transcript

Speaker 1:
[00:06] Hi, Kirby. Hi, Sarah.

Speaker 2:
[00:08] Welcome to Los Angeles. 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 Sara or myself knew what to expect really going into it. This was bigger than BeautyCon. This was bigger than Sephora.

Speaker 1:
[00:32] Yeah, I've never been to anything like this. It honestly blew my expectations out of the water.

Speaker 2:
[00:38] 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.

Speaker 1:
[00:45] If we are not invited back next year in a working capacity, I am logging on to buy tickets for myself.

Speaker 2:
[00:52] 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, Sara, what was this and what did we do there?

Speaker 1:
[01:19] 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 master classes. It was a half day. There were eight master classes with a lot of incredible experts, like Natasha Denona, JVN, Sacred, Half Magic, Medicube, SNF, Anastasia Beverly Hills and Sage. So experts and founders from the brand. So Kirbie and I got to... We had never met Natasha.

Speaker 2:
[01:50] 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. 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.

Speaker 1:
[02:24] 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 masterclasses, 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 of times now, just walked through kind of like the whole portfolio and introduced some new products. Sacred, we got to meet Miss Tina.

Speaker 2:
[02:58] Miss Tina was there.

Speaker 1:
[02:59] Wow, that was like really a moment. There's like this glow around her.

Speaker 2:
[03:04] She was wearing her signature pink lipstick.

Speaker 1:
[03:06] Yes, 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?

Speaker 2:
[03:19] So they introduced their styling collection, but one of the products was this body product that, I mean, the hair for both hair types that they used it on was incredible. Just so much volume, so much height.

Speaker 1:
[03:31] Yes, and then they showed also like the before and afters for the scalp serum, which I'm like, okay, I need to be using that.

Speaker 2:
[03:38] I didn't see those.

Speaker 1:
[03:38] 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. Wow. Donnie Davy.

Speaker 2:
[03:49] 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 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 SNF, Brian Edwards. Sara, had you smelled or used SNF in the past?

Speaker 1:
[04:19] No, 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.

Speaker 2:
[04:32] I agree.

Speaker 1:
[04:33] But the scents were incredible.

Speaker 2:
[04:36] Yeah, they're elevated scents that are nostalgic in a way. And we actually, I first heard about SNF from Margo Ambooba. Oh yeah, from Vogue Beauty Editor. She told us about this fragrance that she loved called Crème 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. I don't want to smell like a bakery. But the visuals for SNF have always been really eye catching and elevated. 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.

Speaker 1:
[05:16] Same.

Speaker 2:
[05:16] Now I'm obsessed.

Speaker 1:
[05:18] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[05:18] They have this fragrance. Actually, I'm going to wait. I'm going to wait because I'm going to talk about it a little later.

Speaker 1:
[05:22] But it was a really fun conversation. Brian was great.

Speaker 2:
[05:25] Yes.

Speaker 1:
[05:25] And then we had Anastasia Beverly Hills teaching us her brow secrets, which she like rarely does tutorials or master classes to the public. So I was like watching closely.

Speaker 2:
[05:37] 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 then.

Speaker 1:
[05:49] If there's one thing about Anastasia, it is she will tell you the truth about your brows.

Speaker 2:
[05:53] She does not like my brows right now. That woman does not like my brows. She said, you need you need to come see me. And I said, babe, I've been trying.

Speaker 1:
[06:00] Yes.

Speaker 2:
[06:00] Tell us when you tell us and fix my brows to your liking.

Speaker 1:
[06:04] Thank you.

Speaker 2:
[06:05] And then Sage had this moment, which Sage is a brand Sara and I are really familiar with because anytime there's some kind of wellness, self-care, mailer, they always include a Sage essential oil. Yes, exactly. And they did this moment of breathwork. And the director of education, Kristen, was the most lovely, calming, peaceful woman of all time.

Speaker 1:
[06:30] I want her to be with us at all times.

Speaker 2:
[06:32] 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 was like, do I jump in to be like, everyone needs to pipe down? Like this was supposed to be a calming moment.

Speaker 1:
[07:03] But Kristen handled it with 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 she's an angel.

Speaker 2:
[07:27] It was fabulous. It was fabulous. So that's what we spent Wednesday doing. It was from 9 a.m. to around 1 or 2 p.m. And it was crazy because there were 2000 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 pull. I mean, yes, we were employed by Ulta to do this, but I could not get an extra ticket.

