Why could no one buy an Ulta Beauty World ticket? A cybersecurity expert weighs in: ‘I waited online for over an hour’
When Ulta dropped its tickets for the Ulta Beauty World Expo, chaos ensued. Over 3 million people were scrambling to get a ticket, of which there were only 3,000.
Needless to say, some beauty enthusiasts were left disappointed. One of them is cybersecurity expert Alissa (@cyb3ralissa).
Addressing the camera, she said, “As somebody who works in cybersecurity, this is why nobody in the public could actually buy an Ulta Beauty World ticket today.”
She began by explaining that she was extremely prepared, having “followed every single tip from those group chats” and even taking advantage of her cyber skills.
“I thought that I had it in the bag because I implemented a client-side refresh interval, a controlled three-second reload cadence, to maintain session freshness without overwhelming the endpoint,” she explained. “It also automatically disabled on any user interaction. So the refresh shut off the second I could actually do anything. I still barely got the chance—I waited in the queue for an hour.”
What was wrong?
The most “interesting” part for Alissa was that there were allegedly source code snippets that showed that invite codes were pre-generated before the tickets were released.
She continued, “Based on the naming pattern and timing, many people are assuming that these codes were tied to influencers. From a technical standpoint, this rollout had several red flags. If these invite codes were validated before the queue, that means that some users bypassed demand entirely. The queue system itself appeared to be very client-side heavy, meaning that your browser session, not a centralized server, was doing most of the work.”
“There was also no visible rate limiting, which means that your device or region could have limited where you were in line,” she added. “In short, this wasn’t a first-come, first-served queue at all. It was fragmented access disguised as public sale.”
Alissa didn’t immediately respond to The Mary Sue’s request for comment via TikTok comment.
Some commenters got tickets
However, some commenters appeared to disprove Alissa’s theory. “I’m a regular person, and I happened to get a ticket,” one wrote.
“I was able to get a ticket, I’m a regular person,” a second added. “People are saying 3k isn’t enough tickets but they have to have a limit on number of ppl that can be managed.”
In a reply to this comment, a third user said, “That’s not the point girl you are one of the lucky ones. The point is it wasn’t a fair event. If they wanted it invite only cool but don’t deceive the public as if everyone had a chance when it was very limited to begin with!”
Similarly, a fourth claimed, “I bought a ticket for my wife on my gaming desktop and I know nothing about Ulta Beauty World before she told me about it. Why are we lying about this? Get better WiFi…”
To which a fifth commenter replied, “Tell that to the 3 MILLION people who tried getting tickets. Your WiFi must be so insanely good if 3 million people struggled and you didn’t. Good for you.”
@cyb3ralissa did we all just beta-test the biggest queue failure of 2026? It’s okay, I was in it too #ultabeautyworld ♬ Mozart/Requiem "Lacrimosa"(1394506) – Mint
What is Ulta Beauty World?
The Ulta Beauty World Expo is described on its website as “an immersive beauty experience like no other.”
The event, which is returning after a successful 2025 run, boasts more than 200 brand partner booths, makeup, and more. Not to mention a live DJ, food and drink, and beauty swag bags worth $2,000.
It will also have makeup masterclasses led by stars like Jonathan Van Ness and Donni Davy. The expo takes place on April 15 and 16.
Ulta didn’t immediately respond to The Mary Sue’s request for comment via email.
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