A Former Employee Got Real About Working At Ulta Beauty & Revealed So Many Ways To Save
Tips to score free samples inside. 🎁
The exterior of an Ulta Beauty store.
If you’re a make-up lover or self-care expert, Ulta Beauty is probably in your rotation of stores to shop for the essentials. With the Holidays just around the corner, you may be looking for any way to save a few bucks on your routine.
There are tips about shopping at Ulta that only a former employee would be able to divulge.
With that said, Narcity spoke with former Ulta employee Cady to get the real tea on what it's like to work at the beauty shop chain.
Cady worked at Ulta between 2016 and 2017 and has 13 months of wisdom as a Prestige Beauty Assistant. She knows how to save money on beauty products at the checkout and even methods to score a free "top-shelf" sample.
Here's what you need to know to get the most out of your Ulta Beauty experience, according to a former employee:
The ULTAmate Rewards program is so worth it
Each time you check out, a sales associate will most likely ask you if you'd like to join the ULTAmate Rewards program. The system will credit points each time you spend on products, as well as send you exclusive coupons.
Before you quickly decline it next time, Cady says it's definitely worth signing up.
"I was able to use my points to buy higher budget products that I normally didn’t have the budget for," she said.
She noted having over 1200 points at one time, which she used to purchase items like a brand new T3 Hair Dryer.
Holiday bundles are a bargain
Each November, the store will stock its shelves with bundles and gift sets for specific brands. Cady says this is a great way to try a range of new items and not break the bank at the same time.
"When I find a brand I like," she says. "I really like to try their other products, and bundles are the easiest way to try several things without the commitment."
One of her favorites is the Peter Thomas Roth Mask kit, which offers four different products for a lower price.
You can score "top-shelf" samples
A crowd favorite at beauty stores is the free samples that always find their way into your bag.
Cady revealed that Ulta's perfume and cologne sections typically give away the best free "samples."
"Usually the samples, sometimes called gifts, for perfume(purchases) are nice bags, robes, or samples of other scents from the purchased scent line," she said.
Whereas makeup purchases typically yield you small mascara tubes or random eye shadow color samples that aren't quite as coveted.