Speaker 1:
[07:51] 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.

Speaker 2:
[07:59] 100%. We had Ulta employees telling us that their moms were like, oh, I have to wait in the queue. Yes. Yes, you do.

Speaker 1:
[08:06] Yes. Yep.

Speaker 2:
[08:07] 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, 3000 people that were there from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets were $160. For what you walked away with, 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?

Speaker 1:
[08:44] No, I think that we received what everyone got. So the weekender bag was empty, which likely was intentional so that you could put a lot of the other Grattis 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 editors got or was like part of the press. Or 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 and then the weekenders, I was like, wow, if you were to put a number value at what people walked away with.

Speaker 2:
[09:28] People walked away with thousands upon thousands of dollars worth of product. I'm not kidding.

Speaker 1:
[09:32] 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.

Speaker 2:
[09:44] 100%. And I saw videos of people taking their roller bags, leaving, dumping it in a car. Of 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 Sara and I missed, because obviously we were with the Ulta team, so we didn't have to go get stamps. But I think you had to have your passport and get it stamped in order to receive a product. And in that way, they could kind of control people going back multiple times.

Speaker 1:
[10:11] Especially if they were giving away multiple full size products.

Speaker 2:
[10:14] 100%. Granted, there were brands that were just walking the floor and shoving products at you. And I was like, I have enough of these. Please don't give me any more.

Speaker 1:
[10:23] People were like, I'm saying this in a lovely way, people were chasing us to give us product.

Speaker 2:
[10:28] They wanted you to have their product. 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.

Speaker 1:
[10:43] During the host.

Speaker 2:
[10:44] 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 Ulta's and teach them and educate them so that they can sell those products. That's the entire point of what FLC and the brand expo is. Then Ulta decided to open the brand expo up to the public.

Speaker 1:
[11:32] Which honestly, 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 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, but like hundreds of thousands 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%.

Speaker 2:
[12:06] 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. They've been doing this for a very long time.

Speaker 1:
[12:36] So even though there were 3000 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 like build your own amusement park or like Sims? I played that? 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 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.

Speaker 2:
[13:26] They knew that people were going to stay all day and they wanted to make sure they were accommodated. So everything was thought out. Everything had the details down to a T. I posted a video of the shipping situation that I think now has 400,000 views on TikTok.

Speaker 1:
[13:43] So genius.

Speaker 2:
[13:43] It is a 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 Sara. I don't know how she had this many things. I was like, do not give me product.

Speaker 1:
[14:17] Well, you also checked your bag. I didn't check anything because I wanted to just ship everything. 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.

Speaker 2:
[14:32] 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. 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? I like I'm not good with numbers and weight, but it is a 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.

Speaker 1:
[15:07] Like one roll away bag luggage, that is equivalent to like 25 pounds of the product inside. That was great.

Speaker 2:
[15:15] That is insane. And then you go into this giant conference room essentially.

Speaker 1:
[15:19] It was like a big FedEx.

Speaker 2:
[15:21] Yes. And there were tables set up. They had tape and they were like, get some work in. Scales. If you're going over, you got to take stuff out, get another box. I mean, they, it was a well-oiled machine.

Speaker 1:
[15:33] And then you just dropped it off.

Speaker 2:
[15:35] Yeah. And then you walked away, you had your receipt and you wait to get it. And it was incredible. Okay, Sara, 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.

Speaker 1:
[15:55] Same, I felt so bad. There were so many booths that, so many people came up to us and they were like, come to our booth, come to our booth. It was just so big, you guys.

Speaker 2:
[16:03] 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.

Speaker 1:
[16:14] She was so cute.

Speaker 2:
[16:15] We love her.

Speaker 1:
[16:16] I was like, how are you doing this? You just finished promoting a movie. Right. And you're here from like 12 to five or whatever it is. And she's like, I wanted to go to Epic Universe. Yes. And Disney World.

Speaker 2:
[16:28] This is a girl after my own heart. I saw her video at Epic Universe freaking out over Princess Peach. It was really cute.

Speaker 1:
[16:36] So cute.

Speaker 2:
[16:37] And her booth kind of looked like a retro living room.

Speaker 1:
[16:40] It was very adorable.

