This new beauty store is the UK’s answer to Sephora (2024)

FAQs

What is the equivalent of Sephora in the UK? ›

Now, most of you may know Sephora as the US equivalent to our beloved Boots or Superdrug but in actual fact, it originated in France as a multinational retailer of personal care and beauty products.

"Having got to around half a dozen stores, Sephora closed down its UK operations and blamed high rents and the costs of operating in Britain.

The move comes just over a year after Sephora bought Feelunique as a first step into the UK market. Feelunique, founded in 2005 by Aaron Chatterly and Richard Scheissl, saw high demand during the pandemic when shoppers moved online to buy beauty products.

Market observers noted that although the brand has a loyal following among expats, the initial foray failed because of its wrong choice of location, high rents and poor marketing.

"As the creator of multi-category, multi-experience prestige beauty retailing, we are thrilled to bring London a store that aspires to meet the needs of every beauty occasion." Sephora's relaunch into the UK started in October 2022 when the Feelunique website, which Sephora acquired a year ago, became sephora.co.uk.

Sephora Store at Westfield London. The ultimate beauty lovers' destination, our first Sephora UK store finds its home in the heart of the iconic Westfield London.

Sephora officially returned to the UK on Monday 17 October 2022 in an online-only capacity.

Sephora no longer ships internationally from our U.S. site. To go to one of Sephora's International websites, just click on the country or region name below.

Severe economic conditions in Japan were cited as the biggest hurdle for carrying out Sephora's expansion plans there. When Sephora opened its first Japanese door — a 10,300-square-foot, three-level perfumery on the Ginza in November 1999 — the company's five-year plan included more than 40 doors throughout Japan.

Sadly there isn't an Ulta in the UK or London, but there are alternatives to Ulta in the UK that I'll talk about later on.

Why doesn t Sephora ship to UK? ›

Due to recently enacted data privacy regulations, Sephora clients in the UK and Netherlands will now be directed to Sephora France's website, Sephora.fr. We are very sorry for the inconvenience caused.

SEPHORA competitors include Urban Decay Cosmetics, Nordstrom, MAC Cosmetics, Ulta Beauty and Macy's. SEPHORA ranks 1st in Pricing Score on Comparably vs its competitors.

Which country spends the most on cosmetics? The United States spends the most on cosmetics.

Can I ship internationally? Yes, Sephora ships internationally at this time. For delivery to Canada, please consult Canadian shipping information on www.sephora.ca .

Owned by the LVMH group since 1997, and with 1,900 stores worldwide of which 130 in Italy.

FAQ. Are Sephora Collection products cruelty-free? No, Sephora Collection products are not cruelty-free. Although Sephora as a brand does not test its finished products on animals, they nevertheless pay others to test its products on animals “where required by law.” This means that Sephora is not cruelty-free.

World's Largest Sephora Store: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Rimmel (commonly known as Rimmel London) is a British multinational cosmetics brand, now owned by parent company Coty, Inc.

Owned by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, the world's leading luxury goods group, Sephora has earned its reputation as a beauty trailblazer with its expertise, innovation, and entrepreneurial spirit.

Is Sephora changing? ›

Sephora Is Going Through Major Changes But Demand Remains Strong. The chain has been crafting a new course after LVMH appointed Guillaume Motte as Sephora's president and CEO last November. Over the last year, the wider Sephora brand has been experimenting with different concepts in a changing retail landscape.

The US brand has stores across Europe in Spain, France, Italy, Germany and more, except for one tiny location in the EU, Ireland.

There are 296 Sephora stores in France as of March 10, 2023. The state with the most number of Sephora locations in France is Île-de-France, with 77 stores, which is about 26% of all Sephora stores in France.

Yes! You can earn points when you shop at all Sephora stores located in the following countries/regions, namely: Australia, Hong Kong SAR, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, and Thailand.

Am I able to return an item bought from Sephora in another country? All returns for international purchases are currently not available.

It's not a standalone shop, but it's part of Galeria Kaufhof, one of the biggest department store chains in Germany. It still has the same branding, and carries the Sephora brand products, but the store is more of a subset in Galeria Kaufhof, only carrying items that's not in the Galeria Kaufhof's perfumerie.

When California fined the beauty brand this summer, it was the first enforcement action under the California Consumer Privacy Act. The state said Sephora illegally sold consumers' personal data using third-party trackers to get targeted ads and discounts on analytics.

Sephora currently operates four offline stores in Seoul and it hopes to open 10 more in the next two years. However, COVID-19 has struck the local beauty market hard and it has not opened a store since the last one in Lotte World Mall in Songpa-gu, Seoul, in February.

Sephora, closed its Mong Kok store in 2010, just two years after opening. Market observers noted that although the brand has a loyal following among expats, the initial foray failed because of its wrong choice of location, high rents and poor marketing.

Ulta Beauty at Target will debut at more than 100 Target locations starting in 2021, with plans to scale to hundreds more over time. The planned locations will complement Ulta Beauty's current store footprint, welcoming new guests to the brand and building upon Target's existing assortment of beauty options.

Why isn t Ulta in Canada? ›

U.S. cosmetics chain Ulta has cancelled plans to expand into Canada this year, instead opting to beef up its online selling platform in the current economic environment.

For guest orders $50 and over (excluding taxes), standard shipping is also FREE. For shipments totaling less than $50, there is a delivery charge of $9.95 for standard shipping. Express shipping is $14.95 and available in select locations. Your shipping address must be in Canada.

