side by side although the brush hairs are not as long as the MAC they are otherwise identical. It is an excellent brush with super soft synthetic fibers, a nicely weighted handle, so far no shedding and it is only $13.00 which is a fair bit cheaper than the 217. (Most of the airbrush range including this brush is exclusive to Ulta.)
Overall.
I thought that Ulta was a great store to browse in. I liked that they had a mix of drugstore and higher end items and I was impressed that they carried a selection of fun K Beauty products. To me it felt that it was an all inclusive store where you could enjoy shopping whatever your age or budget. I'm sure I will be back before too long!
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