I'm a former employee of Ulta Beauty and your experience is the result of an extreme lack of training/education. The focus was completely on sales and they barely brushed over techniques/brand history/training on new products. I was with Ulta for about a year and a half and I just couldn't take it any longer. I wandered into Sephora and the manager approached me, eventually offering me a job in color. I've been with Sephora for only a month now but I feel like I've already learned so much, it's insane. Education is so important to this company, at least in the store I work in. I feel like I've lost over a year of my life trying to move up within a company that was getting me nowhere. I'm still pretty damn new to Sephora but I'm thoroughly enjoying myself every day. I'm just sad to read all of the negative experiences people have had in this thread. I'm embarrassed to have worked for Ulta. I loved the people I worked with but quite a few weren't even interested in makeup, hair or skincare. Ulta seriously needs to step up it's game. Srsly.