USPS Priority Standard shipping is FREE for Beauty Insiders with no minimum purchase required and FREE for guest checkout orders over $50. For guest checkout orders under $50, shipping is $6.95. We regret that we are unable to offer expedited shipping to PO box addresses.

Submit the shipment request and pay the shipping fee with the method you want (Credit or Debit Card and PayPal). Your packages can be delivered worldwide in as little as 2-4 days depends on the shipping method you chose.

If you're looking for more prestigious brands and sophisticated employees who are true makeup connoisseurs, Sephora has the edge. But if you're looking for one-stop shopping that includes salon services and drugstore brands alongside a more relaxed environment, Ulta Beauty should top your list.

sephora.com Top 7 competitors

The closest competitor to the sephora.com is ulta.com that ranks 4504 worldwide, 978 in United States, and 3 in Beauty.

JCPenney settled a legal dispute with Sephora in May 2020 after the department store accused Sephora of attempting to back out of its long-term contract early. After the two parties renegotiated, Sephora announced its new partnership with Kohl's in December 2020.

"Sephora wasn't working for us," Marc Rosen, the CEO of JCPenney since Nov. 2021, told The Wall Street Journal in an April interview. According to Rosen, shoppers who came to buy Sephora's beauty products weren't buying from other areas in JCPenney's stores.

JCPenney Beauty, the retailer's own beauty department it created to replace departing Sephora in-store shops, is ready to be rolled out to hundreds of stores. Starting in October, JCPenney said it will add JCPenney Beauty to 300 stores by early 2023 and then 300 more by spring 2023.

Which country wears the least makeup? ›

Certainly, one thing you'll notice after spending some time in the Netherlands is that people (well, Dutch women to be precise) wear way less makeup than what you're used to. That doesn't mean they don't take care of themselves — simply that there isn't the same culture surrounding makeup as in many other countries.

The least expensive markets for beauty were Canada, the U.S., Turkey, Mexico and Malaysia. The spend on the five products in each is 197.74 pounds, 201.67 pounds, 214.43 pounds, 216.90 pounds and 217.94 pounds, respectively.

Japan. Japan is home to some of the world’s best beauty brands. These are renowned for their high quality products that are packed with skin-benefiting ingredients and use minimal chemicals.

White: The most frequent users of foundation, with 43 percent of Caucasian makeup wearers using foundation every day.

Black women, in particular, spend an estimated $7.5 billion annually on beauty products, shelling out 80% more on cosmetics and twice as much on skin care as their non-Black counterparts. Yet, they've been grossly underserved by the cosmetics industry throughout history.

The United States is leading the ranking by revenue in the skin care segment of the beauty & personal care market, recording 19.9 billion U.S. dollars.

The next best place to go to find the Ulta equivalent in the UK is major department stores like John Lewis and Debenhams. They sell many things from homeware to electronics to clothing, but they also do have make-up sections that are going to sell your higher end brands that you can find in the UK.

Sephora's competitors and similar companies include Macy's, Nordstrom, Sally Beauty and Ulta Beauty.

For example, I compared prices for the UK brand Charlotte Tilbury in anticipation of an upcoming trip to London. Factoring in currency exchange and the sales tax I will pay in North America to the UK price which already has VAT added, the price is practically identical.

The Beauty Store is a retailer of well-known Health and Beauty Products with an affordable price tag. We stock thousands of products from top health and beauty brands all at fantastically discounted prices.

Is Sephora higher end than Ulta? ›

If you're looking for more prestigious brands and sophisticated employees who are true makeup connoisseurs, Sephora has the edge. But if you're looking for one-stop shopping that includes salon services and drugstore brands alongside a more relaxed environment, Ulta Beauty should top your list.

Sephora offers a variety of popular and high-end brands but also includes less common options like Bobbi Brown, Fable & Mane, and Jack Black. On the other hand, Ulta Beauty offers popular and luxury brands but also includes more affordable options like Pacifica and Soap & Glory.

sephora.com Top 7 competitors

The closest competitor to the sephora.com is ulta.com that ranks 4504 worldwide, 978 in United States, and 3 in Beauty.

JCPenney Beauty will open inside the department store on Friday at 10 a.m. The store will offer skincare and makeup for all and the first 50 customers will get a free gift card. This announcement comes after we reported in March that ULTA will also be opening in River Ridge in August or September of this year.

The partnership allows Sephora to expand beyond malls and into suburbs and Kohl's to sell higher-end beauty products. Each mini-store is staffed by Kohl's employees trained by Sephora to be beauty experts on the more than 125 individual products they'll sell.

It's not just basics such as mascara and primer; even luxe beauty palettes from the likes of MAC Cosmetics can be cheaper across the Atlantic. Mac's Power Hungry eye shadow palette costs $39.50 on its official US site, with VAT, which works out at £29.89 at the current exchange rate.

That means you can use the card virtually everywhere in the world. The Sephora Credit Card has a 3% foreign transaction fee, which means you will incur extra charges for international purchases. This card also offers 4% back in reward dollars at Sephora and 1% on all other purchases.

"Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause!" In a statement to Allure, Sephora confirmed the change: “Due to recently enacted data privacy regulations, Sephora clients in the UK and Netherlands will now be directed to Sephora France's website, Sephora.fr,” a rep said.