Here’s What Beauty Consumers Are Searching on Google Alongside Ulta Beauty Versus Sephora

The consumer heart wants what it wants — and it wants Rare Beauty.

Spate reports Selena Gomez’s beauty brand is the most Googled brand alongside both “Sephora” and “Ulta Beauty” — despite not being sold at the latter retailer.

In fact, as channel lines blur — a phenomenon Ulta has helped propel — consumers are searching for Sephora-exclusive brands like Glow Recipe and Sol de Janeiro at Ulta, which is the most searched specialty beauty retailer at 6.2 million monthly U.S. Google searches.

“Sephora-exclusive brands being searched alongside Sephora is not a new phenomenon; this highlights Sephora’s marketing of brands, and also that consumers find Ulta very accessible, and look to Ulta when it comes time to purchase,” said Yarden Horwitz, Spate cofounder.

K-beauty store Olive Young is the fastest-growing specialty beauty retailer, having seen a 45.5 percent increase in average U.S. monthly searches during the last year. The momentum has been largely driven by TikTok, where the brand has seen a month-over-month search growth rate of 329.7 percent.

At 6 million monthly Google searches, Sephora holds the number-two spot by both volume and growth, seeing a 30.9 percent year-over-year increase. Ulta-related Google searches, by comparison, have grown 7.4 percent year-over-year.

The top brands Google searched alongside Ulta Beauty, per Spate.

Top-growing brands searched alongside Ulta Beauty.

Top brands searched alongside Sephora.

Top-growing brands searched alongside Sephora.