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- [00:00]
A
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B
Hi, kirby.
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C
Hi, sarah.
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B
Welcome to los angeles.
- [00:33]
C
We are back, and this is the Ulta Beauty World breakdown that you have been waiting for. This was an incredible experience. I don't think Sarah or myself knew what to expect really going into it. This was bigger than beautycon. This was bigger than Sephora.
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B
Yeah, I've never been to anything like this. It honestly blew my expectations out of the water.
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C
And we're not just saying that because we were the hired hosts, but we did have a good time. We had a really good time.
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B
Like, if we are not invited back next year in a working capacity, I am logging on to buy tickets for myself.
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C
Yes, it was absolutely crazy. So our role at Ulta Beauty World, we were the hosts. Like I said, that meant that we oversaw the master classes which took place the day before the actual expo, and then we worked with the Ulta Beauty team at the expo to go to a variety of booths and capture social content and then also capture our own social content. So the master classes, Sarah, what was this and what did we do there?
- [01:37]
B
Okay, so this was a day of master classes. The tickets were sold separately, so there were a lot of attendees who were there solely for the masterclasses. It was a half day. There were eight master classes with a lot of incredible experts like Natasha Denona, jvn, Sacred Half Magic, Medicube, Sniff, Anastasia, Beverly Hills, and Sage. So experts and founders from the brand. So Kirby and I got to. We had never met Natasha.
- [02:08]
C
We never met Natasha Denona, and I personally had never used any of her products. I know so many people love that brand, but I had never had FaceTime. I know so many people love the foundations, specifically in concealers, but I had never had any experience using any Natasha products. So this was my first kind of foray, and I am so impressed. I love the duo Blush.
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B
Yes.
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C
When you bought your ticket, which was $75, you got to see all of these founders and experts talk about their brands. But then you got a case underneath your chair that included product from all of these brands so that you could go home and use them.
- [02:42]
B
Right. I mean, I was so excited when it was in our room when we got there. Like, I've just. It's incredible. Like, the whole weekend in and of itself is like surprise and delight at every corner. But the master classes, like that little gift box was amazing. So, yeah, so Natasha was there. She came out on stage with one eye done, and then she taught everyone how to do the other eye. Then we had jvn, who, they've been on the podcast a couple times now, just walked through kind of like the whole portfolio and introduced some new products. Sacred. We got to meet Ms. Tina.
- [03:16]
C
Ms. Tina was there.
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B
Wow, that was like, really a moment. There's like this glow around her.
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C
She was wearing her signature pink lipstick. Yes.
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B
And then the whole team always wearing white. So they did a really fun tutorial showing the different products that they have. One in particular that we were really blown away by was their new, like, styling collection. Was it?
- [03:37]
C
So they introduced their styling collection, but one of the products was this body product.
- [03:40]
B
Yes.
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C
That. I mean, the hair for both hair types that they used it on was incredible. Just so much volume, so much height.
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B
Yes. And then they also, like the before and afters for the scalp serum, which I'm like, okay, I need to be using that.
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C
I didn't see those.
- [03:56]
B
Okay. It was like there was someone with a bald patch. And then weeks later, there was full growth. I was like, this is incredible. I need to be using it.
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C
Wow.
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B
Donnie. Davey.
- [04:07]
C
Donnie was there. She talked about Half Magic, and she talked about the Euphoria collection, which will be live exclusively at Ulta at the end of the day this month. And Medicube was there. They had their ambassador, Sir John, kind of going through and introducing not only one of the new tools that they have, but also some of the skincare products that they have available. We interviewed the co founder of sniff, Brian Edwards. Sarah, had you smelled or used Sniff in the past? No.
- [04:37]
B
And I kind of felt bad that I was not familiar with the brand. They were kind enough to send us product before we came to Ulta Beauty World, but the brand is just, like, so fun. And I thought maybe it was going to be too kind of kitschy for me.
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C
I agree.
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B
But this, the scents were incredible.
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C
Yeah. They're elevated scents that are nostalgic in a way. And we actually. I first heard about Sniff from Margot Ambuba.
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B
Oh, yeah.
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C
The beauty editor. She told us about this fragrance that she loves called Crumb Couture. It's from their secret menu, which includes a bunch of other fragrances, which I'll get to a little bit later. But I was like, I don't know if I want to smell like a croissant, to be completely honest. Like, I don't want to smell like a bakery.
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B
I don't really?
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C
But the visuals for Sniff have always been really eye catching and elevated.
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B
Yes.
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C
So then when we got the milk and cereal collection sent to us ahead of time, I was like, I don't know if I'm going to like this same now. I'm obsessed. Yeah, they have this fragrance actually. I'm going to wait. I'm going to wait because I'm going
- [05:39]
B
to talk about it. But it was a really fun conversation. Brian was great.
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C
Yes.
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B
And then we had Anastasia Beverly Hills teaching us her brow secrets, which she like, rarely does tutorials or masterclasses, like to the public. So I was like watching closely.
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C
She was giving these tips about microblading and how like if you have microblading, you have to work extra hard to cover. And I was like, fix my brows. Like, just do my brows for me.