Speaker 2:
[16:41] It was adorable. And 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.

Speaker 1:
[16:57] I'm so bummed to miss that.

Speaker 2:
[16:59] I know. Donnie, obviously Donnie Davy was at the Half Magic booth, bedazzling people. Kelly Anne, Makeup by Kelly Anne was at Maybelline.

Speaker 1:
[17:07] So was Erica Taylor.

Speaker 2:
[17:08] Shelby Anne was at Thayer's. And then of course, JVN was at JV Hair doing people's hair. He was doing Deepika'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. And there is probably so many more that we missed or 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.

Speaker 1:
[17:36] She's like, my fragrance couldn't pay me enough. I'm going to the branded opportunity.

Speaker 2:
[17:40] Right. So she's now the new hair ambassador for It's a Ten Hair Care. They're celebrating 30 years. We got to meet the founders. They were lovely people.

Speaker 1:
[17:47] Fabulous, absolutely fabulous.

Speaker 2:
[17:49] Absolute pandemonium. So there was a line, like a maze line that you had to wade 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 note.

Speaker 1:
[18:01] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[18:01] It was a hard note. And granted, I was told later from various people that this was not a Khloe thing. It sounds like it maybe was an It's a Ten thing or something because they were like, oh, he has vested interest in wanting to promote Ulta. She has her own brand 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 going to mess around with it.

Speaker 1:
[18:32] 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. Even though they weren't allowed to take photos with her. I saw so many videos captured of her talking to each and every person that waited in line for her.

Speaker 2:
[18:49] Oh, you saw videos?

Speaker 1:
[18:50] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[18:50] Even though the sheriff had to get involved and was telling people to keep it moving.

Speaker 1:
[18:54] I saw a video of one of the Luna Bronze co-founders.

Speaker 2:
[18:58] Oh, yes, Maddie.

Speaker 1:
[18:59] Yes, Maddie, talking to Chloe about melanoma, exactly. So I thought that was incredible. But so Kirbie and I and Colt, gay man with a spray tan, who's like best friends with the entire Kardashian family.

Speaker 2:
[19:11] He reports on the Kardashians.

Speaker 1:
[19:12] We were the only three people who were allowed to take a photo with Chloe and we felt extremely honored.

Speaker 2:
[19:18] No, they all got photos.

Speaker 1:
[19:19] What?

Speaker 2:
[19:20] They all got photos.

Speaker 1:
[19:21] So they all got photos?

Speaker 2:
[19:23] The stipulation was that 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 and he couldn't. The photos that you got had to be from the professional photo with the professional lighting setup.

Speaker 1:
[19:43] I see, I see, I see. Okay, got it, got it, got it.

Speaker 2:
[19:44] That's why everybody was waiting in line. So everybody got a photo. Where these photos are? TBD.

Speaker 1:
[19:49] I don't know how anyone's going to get it.

Speaker 2:
[19:51] 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.

Speaker 1:
[19:56] Jessica Gargiulo has us. She's the publicist. She texted me and she's like, I'm waiting for it. Don't worry.

Speaker 2:
[20:01] I'm just like, where are these pictures?

Speaker 1:
[20:03] And I'm like, by the way, I better look fucking great in these photos too.

Speaker 2:
[20:06] No, like I told Chloe, I knew I was lit for the gods. So I knew I was going to, she's like, yes honey.

Speaker 1:
[20:12] Also because she had our friends and amazing glam team with her, Melissa Hercman.

Speaker 2:
[20:18] I mean, I love Chloe, but I was more excited to see Melissa. I can't nail that girl down to save my life.

Speaker 1:
[20:23] And so Melissa Hercman, Justine Marjan, they know what they're doing. They're making sure their girl looks good. They made sure we looked good too.

Speaker 2:
[20:29] 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 Too Faced team at their booth, like Elise Renaud, their global makeup artist, but it smelled, it was a chocolate shop, okay? Because obviously all their stuff, 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. And whoever did it deserves a big fat raise and a long vacation because it was-

Speaker 1:
[21:05] It felt so on brand and it made you just, it reminded you how special Too Faced is.

Speaker 2:
[21:12] 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. Sara, I'm going to get on my soapbox about this one.

Speaker 1:
[21:29] Please, I'll join you. Buckle in.

