To be honest, I’m not sure that this is a huge debate or anything, but I am fairly certain that one thing is obvious. Sephora is obviously the higher end retail store. You walk into Sephora and there are pretty people dressed in black in red all done up, and they’re just waiting to ask you if you need help or would like a makeover. Well maybe not exactly like that, but it’s a pretty glamorous place!

Ulta is a lot more cramped together, and when you walk in, besides the occasional greeting from the cashier, you can probably make your way around without employees asking if you need help. Could be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on what you’re looking for. Now don’t get me wrong. Ulta’s more casual atmosphere doesn’t mean that it’s a cheaper place to shop. Prices on high end makeup are about the same, and you’ll pay more for drugstore makeup here than at Walmart. They also happen to carry some pretty expensive skin care brands, along with expensive hair tools you might need. They carry things you wouldn’t find at a Sephora.

Which is better? Honestly, if you’re looking for well informed employees who can help you out on finding the products that you need, but you don’t care too much about the price, then Sephora is going to be your best bet. This is one of the reasons I love Sephora. They are quite wiling to help you with anything you need. They also happen to have an abundance of applicators and makeup remover stations, so this makes trying on makeup you might want to be pretty easy.

Overall, I think Ulta is the best choice if you already know what it is that you want. Their new rewards system is pretty good. It’s a whole lot better than the Sephora equivalent, where you have to wait for perks that you’re interested. Ulta has decided to give you money back via store credit towards purchases, and even has a platinum level which makes it easier to earn points faster and thus save more money.

Another advantage Ulta has is that they often have coupons that you can use. Granted, these coupons rarely apply to prestige cosmetics so if those are all you care about Sephora might be for you. And again, Ulta does have the disadvantage of having less knowledgable employees, so don’t expect too much help in that area. In some cases, though, you could get just as good advice, maybe better.

Winner…? Ulta!

For me, the winner is going to have to be Ulta, because ultimately, I care about saving money. (I like to watch/read reviews to decide what products to buy!) And their rewards system that makes spending over $100 in 6 months almost like getting 3% cash back has everything over Sephora’s in my book.