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B
Then if there's one thing about Anastasia, it is she will tell you the truth about your brows.
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C
She does not like my brows right now. That woman does not like my brows. She said, said, you need, you need to come see me. And I said, babe, I've been trying.
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B
Yes, tell us when you.
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C
We were there and, and fix my brows to your liking.
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B
Thank you.
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C
And then Sage had this moment, which Sage is a brand Sarah and I are really familiar with because anytime there's
- [06:30]
B
some kind of wellness self care mailer, they always include a sage essential oil.
- [06:37]
C
Yes, exactly. And they did this moment of breath work. And the director of education, Kristin, was the most lovely, calming, peaceful woman of all time.
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B
I want her to be with us at all times.
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C
I was like, if I were Britney Spears, this would be my Felicia. She's so calm and just like puts everything into perspective in a beautiful way. I mean, there were people like yelling at her in the audience because they didn't have one of the products that she thought they had. And it was a mix up. Like some people had it, some people didn't. And there was a mix up with the packing of the boxes. Everybody ended up getting it. But like people were like screaming like, we don't have this. And I, I was like, do I jump in to be like, everyone needs to pipe down. Like, this must be a calming moment.
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B
But Kristen handled it.
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C
She got it.
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B
Such ease and grace. And she led us in this sage breath, which you basically roll on essential oil onto one of your palms, rub it together to create warmth and then inhale and exhale. And I swear it like really reset me. Like it energized me. I just, I am now reminded I need to do that several times a Day. But Chris, she's an angel.
- [07:45]
C
It was fabulous. It was fabulous. So that's what we spent Wednesday doing. It was from 9am to around 1 or 2pm and it was crazy because there were 2,000 people there. And a lot of those people were like, how do I get tickets to tomorrow? They were asking us as if we had any pool. I mean, yes, we were employed by ULTA to do this, but I could not get an extra ticket.
- [08:09]
B
No, not even the ULTA employees can get tickets for their friends or their family. Like these tickets are perhaps the hardest tickets to get.
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C
100%. We had Ulta employees telling us that their moms were like, oh, I have to wait in the queue. Yes. Yeah. Yes you do.
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B
Yes.
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C
Yep. So then let's go to the Expo. This was the big moment for everyone. This is why everybody either drove or flew in. There were so many people there, 200 plus vendors, 3,000 people that were there from 9am to 5pm Tickets were $160 for what you walked away with. I mean, not only just the product that you were rolling around in your roller cart, but then afterwards you would take your registration code and go and get a base suitcase full of more product. Do you know if the base weekender bag also had product in it?
- [09:02]
B
No, I think that we received what everyone got. And so the weekender bag was empty, which likely was intentional, so that you could put a lot of the the other gratis product that you got from walking the expo in the bag. But then the suitcase itself was filled with so much product and I did not know that that was something that everyone was getting. It was already in Kirby in my rooms. And so I thought that it was maybe something that like edit editors got or was like part of the FLC or. Flc? Yes. Which is like we'll get into what FLC is. No, when I saw the footage of all of those suitcases, the weekenders, I was like, wow. If you were to put a number value at what people walked away with,
- [09:46]
C
people walked away with thousands upon thousands of dollars worth of product. I'm not kidding.
- [09:50]
B
Because it varied because everyone got that bag, obviously. But like depending on how many booths you went to throughout the day, how much product you actually got, I mean that obviously changes it, but it has to be like in the thousands of dollars, 100%.
- [10:02]
C
And I saw videos of people taking their roller bags, leaving, dumping it in a car, someone that couldn't come going back in, getting more. And I think that's why they had passports. So this was an element that Sarah and I missed because obviously we were with the Ulta team, so we didn't have to like go get stamps, but I think you had to have your passport and get it stamped in order to receive a product. And then that way they could kind of control like people going back multiple
- [10:28]
B
times, especially if they were giving away like multiple full size products.
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C
100%. Granted, there were brands that were just like walking the floor shoving products at you, like, and I'll be like, I have enough of these, like, please talk to me anymore.
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B
It was, people were like, I'm saying this in a, in a lovely way, like people were chasing us to give us product.
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C
They wanted you to have their products. So the expo was so well run. And FLC is the field leadership conference that happens before Ulta Beauty World. FLC used to be called gmc, the General Managers Conference. And you used to host. Yes, I've hosted it twice. But this is why Ulta Beauty World even exists. Because during these leadership conferences, obviously the managers and the field teams come, they learn information about the business, they learn information about brands. This year, for example, Selena Gomez surprised everybody and came into like a fireside chat, right? And then the next day they have what they call the Brand Expo. This is a place for these leaders at the company to go through, meet these brands, learn about these brands, learn about new launches so that then they can go back to their teams at their respective Ultas and teach them and educate them so that they can sell those products. That's the entire point of what FLC in the Brand Expo is.
- [11:45]
B
Yes.
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C
Then Ulta decided to open the Brand Expo up to the public, which honestly,
- [11:51]
B
I can't believe that they hadn't done that before. Because I was talking to a founder at the expo who used to do FLC and she was like, honestly I, I was just so shocked that all these brands were pouring so much money into these extravagant booths just for flc, which like, yes, you obviously want the Ulta teams to experience the best of the best.