Speaker 2:
[21:32] 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. We're journalists. We have been doing this for a very long time, but I'm going to do a giveaway of my base bag. 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. I saw a lot of normal people posting, but also a lot of normal people don't post.

Speaker 1:
[22:40] 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. These normal people aren't making content. That's why you're not seeing it.

Speaker 2:
[22:52] The ones that are, you're not engaging with.

Speaker 1:
[22:54] 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 they're a 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. And they're like, yeah, like, I'm like, thank you. Thank you so much.

Speaker 2:
[23:15] 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. 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 Sara's tickets, 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.

Speaker 1:
[24:08] That's not how that works.

Speaker 2:
[24:09] Exactly.

Speaker 1:
[24:10] By the way, I just wanted to shout out, I saw Priscilla Tsai, 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. Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[24:19] A community member.

Speaker 1:
[24:20] I'm like, that's the way to do it.

Speaker 2:
[24:22] 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? When you're running an expo of this level, it's not just a free for all. Like Sara 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.

Speaker 1:
[24:43] 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.

Speaker 2:
[24:52] Fire codes exist.

Speaker 1:
[24:54] There were police and sheriffs.

Speaker 2:
[24:55] I mean, I sure have yelled at us, okay. And like we were doing nothing wrong, but like we got yelled at.

Speaker 1:
[25:00] 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, yeah, 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. There was an orthopedic conference going on. Like, there's so much going on.

Speaker 2:
[25:23] Yes, so they wanted to make sure that everybody that was entering and exiting were the right people. I mean, all of that to say is 3,000 tickets. And also they wanted it to be enjoyable for people. Like Sara said, there were lines, but they weren't so long that you were like-

Speaker 1:
[25:40] Dreading it.

Speaker 2:
[25:40] Yeah, exactly. You were able to get around and be like, 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.

Speaker 1:
[26:00] Yeah, that's why they keep it to, I mean, just, but to 3,000 people. That's why they-

Speaker 2:
[26:05] For the public.

Speaker 1:
[26:06] 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 9 to 5. You get to be there all day long.

Speaker 2:
[26:23] 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 they're a retail chain and they make millions of dollars. There's budgets for a reason, babe.

Speaker 1:
[26:56] Yeah, exactly.

Speaker 2:
[26:58] And like a lot because you want it doesn't mean you get to have it.

Speaker 1:
[27:00] 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.

Speaker 2:
[27:15] 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 a hundred thousand dollars, 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, 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.

Speaker 1:
[28:07] No, I am hoping and praying that these people are sharing with their friends and families or storing it away. It sounds like it.

Speaker 2:
[28:14] 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 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.

Speaker 1:
[28:29] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[28:30] And I have mentioned this to the Ulta Beauty team. 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 pre access.

Speaker 1:
[28:49] But I did say like as a long time 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. Is that possible?

Speaker 2:
[29:07] Right. We don't know.

Speaker 1:
[29:08] How do they even check that?

Speaker 2:
[29:09] We don't know the logistics of it all. Well, they can see what orders they place on. 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. It's kind of like Amex presale. You know what I mean?

Speaker 1:
[29:24] No, exactly. Totally similar to Amex. But then it's also they want to be able to give the opportunity to do people who don't have a lot of money to spend on products all year round. And they really just want to come.

Speaker 2:
[29:37] I get it. I get it. And I think that is a very valid point. 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 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 to talk to anyone. They just wanted the free product. And 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. 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.

Speaker 1:
[30:37] Get over it.

Speaker 2:
[30:37] And then I like walked in and was like, oh my God.

Speaker 1:
[30:39] Yeah. But I want to say special thank you to all the people who left comments and like supporting Kirbie and me and Gloss Angeles. Because there were so many people who were so mad and were like, we're here working.

Speaker 2:
[30:51] 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.

Speaker 1:
[31:00] Like this is just is just makeup.

Speaker 2:
[31:02] I'm very, very concerned for your well-being. Ulta Beauty World also introduced us to several new brands that Sara 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. And I think that was my favorite part of this. 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?

Speaker 1:
[31:30] 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 products. I was walking, Kirbie was doing a TikTok 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 Gloss 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 dermatologists founded. They aim to provide dermatology backed skincare 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.

Speaker 2:
[32:43] 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. So it was the night before the master class 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 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. 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? Be tan. And this is like, this is like life or death. Do not tan in the sun.

