Ulta Beauty — Local services in Louisville

I absolutely LOVE Ulta for their product selection and friendly associates. I’ve been to the salon at various Ultas as well and always had great experiences. Ulta itself is 5 stars. However tonight, it felt very different and that is why I give the salon a low rating. I’m not one to make complaints unless something really bothers me. The original stylist texted me the day before asking me if I could come in any earlier and due to work and distance from the store, I could not. The day of the appointment I receive a text saying she is sick but she will put me on someone else’s schedule for the same time. Not shortly after that, I received a call from the other stylist asking if I could come in earlier and what exactly it was that I was wanting done. Obviously self scheduling is there for a reason and if I could come any earlier I would have scheduled myself earlier. When I got there and she came to get me, we immediately went back to wash my hair. She put the treatment on and said she would be back in 10 minutes. When she came back it was almost 20 minutes later and my scalp felt like it was starting to burn a bit. I’m not one to complain out loud so I just let it go. When she takes the towel off at the mirror I notice red splotches around my hairline that was not there before the appointment. I have thick hair so drying it usually takes a while. She blow dried for a few minutes then grabbed a brush and started doing it that way I guess to give a blow out effect or whatever. That’s fine. However multiple times I saw heavy steam indicating the tool was very hot. And the dryer burned my scalp multiple times because it was so hot. I will say that she did a great job with the cut itself and I have no complaints about that at all. Towards the end of the visit I saw what could have been her family waiting on her just staring back there. She “styled” my hair by curling my bangs back and that was it. Didn’t ask if I wanted it straightened or curled or anything. At this point I was ready to just leave. I know she probably wanted to leave for the day herself and taking on another stylists clients can be a bit overwhelming. But I have never in my life felt like I was an inconvenience to a hair salon until today. I didn’t schedule later in the day to make someone’s life worse. I scheduled at that time because that is what worked with my personal schedule. I felt forgotten about and rushed and like I needed to hurry up and get out of there. I wasn’t going to make a review but it was a bad experience and I saw similar reviews on here as well. Just be cautious when booking with the salon. With the price as high as it is, your experience should be great (like it was the last several times I had visited an Ulta salon). If I wouldn’t have needed it done before the weekend I would have went elsewhere after I was asked twice if I could move...

I went to Ulta for a trial updo for my wedding with Emily a "master stylist." Huge mistake. It was a nightmare. First, she had her apprentice curl my hair while she walked away after barely speaking to me. The process of curling took about 45 minutes. I have very long and thick hair so that wasn't a problem, UNTIL Emily walked up and told me my wedding day appointment was only 30 minutes (I had expected at least an hour). I described my hair to them when I booked the appointment, making sure that they knew I had a lot of hair and it would likely take a long time, especially considering it was for my wedding. Still, they allotted 30 minutes. Emily continued to assure me that she always did updos in 30 minutes (despite the fact that I was sitting in her chair with 45 minutes of curling and not a single pin in my hair yet), but I needed to come 15 minutes early "just in case." As anyone who has gotten married knows, the wedding day schedule involves a lot of planning with a lot of people and telling someone that you need them to come 15 minutes early requires a lot of rescheduling. Next, I showed her pictures of how I wanted my hair styled. She immediately told me she wouldn't do that because "that's not what I really wanted" and asked me to pick a different style. Again, this is for my wedding, so the style was chosen after a great deal of time and approved by bridesmaids, mom, etc. so asking me to just chose a different style because she didn't like it isn't exactly ideal. She acted like I pulled up google images 5 minutes before the appointment and pointed blindly. I insisted I wanted that style. I soon realized she was completely incapable of doing the updo. It was a total disaster. It looked terrible, her demeanor throughout the appointment was rude, and I felt the opposite of what I should feel preparing for my wedding day. When I got home, my friends and fiance confirmed that the updo looked drab and basically looked like a messy bun ponytail I would wear to work out. Despite the horrible experience, I still had to pay $70. Luckily I found another hair dresser for the day of the wedding, who did a WONDERFUL job. She told me the style I wanted was very simple, and in the words of a non-hair dresser bridesmaid, "I could do that style of braid on my dolls when I was 5." It was a simple braid on one side with curls pinned to the back of my head. Something an experienced stylist should be able to do in their sleep. I know this is a long review, but I want to make sure no other bride makes the mistake of going...

I couldn't get in with my regular hairdresser, so while I was in Ulta I asked if they had any openings. Yes they did, they could get me right in, and they said they were offering a special. Oh boy!! The stylist discussed with me what I wanted, roots covered, a cut, partial highlights. She went and spoke with her manager and came back with a quote for me to sign. What?? $210!! Let's be real. This is not New York, Ulta has no reputation for being an upscale salon, and I've never been charged anywhere close to that amount for full treatments including full color, full highlights and lowlights, and a cut, EVER. If I wanted to spend that much, I'd head to ZSpa. I told the stylist that was too much. She spoke with her manager again, and offered just to touch up my roots for $69. Really?? No thanks. So the manager told me that stylist was a senior level stylist, and I could get my roots done for less with a Level 1 (recent beauty school grad I'm sure). When I said no, the manager turned on her heels and walked into the back.

Meanwhile, I had a curling iron with me that I planned to buy. The manager upsold me on a better one, that was ON SALE for $55. Eh, I said okay. After she spun her heels on me, I laid that curling iron on the front counter as I was leaving. Got in my car and ordered the same exact one from Amazon for $42, with free 2-day shipping.

I don't know why the staff thinks they can play the rich snob attitude game. I'll get what I pay for, thank you very much. I can buy their "professional" hair products at Tuesday Morning for 1/2 of what they charge. And I'll pay to get my hair done by someone I trust, who has a good reputation, and doesn't try to rob me and throw me...