- [12:12]
C
But like, those are hundreds of thousands
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B
of dollars being put into these booths. Like, this needs to be open to the public. This also needs to be content captured, if you will, which now it really has 100%.
- [12:24]
C
So I say all of that because it is a well oiled machine. This is not their first rodeo, this is only their second Ulta Beauty World, but it's not the second time they've ever put on something of this magnitude. So when people I see online are like, wow, this was executed perfectly, they Thought of everything. They have been doing this at least since before I was hosting it in 2015, 2016, because I hosted 2018 and 2019. Yeah, they've been doing this for a very long time.
- [12:54]
B
So even though there were 3,000 people, it never felt too crowded. The lines weren't super long. Unless of course, it was like this really big fancy activation that there was a line, but it wasn't like wrapping around the corner. This also reminds me of like, did you ever play like, what was that roller coaster game where you build your own amusement park? Or like Sims?
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C
Did you ever play that? Yes.
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B
So it's like when you're building these big things and you need to plan for like bathrooms and food vendors and things like that, that's like things that you don't really think about until like you're actually there at a, at an event and you're like, where's the bathroom? Where do I get food? I need water. This was, like you said, perhaps the biggest convention center I have ever been to. But there were bathrooms aplenty. There were water stations. So many food vendors. Like they really did not leave any detail unnoticed.
- [13:44]
C
They knew that people were going to stay all day and they wanted to make sure they were accommodated. So it was. Everything was thought out. Everything had had the details down to a tee. I posted a video of the shipping situation that I think now has 400,000 views on TikTok.
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B
So genius.
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C
30 second video of me showing what happens after you get all of your product and you go up to a shipping station, they find your registry and they ask you how many shipping labels you want. Each shipping label was $35 each. And with each shipping label, you got a box that would hold up to 25 pounds of product. That was the max amount of product you can put in one box. I saw people with eight boxes. I mean, they were going to town. I had one because I am not a psychopath like Sarah. I don't know how she had this many. I was like, do not give me product.
- [14:35]
B
Well, you, you also checked your bag. I like didn't check anything because I wanted to just show ship every. So I shipped my weekender bag home. I shipped like my base suitcase. But I still like the fact that I had the option to ship it for 35 a box.
- [14:50]
C
That's like a steal. Okay, Okay. I thought you had so much product that you had three boxes. Okay, that changes things for me. Yeah, I just had one box with the stuff from my roller bag. 35. But I saw people going to Town. And I saw some commentary online of people being like, 25 pounds is not a lot. Are you on crack?
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B
I like, I'm not good with numbers and weight, but 25 pounds is a
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C
lot of product, individualized product that you're getting and oftentimes small. 25 pounds of that. I am dreading getting this box. It's going to be so heavy.
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B
Like one rollaway bag, luggage that is equivalent to like 25 pounds, like, of the product inside. That was. Yeah, that was great.
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C
That is insane. And then you go into this giant conference room. Essentially, it was like a big FedEx. Yes. And there were tables set up. They had tape and they were like, yeah, scales. If you're going over, you got to take stuff out, get another box. I mean, they. It was a well oiled machine.
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B
And then you just drop it.
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C
Dropped it off. Yeah. And then you walked away. You had your receipt and you wait to get it. And it was incredible. Okay, Sarah. So before we get into some of the comments and concerns that we saw online regarding this event, I thought we would shout out some of the standout booths that we liked and saw. Granted, I didn't get to see everything.
- [16:13]
B
Same. I felt so bad. There were so many booths that so many people came up to us and they're like, come to our booth. Come to our booth. There were. It was just so big, you guys.
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C
It was madness. Personal day gave away their hypochlorous acid, which can fit in your pocket. It is flat. And it's such a smart idea. And then Lily Reinhart even showed up. And she is such a doll.
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B
She was so cute.
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C
We love her.
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B
I was like, how are you doing this? You were just. You just finished promoting a movie, right? Like, and you're here from like 12 to 5 or whatever it is. And she's like, I wanted to go to Epic Universe.
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C
Yes.
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B
And Disney World.
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C
I. This is a girl after my own heart. I saw her video at Epic Universe, freaking out over Princess Peach. It was really cute.
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B
So cute.
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C
And her booth kind of looked like a retro living room. It was very adorable. Like a really cute photo moment. Several experts were on site. We had Clay Hawkins. He was at Sexy Hair. He brought his bedazzled leaf blower. Michael Anthony, who is Ariana's makeup artist, was at REM Beauty. I don't know how I missed him.
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B
So bummed to miss that.
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C
I know Donnie, obviously. Donnie Davey was at the Half Magic booth bedazzling people. Kellyanne, makeup by Kellyanne, was at Maybelline.
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B
So was Erica.
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C
Taylor Shelby Ann was at Thayer's, and then, of course, JVN was at JV Hair doing people's hair. He was doing Deepaka's hair from Live Tinted. He also did Donnie's hair. It was really cute to see all the founders get together and make content together.
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B
Yeah.
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C
And there's probably so many more.
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B
Yeah.