Speaker 1:
[34:22] 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?

Speaker 2:
[34:31] Yes, like a month or two ago.

Speaker 1:
[34:32] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[34:33] What's your next one?

Speaker 1:
[34:34] So this one is called Akoa. It's O-C-O-A. I learned about this brand when I was a judge for the Tire 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 any residue or 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 them, and I obviously 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 so happy to be there.

Speaker 2:
[35:55] We need to give this to Faye.

Speaker 1:
[35:56] Yes. Our social media manager. You're right. Okay.

Speaker 2:
[35:59] Because she has curly hair.

Speaker 1:
[36:00] Yes.

Speaker 2:
[36:00] 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. I'm like, Fwee, Fwee. It's Fwee. This is a brand that I became obsessed with. They had product in our... What did they... What was it in there? The suitcase. Oh, it was in the suitcase.

Speaker 1:
[36:20] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[36:20] 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 us really gorgeous blurred flush on your lips or your cheeks. I have the shade Skirt. It's just 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 we now has a flan.

Speaker 1:
[37:14] I love that. I can't wait to try that. Okay. I'm going to grab that from my suitcase. Okay. 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, Sara 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 there that has entered Ulta recently, one of them being a brand called Narka. So it is a brand that has existed in K-Beauty. It's like big at all of Young, but now it's at Ulta. And it's built around rebuilding damaged hair using microvegan proteins and core repair tech. They're known specifically for their hair mascara and hair wands. And so two of the products that Sara showed me was a, they're like bestselling hair mascara styling wand, which works a little bit like the Chris McMillan or someone told us to use one from Kristin Ess, like it's not anything new. I think the formula is different. And Sara told me that it's like, you know, it's obviously hydrating, but also not crunchy, all the things. But the one that I was super impressed by was it was a dry shampoo wand.

Speaker 2:
[38:31] That's so cool.

Speaker 1:
[38:32] 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. I mean, I love that about K-Beauty in general. But 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.

Speaker 2:
[39:10] Great for bangs.

Speaker 1:
[39:11] Great for bang that actually you're so right, because that was what was on the website. They were showing it for bangs.

Speaker 2:
[39:18] Perfect.

Speaker 1:
[39:18] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[39:19] 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 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 you'll know my addiction to Coca-Cola.

Speaker 1:
[39:49] 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.

Speaker 2:
[39:57] 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.

Speaker 1:
[40:17] So I need to smell this. I didn't haven't smelled it yet.

Speaker 2:
[40:20] 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. Oh, interesting. So anyways, they're sniff me. And then they just launched their cereal and milk collection. 2% smells like milk.

Speaker 1:
[40:45] It's so good.

Speaker 2:
[40:46] It's so weird, but so good. I never thought I'd want to smell like milk, but they have notes of dairy to notes of like milk carton accord.

Speaker 1:
[40:56] Listen, I know all of this sounds weird, but you have to smell it to really get it.

Speaker 2:
[41:01] 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, eau de toilette, which looking it up, the difference between that and a parfum is like, parfum is meant to be like long lasting at night. And then the toilette 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, Fruit Loops or Lucky Charms. My favorite is Crunch Time, because it has this cinnamon 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. They're not huge vats by any means, but it's more accessible than a lot of other way more accessible brands.

Speaker 1:
[41:55] Those are just like so much fun. Like they're not taking themselves too seriously, but they're creating really beautiful products.

Speaker 2:
[42:00] Agreed. Okay. And lastly, rumor has it.

Speaker 1:
[42:04] Rumor has it.

Speaker 2:
[42:05] 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.

Speaker 1:
[42:24] They're like, we heard that Kirbie wants us to keep it in the Disney adjacent family.

Speaker 2:
[42:30] They say Kirbie wants to go to Disneyland and wants to stay at the lodge.

Speaker 1:
[42:34] Also the Anaheim Convention Center is massive. So that makes sense.

Speaker 2:
[42:37] 100%. Also it's like a destination. So I think that makes sense. Again, this is not an official announcement and 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.

Speaker 1:
[42:49] Which is great for us.

Speaker 2:
[42:50] Great for us, it's in our backyard.

Speaker 1:
[42:52] Yeah, even if we don't get in, we're going to be camping out.

Speaker 2:
[42:55] I'm curious, 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.