Operating at the heart of the beauty community

Ulta Beauty was founded more than 30 years ago with a clear vision: to be the most loved destination for guests to find all things beauty. We are the nation’s largest specialty beauty retailer, putting us at the intersection of consumer trends, product innovations and industry evolution. With this position comes a great responsibility to help move our industry forward sustainably and responsibly.

Guests come to Ulta Beauty stores looking to discover beauty on their own terms, explore the latest trends and to engage in self care. Our guests are more diverse than ever in terms of ethnicity, gender identity and age. We strive to meet them where they are and offer products aligned with their needs and values, whether they’re looking for clean beauty products, diverse-owned brands, recyclable packaging or all of the above. We’re finding opportunities to educate and shape behavior by providing clear information about the products we offer and enable guests to reduce their own environmental impact through in-store packaging recycling. We’re also cementing our role as a leader in the beauty industry with key cross-category initiatives, including:

Conscious Beauty at Ulta Beauty®, which helps guests identify clean ingredients; cruelty-free, vegan and sustainably packaged brands and products; and brands that give back to communities and the planet

The Wellness Shop, which celebrates self-care by offering supplements, home spa goods, and intimate wellness products

SPARKED at Ulta Beauty, our launch platform, which offers guests the opportunity to discover the newest emerging brands Beauty Without Limits, which uplifts underrepresented voices across retail and beauty

Making clean beauty accessible through assortment, transparency and education

Through Conscious Beauty at Ulta Beauty®, we identify brands that are at the forefront of clean, vegan and cruelty-free beauty, sustainable packaging and giving back as we define it. We also share information with guests about why these areas of impact matter. The program features:

Guest, associate and brand partner education

An important aspect of Conscious Beauty at Ulta Beauty® is education. We work to inform guests on all that we offer, both in-store and online. In an effort to provide more transparency and educate through multiple touchpoints, guests can now scan QR codes in-store to see exactly what’s on Ulta Beauty’s Made Without List. We also train associates so they can confidently engage guests and share information with brands so they can make changes to their products and packaging.

Clarity in a confusing space

“Clean.” “Sustainable.” We recognize that there is a lack of consensus around many words often used to describe beauty products. Conscious Beauty at Ulta Beauty® is designed to provide transparency to help our guests make informed beauty and personal care product choices. Our approach has been to develop clear, guest-friendly pillar standards defining what Conscious Beauty means at Ulta Beauty.

A pillar for each attribute

Within Conscious Beauty at Ulta Beauty®, we certify products and brands to one or more of five pillars: Clean Ingredients, Cruelty Free, Vegan, Sustainable Packaging, Give Back.

Industry partnerships

To maximize our ability to move the industry forward, we partner with retail peers, brand partners and nongovernmental organizations like the Environmental Defense Fund. Ulta Beauty also plays an active role in industry groups tied to ingredients and packaging, including Change Chemistry, Personal Care Products Council, ChemFORWARD, Beyond the Bag (in partnership with Closed Loop Partners), Sustainable Packaging Coalition, Pact Collective, The Sustainability Consortium and Sustainable Brands.

300+ brands certified to one or more pillars

A closer look at what’s in our products

The beauty industry uses chemicals to give products their unique benefits, including moisturizing, sun protection, color, all-day wear and more. Transparency about the ingredients and formulations in the products we offer is a matter not only of consumer interest, but also safety and health.

We maintain a Made Without List, which specifies ingredients that are not found in products badged for the Clean Ingredients pillar of Conscious Beauty at Ulta Beauty®. And while indicating what ingredients not to use is a critical first move, we’re taking it a step further by working collectively with our retail peers and ingredient suppliers to identify safer alternatives to move the industry forward.

In 2023, we joined ChemFORWARD’s “Know Better, Do Better” collaboration, which brings leading beauty companies together to improve chemical hazard data for beauty products. Through this collaboration, Ulta Beauty and other industry leaders are sponsoring ChemFORWARD in conducting chemical hazard assessments of ingredients commonly found in cosmetics products. ChemFORWARD will then make this data available to brands and consumers, so they can make more informed choices.

The Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act (MoCRA), passed in 2022, expands the Food and Drug Administration’s authority to regulate cosmetics and ensure their safety. All facilities that manufacture products that are a part of Ulta Beauty Collection® will register to comply with MoCRA.

Learn more about Ulta Beauty products in our 2023 ESG Report.