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C
That so many countless forgot. But I will say, it was as if akin to royalty showing up to Ulta Beauty. Khloe Kardashian showed up not even for her own booth, because Khloe's fragrance had its own booth. Okay.
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B
Like, my fragrance couldn't pay me enough. I'm going to the branded opportunity.
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C
Right. So she's now the new hair Ambassador for It's a 10 hair care. They're celebrating 30 years. We got to meet the founders. They were lovely people.
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B
Fabulous. Absolutely fabulous.
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C
Absolute pandemonium. So there was a line, like a maze line that you had to wait in if you wanted to meet her. Ulta was like, hey, we have the hosts of Ulta Beauty World. Like, we need to get some content with her. It was a hard. It was. Yeah, it was a hard note.
- [18:20]
A
And.
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C
And granted, I was told later from various people that this was not a Chloe thing. It sounds like it maybe wasn't. It's a 10 thing or something, because they were like, Chloe has vested interest in wanting to promote Ulta. She has her own brands there. So I'm really curious to hear, like, why. I also think it was a lighting thing. I think that there was no control over the lighting. And as you guys know, these celebrities like to present themselves in a specific way. So because they didn't know what the lighting was like, they just were not gonna mess around with it.
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B
And honestly, she was so generous with her time. Already there was a huge line of people waiting, and it was a meet and greet. Like, even though they weren't allowed to take photos with her, she. I saw so many videos captured of her talking to, like, each and every person that waited in line for her.
- [19:06]
C
Oh, you saw videos. Even though the sheriff had to get involved and was telling people to keep it moving. I mean, it was. Was a video chaos.
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B
I saw a video of one of the Luna Bronze co founders.
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C
Oh, yes, Maddie.
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B
Yes, Maddie. Talking to Chloe about, you know, melanoma. Exactly. So I thought that was incredible. But so Kirby and I and Colt, Gay man with a spray tan who's, like, best friends with the entire Kardashian
- [19:28]
C
reports on the Kardashians.
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B
We were the only three people who were allowed to take a photo with Khloe, and we felt extremely honored.
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C
No, they all got photos. What? They all got photos.
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B
So they all got photos.
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C
The.
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B
The.
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C
The. The stipulation was that, like, they couldn't bring their phone and try to get a selfie with her or try to take video of her. That's why our manager, Bradley, was being stood in front of the whole time because he was trying to get B roll footage.
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B
Okay, okay.
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C
They. The photos that you got had to be from the professional photo with the professional lighting setup.
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B
Okay, got it, got it.
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C
Everybody was waiting in line. Okay, Everybody got a photo where these photos are tbd. I don't know how anyone's gonna get it. I. They didn't get a code from me. They didn't say, what's your name? I have no idea where this photo has gone.
- [20:14]
B
Jessica Gargulo has us. I. She. She publicist, she texted me and she's like, I'm waiting for it. Don't worry.
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C
I'm just like, where are these pictures?
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B
And I'm like, by the way, I better look great in these photos too.
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C
No. Like, I told Chloe, I knew I was lit for the gods, so I knew I was gonna. She's like, yes, honey.
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B
Because she had our friends and amazing glam team with her.
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C
Yes.
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B
Melissa Herkman.
- [20:36]
C
I mean, I love Chloe, but I was more excited to see Melissa. I can't nail that girl down to save my life.
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B
So Melissa Herkman, they know what they're doing. They're making sure their girl looks good. They made sure we looked good too.
- [20:47]
C
Yes. They are absolutely fabulous. I'm so glad we saw Melissa. Hi, Melissa. I love you dearly. Okay, I have to shout this out. I didn't see anybody from the two faced team at their booth like Elise Renault, their global makeup artist, but it smelled. It was a chocolate shop. Okay. Because obviously all their stuff that they're putting out, their bronzers and everything, smell like chocolate. It smelled like chocolate. It was like you were at Disneyland and they were pumping chocolate. I don't know where it was. I don't know how they did it. I was looking around the booth, trying to be like, where is this smell coming from? I don't know how they did it, but it was magical.
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B
Yeah.
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C
And whoever did it deserves a big fat raise and a long vacation because
- [21:23]
B
it felt so on brand. And it made you just. It reminded you how special too faced is.
- [21:29]
C
Yes, 100%. Okay, let's get into the common critiques. You guys seem to enjoy hearing the critiques and our feedback to them. So let's get into it. First critique of Ulta Beauty World. Only influencers got tickets. Sarah, I am going to get on my soapbox about this one.
- [21:47]
B
Please. I'll join you.
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C
There were 3,000 tickets for 2 million people in line. And I don't know if there was a creator. I remember hearing that someone looked at the code on the back end of the line and all of this stuff and claimed that there were tickets set aside for influencers. There were tickets set aside for influencers, but not a part of the 3K allotment for the people to buy tickets. Now, you don't have to believe that, but what you should believe is that no influencer that's on Ulta Beauty's radar needs to fly to Orlando to meet with brands and to receive free product, because they get that product sent to their home. It was why I did not walk away with a ton of stuff. And I'm not even an influencer.
- [22:35]
B
Right.
