You're walking down the street with $100 in your pocket, ready to burn unless spent (common problem, really).  On your right is Sephora.  To your left, Ulta.

Which do you choose?

I'd pick Sephora every time.  There's something about the luxe factory that makes the experience feel like a treat.  If  it's bargain buys I'm after, I skip Ulta and just head straight to the cheapest source: the drugstore. 

The Chicago Tribune just ran a showdown pitting Sephora against Ulta.  Surprisingly, these two makeup mega-stores came out pretty equal.  So tell me: Where would you spend that $100?

ULTA

If Ulta were a magazine, it would be: InStyle, with its democratic, high-low, wide-ranging approach.

Can I get a price check: MaxFactor 2000 Calorie Mascara, $5.49; 5-ounce Frederic Fekkai Shea Butter Hair Mask, $22.50; Benefit Bathina shower cap, $16.

A virtual tour: On first floor are prestige fragrances (e.g. Chanel, Armani), prestige cosmetics (Stila, Lorac) and prestige skin-care products (Peter Thomas Roth, Kinerase). Mezzanine floor stocks mass-brand color cosmetics (L'Oreal, Neutrogena), grouped not by brand but by eyes, lips, blush, foundations and mascara. Hair and body products (Crabtree & Evelyn) are on next floor. Salon and spa on top floor. Testers available for 65 percent of products.

Excels in: Hair tools, stocking top hair dryers from T3 and Chi, which you can test on the hair dryer wall; Marilyn hair brushes and even box hair color. Clerks are eager to help.

Room for improvement: It's still building its stable of prestige color cosmetics. The prestige brand Benefit, including its brow-service bar, is a new addition alongside Smashbox, Stila and Bare Escentuals.

Wins on: Wallet-friendliness (bonus points for lots of coupons and promotions). Broader range of products (Fossil sunglasses, anyone?). 
 

SEPHORA

What it's got that Ulta has not: a broader range of prestige fragrances and prestige cosmetics such as recent additions Laura Mercier and Korres. Offers more product exclusives (Make Up For Ever HD Invisible Cover Foundation, $40) and cult favorites such as Shu Uemura eyelash curlers.

If Sephora were a magazine, it would be: Vogue, with its sharply edited content.

Can I get a price check: 5-ounce Frederic Fekkai Shea Butter Hair Mask, $22.50; Benefit Bathina shower cap, $16, same as at Ulta.

A virtual tour: Single-floor space is compact but not overcrowded. An abundance of DIY stations with mirrors, stock cotton swabs, hand sanitizer and more to encourage experimentation with tester cosmetics. "Best of Sephora" and "celebrity fave" seals mark certain products.

Excels in: Trend reporting. Beyond selling cosmetics, Sephora.com reviews products and offers how-to videos (faux lashes, smoky eyes). Clerks are friendly and informative.

Room for improvement: Department stores still have the corner on some color cosmetic lines such as Chanel, Bobbi Brown and M.A.C.

Wins on: Selection of prestige color cosmetics. National name recognition. And efficiency, because space is smaller.