Which do you think is a better deal?

If you're a beginner, than I would go for something really simple first. I have been doing makeup for a while, but I love the Wet 'n Wild Comfort Zone palette. You can get it at Walgreens. The quality of the eyeshadows are even better than most of my MAC eyeshadows. It's a lot harder to mess up lips and cheeks, so just go for simple blushes and lipglosses. You can go on youtube to learn more. But just to answer your question, I would go for the Ulta palette, because the Elf one could be overwelming.