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C
Like, we're journalists. We have been doing this for a very long time. But I'm gonna do a giveaway of my base bag. I'm. I am not going to keep that. I don't need to keep it. I have a lot of that product already at home. And same goes for a lot of the influencers that you guys are seeing on your algorithms, which, by the way, you see them because you engage with them. Yep. I saw a lot of normal people posting, but also a lot of normal people don't post. That's.
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B
That is the thing that I don't understand. I kept saying it all weekend. They're like, I only see influencers posting from Ulta.
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C
They only invite.
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B
These normal people aren't making content. That's why you're not seeing it.
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C
And there was ones that are. You're not engaging with.
- [23:12]
B
Yes, exactly. So it's not being fed to you. There was this one creator who made a video and she was in the audience and she was like, I'm going to ask people if they're an influencer or their creator at Ulta Beauty World. And she's like, are you an influencer? And they're like, no. Are you an influencer? No. Then she stood in front of a group of people and she was like, scream if you're an influencer.
- [23:29]
C
And they're like, yeah.
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B
Like, I'm like, thank you. Thank you so much.
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C
So I want to say I do understand why people were upset with the line situation, the online queue. I think that there was some glitching that happened and people felt it wasn't fair, but it wasn't unfair because they just gave a bunch of influencers tickets.
- [23:47]
B
Yeah.
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C
Like the Ulta Beauty Collective was there as a perk of being a part of the Ulta Beauty Collective. Those tickets completely separate from general public. Same with press. There were a bunch of press there that we knew. Completely separate. Mine and Sarah's tickets. Separate, separate. And then brands had the opportunity to allocate, I think, one ticket to an influencer to come and be a part of the promo of their booth. Whether that's doing a meet and greet or creating social content for them. That's how those people got there. They didn't actually have to wait in line in a queue to buy those tickets. And when you're waiting in a queue like that, you don't have to set aside a certain amount of tickets.
- [24:26]
B
That's not how that works.
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C
Exactly.
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B
By the way, I just wanted to shout out, I saw Priscilla Psy, the founder of cocokind, and I was like, who'd you invite? Like, who'd you give your ticket to? And she was like, oh, one of our customers.
- [24:36]
C
Yeah, a community member. I'm like, that's the way to do it, 100%. So the next comment I've seen a lot of is, why can't they do two days or similar sessions like Sephora? Or why can't more people get this opportunity?
- [24:50]
B
Yeah.
- [24:50]
C
When you're running an expo of this level, it's not just a free for all.
- [24:54]
B
No.
- [24:55]
C
Like Sarah said, like, you have to account for things like, okay, there has to be a food vendor area. There has to be easy access to bathrooms.
- [25:01]
B
Also, you have to pay the staff that is working. Literally. I mean, alone, just the shipping. There was probably 30 people working. Just the shipping.
- [25:10]
C
Fire codes exist.
- [25:12]
B
There were.
- [25:13]
C
Police yelled at us. Yes. Okay. And like, we were doing nothing wrong, but, like, we got yelled at.
- [25:18]
B
They were trying to keep it as safe as possible. So I totally understand that they didn't need to be as aggressive as they were. However, it is.
- [25:24]
C
Yeah.
- [25:25]
B
To your point. Like, oh, and by the way, this was at the Orange County Convention center in Orlando, which is massive, but at the same convention center, there was a cheerleading competition going on.
- [25:36]
C
Yeah.
- [25:36]
B
There was an orthopedic conference going on. Like, there's so much going on.
- [25:41]
C
Yes. So they wanted to make sure that everybody that was entering and exiting were the right. I mean, all of that to say is 3, 000 tickets. And. And also they wanted it to be enjoyable for people. Like Sarah said There were lines, but they weren't so long that you were like dreading it. Yeah, exactly.
- [25:59]
B
Yeah.
- [26:00]
C
You were able to get around and be like, hey, okay, I'm gonna skip this booth right now and come back later. You were able to walk without bumping into people. You were able to, if you wanted to make content, get that content. If you wanted to take pictures, take pictures. You didn't feel like you were stuffed like sardines into this place. And I think that's what made it even more enjoyable.
- [26:18]
B
Yeah, that's why they keep it to, I mean just. But to 3,000 people. That's why.
- [26:23]
C
For the public.
- [26:24]
B
For the public. And I almost, I kind of like the fact that. Because I did also think about how other conventions do the different time sessions and the different days. But I do like the fact that you get nine to five, you get to be there all day.
- [26:40]
C
You're there all there, you're there all day. There's 200 plus vendors. So if you time it correctly or you have the map ahead of time, you know exactly where you want to go and what you want to hit. And you don't risk not getting to see something that you want to see. Right. And like we mentioned earlier, they already have two days of this. They have the Brand Expo for flc, the Field Leadership Conference, and then they have the Ulta Beauty World for the public. And this expo, it costs millions of dollars. And while a lot of people are like, but there are retailers chain and they make millions of dollars. There's budgets for a reason, babe.
- [27:14]
B
Yeah, exactly.
- [27:16]
C
And like because you want it doesn't mean you get to have it.
- [27:18]
B
Exactly. And a lot of these brands too, like, I mean we've said this, but they're spending hundreds of thousands of dollars. A lot of that is free product for guests. And they just can't afford to do another day of giving away 3000 plus full size free products.
