For beauty lovers, there are certain stores we view as the holy grail when it comes to shopping experiences. From the infamous marbled beauty halls of luxury department stores such as Selfridges and Harrods, to Boots’ complete rejuvenation of the face of high street beauty, we’re pretty spoiled for choice when it comes to in-store beauty shopping.
But there’s still one ultimate in-store beauty destination that has evaded us in the UK for years: Sephora. Until now, that is. After launching online in late 2022, the retailer has finally confirmed its store will be arriving soon. Here’s what you need to know…
Has there ever been a Sephora UK?
For those unfamiliar with Sephora (where have you been?!), let me give you a brief rundown. Sephora is what many consider to be the OG beauty department store, featuring over 250 brands including its own line of beauty products.
Swipe and shop: The best of Sephora
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Although the brand has the highest amount of its stores in the US (over 430), it was actually founded in France, with the very first store opening in 1970 in Paris.
Despite a huge desire for the store from UK beauty fanatics, Sephora has never quite made the splash it wanted to on this side of the Channel.
In the early 2000s, Sephora opened its first UK store in Bluewater, but a few years later shuttered due to lack of demand vs its UK competitors such as Boots.
Sephora US also briefly shipped to the UK from their website, but much to our dismay, this was quashed by GDPR complications, and so once again we were plunged into Sephora darkness.
Finally, in October 2022, Sephora launched online in the UK after a buyout from beauty giant FeelUnique.
Is Sephora opening in the UK?
Hard-core beauty fans will have probably lost count of the times rumours have swirled around a Sephora store coming to the UK, but we can confirm that it’s actually finally happening.
Since launching online in October 2022 to huge success, we were left waiting to hear about the possibility of a UK store.
In an article published last year, WWD stated that according to multiple sources, Sephora was set to launch one or more stores in the UK in the first quarter of 2023.
While Sephora hadn’t responded to those claims and a location had yet to be confirmed, it was still the most concrete news we’d had in a while.
Fast forward to January 2023, and we’ve finally had the confirmation we’ve been waiting for: Sephora will be opening a brick-and-mortar store in Westfields White City in March 2023.
The store is set to be a huge deal, spanning over 600sqm and containing over 135 of Sephora’s beauty brands, including: GXVE by Gwen Stefani, Drunk Elephant, ILIA, MILK, JVN, ONE/SIZE by Patrick Starr, Refy, Danessa Myricks, Kosas, Makeup by Mario, Sunday Riley, Glow Recipe, Fenty Beauty, Tarte, and of course, Sephora Collection.
Swipe and shop: Sephora collection
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This is the first time a few of these brands have had in-store, tangible spaces in the UK, meaning there are some products we literally can’t wait to get our hands on.
What can we expect from the UK store?
While a lot of details on the store including pictures are still under wraps, we’ve gleaned a few details about the new space.
The store’s decor will follow Sephora’s iconic black-and-white aesthetic, and will include a Grand Beauty Hub where customers will be able to gain personalised experiences across makeup, haircare, skincare, fragrance, body and gifting.
You’ll also be able to shop Sephora’s ‘mini’s & more’ and ‘fragrance to go’ section.
Can’t wait for the in-person store to shop Sephora’s extensive range? Read about our favourite Sephora brands here and get shopping online at Sephora.co.uk.
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