Corporate makes the $$$, employees don't see a dime. - Esthetician II Ulta Beauty Employee Review

2.0
27 Oct 2011
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

25% discount, gratis, being able to try new stuff out, free salon services, the people I work with

Cons

The pay is not even enough to cover basic human living expenses. I make minimum wage and yet am expected to sell their prestige makeup and rack the numbers up in the store as I am the number 1 salesperson, and yet I make absolutely no commission. Only on Dermalogica, which is not the best line out there from my experience. Mgmt needs to get it together as no one is steering the ship. Poor benefits - part time have none. At least Starbucks gives good benefits to part time people. Plus, the demographics of the store I work at are deeply discounted and guests are always trying to discount us.

Explore other reviews about Ulta Beauty

5.0
28 May 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

everything about the job was great. the people and work and i was fine with the hours 5am-11am sometimes

Cons

i hardly got days to work

2.0
4 May 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

good benefits for full time employees from what I hear. hourly pay if commission goal isn't met which is nice for those building clientele

Cons

this could just be the case for my store, especially because it's a very high volume store, but as a stylist I don't feel valued at all. I expected this to some degree coming to a huge corporate salon, but the biggest issue is that they try to pretend they care about you. but at the end of the day, if you're not meeting the sales they want/growing quickly enough, they don't care about you as a stylist. if you don't already have an established clientele, business is highly unreliable as there is no late cancellation/no show policy. many services are underpriced in my opinion, making it hard to meet their sales goals as an entry level part-time stylist unless fully booked every day. all they care about is getting as many clients in and out and quickly and possible and they hire more stylists than there are chairs, making every day inconsistent and chaotic. the relative stability of hourly pay is commission threshold isn't met seems enticing for stylists still building a clientele, but the hourly pay is wildly inconsistent between stylists, even those of the same tier. as a stylist of over 3 years who moved and is starting over with no clientele, I make over $2 less per hour than a fellow stylist who just got her license a few months ago and started taking clients for the first time last week. you're better off working at a place like Great Clips or Hair Cuttery because at least they're honest about what they are.

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