- [27:33]
C
Yeah, I think a lot of people aren't thinking about the brands, they're thinking more so of Ulta. And like Ulta can figure it out. But one brand told us that their build out was $100,000, not including the products that they gave away on both of those days. So the last thing I'll say is some of the commentary around this event does kind of give participation trophy. Like I got in line so I deserve to get a ticket. And like, sure. But also life is not fair. And I don't know if that's harsh of me to say, but nobody's entitled to these events. Like I just, I saw this one video and this girl was just like, oh, more people should be able to experience this. And I'm like, being able to like, gorge themselves on beauty products that they're not going to be able to use all of, like. And this is actually one critique, I will say, of the entire experiences. No one person needs this amount of product.
- [28:25]
B
No. I am hoping and praying that these people are sharing with their friends and families or storing it away for later years.
- [28:32]
C
It sounds like it. And I think that if you are an aspiring influencer, this is a great opportunity to meet brands and get that experience. Experience and then also go home and like, use that product for content. I totally get it. But the amount of product I saw some people with, I was like, this does feel gluttonous in a way.
- [28:47]
B
Yeah.
- [28:48]
C
And I have mentioned this to the Ulta Beauty team, but I said there has to be a way to reward the people that, the actual customers of Ulta, the people that buy consistently and have reached a certain tier level at Ulta Beauty, maybe they get pretty access.
- [29:06]
B
But I did say, like, as a longtime Nordstrom customer and former employee, they always reward their top customers with like, specific buying times, secret sale, things like that. Like, I do think that that would be really great if they were able to do that. But again, like, logistically, I don't know.
- [29:24]
C
I don't know.
- [29:24]
B
Possible.
- [29:25]
C
Right. We don't.
- [29:26]
B
How do they even check that we
- [29:27]
C
don't know the logistics of it all? Well, they can see how. What orders they place on. Right, Right. So if there's someone. If it's like you have spent $20,000 at Ulta this year, your access date is this date totally general. It's kind of like Amex pre sale. Right. You know what I mean?
- [29:41]
B
No, exactly. Totally similar to Amex. But then it's also, they want to be able to give it, give the opportunity to people who don't have a lot of money to spend, you know, on products all year round and, and they really just want to come. It's, it's. I get it.
- [29:55]
C
I get it. And I think that is a very valid point. Like, that's a point that I did not think of, but I also think of the people who only wanted to get this ticket because they saw last year and saw the sheer amount of product.
- [30:06]
B
Yeah.
- [30:06]
C
That people are walking away with. And those people are the greedy people who want to get as much product as possible and then potentially sell it or do whatever it was. You could tell there were people there that were literally Loving life and enjoying every moment of it. And there were people there that didn't want product. They just wanted the free product. And you know, yes, you paid $160. Sure, you feel that you need to get product out of it. But also the brands have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars. They expect to be able to talk to you about their brand.
- [30:34]
B
Yeah.
- [30:35]
C
So there is a give and take that I think that everyone needs to keep in mind when you are attending events like this, whether it be Ulta Beauty World or Sephora. But I understand now why people were. Because I kept thinking like, why are people so upset about not getting tickets to this? Like it's just an event. Like there's going to be more. Get over it. And I like walked in and was like, oh my God.
- [30:57]
B
Yeah. But I want to special thank you to all the people who have comments and like support supporting Kirby and me and Glossy because there were so many
- [31:07]
C
people who were so mad and we're like, we're here. No, no, no. I just want to say that if you were like threatening death because you didn't get to Ulta Beauty World, you need to speak to a psychiatrist and get on some medication immediately. Like this is just quickly.
- [31:19]
B
It's just makeup.
- [31:20]
C
I'm very, very concerned for your well being. Ulta Beauty World also introduced us to several new brands that Sarah and I hadn't had prior experience with. Maybe in like some regard, but not FaceTime with founders or experts and really never like trying their product in a meaningful way.
- [31:38]
B
Yeah.
- [31:38]
C
And I think that was my favorite part of this too. I've walked away and I have new brands within my skincare and makeup routine that I'm so, so excited about. So Sara, what is your first one?
- [31:48]
B
Okay, so the first one is dermatology. That's D R M, T L G Y. I had heard of this brand before, but I hadn't tried their. I was walking. Kirby was doing a tick tock live and I was rushing through to try to see as many booths as I could before I had to catch my flight. And this man stopped me from the dermatology team and he was like, I have to show you my recently played episodes on my phone. And it was a Los Angeles episode and it was so, so cute. And then we talked and I was like, I'm a familiar but I haven't tried the products. So they basically they're, you know, dermatologist founded. They aim to provide dermatology backed skin care and treatment based makeup focused on skin longevity and real results. So the product that has gone somewhat viral that they're known for is their luminous eye corrector. It has SPF 41, it's their best seller, and it is a multitasking SPF eye corrector that camouflages dark circles, visibly improves appearance of fine lines and puffiness. It's made with peptides and snow mushroom love and it comes in four different shades. And there were other products that from the line that I was really excited to try, but I haven't yet. So that was one brand that I walked away and I was like, I'm really excited to try their products.
