I shopped Sephora and Ulta to compare selection and experience. There was a clear winner in each category.

I went to the Sephora on 60th Street and Lexington, in Manhattan’s Upper East Side. It was the afternoon of Halloween, so the streets were busy with people leaving work or school and dressed up to go out.

Holiday gift sets were displayed at the front of the store. I noticed several employees who looked busy helping shoppers.

The store positioned this display in prime real estate between the entrance and the check out line. There were several people in line at the registers.

I intentionally visited the store without makeup on so I could try some products. I was hoping to find a waterproof mascara and a tinted moisturizer, but quickly noticed that there weren’t any disposable tools to apply makeup or wipes to remove it.

One look at the testers told me they are frequently handled and that I should proceed with caution. I skipped the mascara, but tried some foundation by dapping a tiny amount on my hand and blending it with my finger. There was no way I was putting it on my face.

The store had cool light fixtures that looked like circular vertebrae.

All the major makeup brands like Charlotte Tilbury, Laura Mercier, Estee Lauder, and Pat McGrath had their own displays, as well as designer brands like Gucci, Dior, and Armani.

While Sephora carried several designer perfumes, the fragrance shelves were sparse. It looked like some testers were missing. One wall was dedicated to “clean” perfumes, a store associate told me. These fragrances are made without certain ingredients that are thought to have negative health effects.

Kosas brands itself as a “clean” makeup and skincare line that doesn’t use ingredients like parabens and aluminium. I like their deodorant, lip balm, and lip oil.

The store had a small section for hair products and carried popular brands like amika and Tracee Ellis Ross’s Pattern.

Sephora carries longstanding skincare brands like Kiehl’s and Shiseido, as well as newer brands like Topicals and Glow Recipe.

Sephora is one of 29 companies to sign the 15 Percent Pledge, an initiative launched in 2020 asking businesses to dedicate 15% of their shelf space to Black-owned brands.

The Glossier aisle was designed to look like inside one of the brand’s stores with pink, corrugated displays and pops of red.

The Beauty Studio offers appointments to get your makeup done. These services range from $15 for lash application to a $75 beauty lesson.

The store was located on 86th Street and Third Avenue. Inside, it felt massive compared to Sephora. The simple, all-white interior was a much different vibe that reminded me of an outdated Macy’s store.

Select Ulta stores have beauty stations where customers who buy MAC products can get their makeup done by a MAC-certified makeup artist. With purchases of $30, you can get an express application or a 30 minute lesson. With purchases of $60, you can get a full application or a 60 minute lesson.

The aisles in Ulta were much emptier than they were at Sephora. Here, I rarely saw anyone in the same aisle as me, whereas at Sephora, there were at least one to two shoppers in every aisle.

However, I noticed about the same number of customers in line at the registers in Ulta.

The store carried every shade of foundation, bronzer, contour, highlighter, blush, and several tools from Rihanna’s popular Fenty Beauty line. I’d never used Fenty foundation before, and I don’t usually wear foundation in general, so I tested the Eaze Drop Blur + Smooth Tint Stick, which is supposed to have lighter coverage. As the name indicates, the swatch I swiped onto my hand blended well onto my skin.

I recently heard about Credo from a couple of friends who prefer “clean” makeup products made from natural ingredients. The beauty and skincare retailer has a couple of stores in New York, so I was surprised to find this small display in Ulta. It didn’t offer many products, so it seemed more like marketing to go check out Credo’s website.

All of these products were missing from Sephora, which keeps its focus on makeup, skincare, and fragrance.

Ulta offers a range of beauty services, from haircuts and piercings to special event makeup and brow waxing. I later looked up prices at this store which ranged from $10 for lash application to $282 for a keratin hair treatment.

There was a wall full of hair tools like curling irons and hair dryers.

I was already surprised by the wide range of women’s hair products. But it never occurred to me that the store would have men’s products too.

I found brands like Essence and Elf, which offer makeup at drugstore prices. This signaled to me that Ulta’s range from luxury to low-end truly caters to every age and income.

I was delighted to see a Black-owned makeup brand that wasn’t founded by a celebrity — and that it was given a large placement towards the front of the store.

Ulta also signed the 15 Percent Pledge to dedicate 15% of its shelf space to Black-owned brands.

While I’m certainly no makeup maven, I have certain brands and products that I like and use regularly. From time to time, I’ll try a new lip color or eyeshadow, but I usually shop online or in drug stores.

After visiting Sephora and Ulta, I would consider returning to both stores for my next beauty purchases, keeping in mind that each has a different purpose.

I spent more time in Sephora because the shopping experience was more engaging and exciting. But the store has a limited number of brands, and prices tend to be higher than I prefer to spend on cosmetics. I would go to Sephora for the thrill of trying new products and perhaps to get my makeup done.

Meanwhile, shopping at Ulta was a no-frills experience similar to shopping in a drug store. But it was much larger and had a wider range of brands, products, and prices. I would go to Ulta to find a very specific product, shop on a budget, or for hair products.

Do you work at Sephora or Ulta? To tell your story, please email this reporter at jortakales@insider.com or text (646) 768-4742 using the Signal app.