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Sephora just revealed the location of its second UK store - here's your ultimate GH-approved beauty shopping list
It's opening sooner than you think...
Sephora UK has revealed that its second bricks and mortar UK store will open on 15 November in London's Westfield Startford.
The new shop will stock 125 brands across the makeup, skincare, haircare, fragrance and wellness categories. As well as its popular Sephora Collection and its existent selection of products, the Stratford store will also feature a host of new labels including Adwoa Beauty, Relevant, STRAAND, Salt & Stone and Naked Sundays.
The new outler will also feature a grand Beauty Hub, which will be offering a range beauty services and treatments, including express skin treatments and professional make-up services.
Commenting on the launch, SEPHORA UK CEO, Sarah Boyd said:“We are so grateful for the welcome we have received from our fans in the UK. We are committed to giving the UK a unique SEPHORA experience, one tailored to the unique cultural needs of this wonderful country. We hope the community in Stratford love the store as much as those in West London and look forward to a day of treats and surprises at our opening.”
Sephora got beauty buffs buzzing when it announced it was launching in the UK in October 2022 (by taking over e-tailer feelunique.com's site), unveiling its first physical UK store in Westfield London White City in March 2023.
The outlet is home to a curated edit of products from exclusive Sephora UK brands, such as Makeup by Mario, GXVE by Gwen Stefani, ONE/SIZE by Patrick Starr and Vegamour, as well as Sephora’s own Sephora Collection. It also debuted some beauty-editor approved brands in physical retail space for the first time in the UK, including Tarte, Supergoop!, Danessa Myricks, Kosas and Glow Recipe.
This is all in addition to firm favourites Fenty Beauty, Drunk Elephant, ILIA, MILK Makeup, JVN, Gisou, Dior, Tom Ford and Jo Malone London. In other words, it is a beauty lover's paradise.
But fear not if you are sticking to online for now or simply don't live near enough to London to get giddy about the new opening.
Sephora knows it has some strong competition here in the UK with the likes of Cult Beauty and SpaceNK, and so is offering some seriously brilliant online shopping incentives and discounts that are hard to refuse.
Here are some of the best (note: you'll have to sign up to Sephora's reward scheme to access these perks. Signing up is free).
- You get 10% off 2 of your favourite brands each time you shop them
That's right. Choose two of your favourite beauty brands - say, Paula's Choice, Kiehl's, Jo Malone London - and automatically get a 10% discount on any product you purchase from them. If you're unsure, fear not: you get to change your brands every 6 months.
- You can get money back when you spend
For every £75 spent, you get a £5 Sephora voucher back.
- You get treated on your birthday
Perhaps Sephora's most famous perk. Each year, you get 20% off on your special day.
- There's a way to get next day delivery more affordably for a whole year
Think of it as Sephora's version of Amazon Prime: pay £9.95 once and enjoy next day delivery for an entire year.
Keep reading for the GH beauty team's Sephora UK shopping list.
"Some women buy shoes, I am addicted to lip balms. For two reasons. My lips tend to be dry and I love a gloss, a sheen on my lips. I am not a matte lipstick woman myself, much as I enjoying seeing it on other people. But I digress. My favourite lip balm ever is Nuxe Honey Lip Balm (the only one that seems to improve chapped lips in my opinion), but I do also love Laneige. They are gorgeously hydrating, packed full of anti-oxidants and make a visible difference to the condition of my lips come morning when applied at bedtime. Fancy flavours are available, but my go-to is the Vanilla simply because I was given a sample of it at a Sephora event and have stuck with it." Eve, Beauty Director
"I have fine hair but lots of it, which is a very tangle-prone combination. It’s also a combination that can mean I struggle to find products to hydrate and heal my hair without making it lank. But I’ve found that this mask is the perfect balance of being nourishing, smoothing and wayward-knotty-strands-taming while not being heavy or weighing down my hair. A bonus is the mask’s subtle, forest-fresh fragrance. Currently stockpiling…" Fleur, Beauty Editor
"Aromatherapy is something I find increasingly beneficial, and this NEOM diffuser is one of my favourite ways to deploy essential oils because it has so many clever features. Once you’ve added your chosen blend to it (I love the brand’s Scent to De-Stress Real Luxury blend, £20, which contains 24 different oils), you can set the fine-vapour steam to any one of the five timer options. There’s also a guided breathing setting should you want to use the pod to aid meditation, and it doubles as a gorgeous little side light." Fleur, Beauty Editor
"Nestling this creamy stick under the cheekbones, and blending well, creates a seriously natural-looking shadow that gives the illusion of a more defined bone structure. I recommend it to anyone who finds 'contour' scary. As its name suggests, this buttery cream softly sculpts and shades the face wherever you want it. It's not too warm-toned - something that's designed to sculpt shouldn't be - but adds a touch of colour to the face and definitely stops it looking flat and lifeless." Phoebe, Beauty Writer
"Foundation and I aren't always friends. I struggle to find one that doesn't cling to dry patches, separate throughout the day, or make my skin look flat. That was, until, I met this. A skincare-makeup hybrid, this lightweight tint is so fluid, it practically melts into my skin before I have a chance to blend. It does lend a slight coverage - one that's enough to mask a small amount of redness - but in the most natural way I've found. I'll always wear an SPF5O under this, but I also love that it has a SPF30, for additional reassurance." Phoebe, Beauty Writer
"I could be president of the lipgloss club. And a lipgloss that makes your lips look plumper? Even better. The inevitable tingle after application can be a polarising factor (you either love it or hate it), but this lipgloss’ tingle is on the milder side, yet still has some serious plumping power. The result is a subtle, sheeny enhancement of your natural lips. You, but better." Becky, Beauty Intern
"One for the sensitive skinned among us. Somehow, this hydrates and feels like it's washing the day away properly. My skin has the tendency to get drier as it gets colder, so packing in the extra hydration at every step is essential (especially come winter). I use this as my second cleanse after a creamy balm and my skin hasn’t looked better." Becky, Beauty Intern
"There is much to love about this cleansing balm, which has become something of a cult favourite amongst beauty insiders. It has the perfect amount of "slip", whips off makeup and grime with ease, and turns into a gentle, frothy milk when met with water. There's alchemy in the spa-like scent, too; it's such a relaxing bookend to the day that you'll look forward to the next time you'll use it." GH Beauty Team.
"The blusher for blusher-phobes, this feels more like a tinted moisturising balm than a blusher. It lends only a suggestion of colour (enough to perk up tired skin) and also manages to hydrate drier skin types in the process. Swipe on cheeks and blend with a finger for a natural, radiant finish." GH Beauty Team.
"I like everything about Ilia makeup. The formulations are skin-friendly and shades are well curated to be flattering and inclusive. Almost everything in the range has become a cult buy but it’s the mascara that has earned a permanent place in my makeup bag. I have short, straight unimpressive lashes but this creates a lovely upswept curl for me, without any clumping. Two layers and I’m done. The design of the brush works for me – it’s dual sided and not too chunky so I can coat every lash easily and evenly." Eve, Beauty Director
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