- [33:01]
C
Okay, I need to get my hands on that because I have not tried their products before. Mine is Luna Bronze. We had dinner the night before the expo. Or was it. No, it was when we first got in town.
- [33:12]
B
So the night before, the night before
- [33:13]
C
the masterclass with two brands, one being Divi, who we know and love, and the other being Luna Bronze. Luna Bronze is a self tanning brand. If it's a self tanning brand, it's on my radar. But I haven't been able to try everything. And I had not actually been able to try this brand before. But we met the founders, Maddie and Ree. They've been best friends for decades at this point and they started Luna Bronze in 2015. They're Australian, so they know a thing or two about a good tan. But Maddie had a brush with skin cancer three times and so she has been meticulous about sun protection, staying out of the sun, but also wanting a glow and wanting a tan. And hence why Luna Bronze was born. The hero product is the self tanning jelly. It's this hydrating gel, but it's purple and it looks like a purple shampoo. So just on that alone, it. It has this viral factor of like, wait, you're putting purple all over your body. And of course color theory exists. So a lot of self tanners have a olive or green tint. Some are like purple or violet. So it gives you more natural tan depending on your undertones. But I'm going to be trying the hydrating gel once I scrub off my airbrush. Tan. Yeah. And I just thought that the story behind this brand was different in that a lot of these self tanning brands are just like, you want to be tan, B tan. And this is like they have a mission. This is like life or death.
- [34:38]
B
Yeah.
- [34:38]
C
Like, do not tan in the sun.
- [34:40]
B
I really have just become obsessed with the two of them. They were so, so sweet and I'm so excited for them because they Just entered Ulta this year, correct?
- [34:49]
C
Yeah, like a month or two ago.
- [34:50]
B
Yeah.
- [34:51]
C
What's your next one?
- [34:52]
B
So this one is called a coa. It's ocoa. I learned about this brand when I was a judge for the Tower 28 Clean Beauty School. And they were competing. I don't believe they won, but I did vote for them because I was just so obsessed with their mission, the products. The two founders are sisters, and they found me on the floor and they, I have a bag for you because they gave me one to give to you. And they were just so full of energy, and the brand is just so beautiful. So it's luxury curly hair care. Rooted in Dominican culture, inspired by ingredients and traditions from the Dominican Republic. The two sisters have the most gorgeous curls. They were, like, so bouncy and healthy. The products are built from their own experience, navigating stigma around natural curls. And they really focus on including nourishing ingredients like hibiscus, mango butter without leaving, like, any residue or a heavy buildup for your curls. They have a whole system. So if you have curly hair, they have the shampoo, the conditioner, the curl cream, the styling gel. All about hydration and making sure your curls look really nice and defined. I just was so obsessed with. With them. And I obviously, like, I don't have curly hair, so this isn't for me. But if you have curly hair, I highly, highly suggest checking it out. I think they're fairly new to Ulta as well, and they were just, like, so happy to be there.
- [36:13]
C
We need to give this to Faye.
- [36:14]
B
Yes. Oh, my God, you're right. Okay.
- [36:17]
C
Because she has curly hair.
- [36:18]
B
Yes.
- [36:18]
C
Okay. This is a brand that I've heard of but had never had experience with. And honestly, the name kind of weirded me out. It's called fwee Now I'm obsessed. Like, this is a brand that I became obsessed with. They had product in are. What did they. What was it in there? Oh, it was in the suitcase.
- [36:37]
B
Yeah.
- [36:38]
C
I did take some things from the base suitcase because I wanted to try them. They had two products in the suitcase. One is the blurry pudding pot. This is their viral hit. This is what everybody knows them for. This is a K beauty inspired brand, or maybe a K beauty brand. I can't remember. It just gives this really gorgeous blurred flush on your lips or your cheeks. I have the shade skirt. It's this, like, really pretty poppy pink. And then on my lips, I'm wearing the long lasting dual color stick lip and liner. The lip liner is super long lasting. I wore this to Disney World, to Epcot, to Epic Universe. It stayed put. And then the lipstick on the opposite side can be used on your cheeks too. So it's kind of like a three in one. It just glides on the skin. It was really pretty. I think it's like super affordable. Less than $20 at Ulta. So FUI now has a FOI in.
- [37:32]
B
I love that. I can't wait to try that. Okay, I'm going to grab that from my suitcase. Okay, last one, last one. We put this in the reel that we made. There was a K Beauty World booth at Ulta Beauty World and it featured a bunch of K Beauty brands that were curated by the K Beauty World founder, Sarah Chung park, who I think you know as well. She's like, they call her, I think, the godmother of K Beauty. She's like, spends so much time in Korea and like brings back all these incredible brands specifically for retailers like Ulta. And in this booth they featured 10 new hair care brands that they are that has entered Ulta recently. One of them being a brand called Narca. So it is a brand that has existed in NK Beauty. It's like big at all of young, but now it's at Ulta and it's built around rebuilding damaged hair using micro vegan proteins and core repair tech. They're known specifically for their hair mascara and hair wands. And so two of the products that Sarah showed me was a they're like best selling hair mascara styling wand, which works a little bit like the Chris McMillan or someone told us they use one from Kristin S. Like it's not anything new. I think the formula is different. And Sarah told me that it's like, you know, it obviously hydrating but also not crunchy. All the things. But the one that I was super impressed by was it was a dry
- [38:48]
C
shampoo wand that's so cool.
- [38:50]
B
And it's a gel to powder formula. And you literally apply it to your roots like you would, you know, a hair mascara. And it absorbs oil. It doesn't leave, you know, a powdery residue. It doesn't leave any sort of like, you know, white powder on your scalp. It smells really fresh and clean, which I really love that. I mean, I love that about K Beauty in general. But if it smells like you just washed your hair and I saw it work in her, in her roots, like as she applied. And I was just like, this is so genius because it's so small. You put in your purse travel friendly. And I just, I'm like, I give this to me now. So that's one that I was really, really impressed by.
- [39:28]
C
Great for Bangs.
- [39:29]
B
Great for bank. That actually. You're so right, because that was what was on the website. They were showing it for bangs.
- [39:35]
C
Perfect. Yeah. Okay. My last brand is Sniff. We mentioned them a little bit earlier. This is a fragrance brand. It was born in 2020. It's gone super viral for its secret menu. And it has fragrances like Creme Couture, which smells like. Like a croissant. There's also Dead Dinosaur, which smells like, quote, unquote, nostalgic gasoline. I have a sample of it that I can't bring myself to smell yet, but I'll let you guys know what I think. Soda Snob is my personal secret menu favorite. It smells like a crisp Coca Cola. And y' all know my addiction to
- [40:06]
B
Coca Cola, but it's like, even the Creme Couture, because that's what I was wearing. It's what you would think. But then there's, like, an elevated sexiness to it.
- [40:15]
C
Right. 100%. So there's also another fragrance that they have called Sniff Me, and this is a fan favorite. It's a skin scent. I tried it for the first time last night, and I think the reason why people love it is because it starts off sweet. It has these notes of, like, plum at the top, and then it develops into a more masculine scent. So.
- [40:35]
B
Oh, I need to smell this. I didn't. Haven't smelled it yet.
- [40:38]
C
Yeah, it has oris in it, which is powdery and has, like, a violet, like effect, but it's also woody and earthy. So you go into it thinking it's going to smell one way, and then it turns into another. In my brain, it was like, ooh, this smells like me. And then it switches, and it's like, this smells like my man.
- [40:55]
B
Oh, I had a man stay.
- [40:56]
C
So anyways, there's Sniff Me, and then they just launched their cereal and milk collection. 2% smells like milk.
- [41:03]
B
It's so good.
- [41:04]
C
It's. It's so weird, but so good. And I thought I'd want to smell like milk, but they have notes of dairy to notes of, like, milk Carton Accord.
- [41:14]
B
Listen, I know all of this sounds weird, but you have to smell it.
- [41:17]
C
Yes.
- [41:18]
B
To really get it.
- [41:19]
C
There's this sweetness to it, too, because it has notes of vanilla and praline, and I'm absolutely obsessed with it. They paired it with three body mists because the 2% is actually EDT Udo toilette, which, looking it up, the difference between that and a parfum is like parfum is meant to be like long lasting and at night and then the toilet is meant to be for like more daytime, which tracks for me. So 2%. You pair it with one of the body mists or maybe all three if you want. That smell like nostalgic cereals, like Cinnamon toast Crunch, Froot Loops or Lucky Charms. My favorite is crunch time because it has this cinnamon cute flavor profile to it. It's a brand that I definitely think should be on everybody's radar. And I think most of the perfumes are $68. Yeah. They're not huge vats by any means,
- [42:09]
B
but it's more accessible than a lot of other way more perfume brands. Like so much fun.
- [42:14]
C
Yeah.
- [42:14]
B
Like they're not taking themselves too seriously, but they're creating really beautiful products.
- [42:18]
C
Agreed. Okay. And lastly, rumor has it, Rumor has it. We cannot confirm anything officially, but we were told by various vendors and then we also saw a lot of people posting about this. So if others are posting, we can say that we have heard that next year Ulta Beauty world will be in Anaheim, California.
- [42:42]
B
They're like, we heard that. We Kirby wants us to keep it in the Disney adjacent family.
- [42:48]
C
Kirby wants to go to Disneyland and wants to stay at the lodge.
- [42:52]
B
Also, the Anaheim Convention center is massive, so that makes sense.
- [42:55]
C
100 also it's like a destination, so I think that makes sense. Again, this is not an official announcement and we, we aren't 100% confirmed. I mean, seems likely lots of field leaders were posting that they're going to be seeing us in Anaheim, which is great.
- [43:08]
B
Great for us because it's in our backyard. Yeah. Even if we don't get in, we're
- [43:11]
C
going to be camping out.
- [43:13]
B
I'm curious knocking on the doors.
- [43:14]
C
If you were watching Ulta Beauty World online as it was happening and you weren't there, what did you think? What were the most interesting booths? What were some of the takeaways that you had? We would love to know. And then if you have any feedback from what we shared, keep us posted.
- [43:40]
A
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