How things change. Sephora is to open at the giant Bluewater mall in Kent on 27 November, almost 20 years after it closed its store there and exited the UK.

The Bluewater location will be its seventh UK store after it re-entered the market physically in 2022 with its progress so far having been an undeniable success.

It means the beauty retailer will be able to make the most of Black Friday and Christmas traffic and its arrival should give other beauty names at the mall a run for their money, including Boots and Superdrug, department store John Lewis and the increasingly-multibrand-focused M&S.

It will cover an expansive 4,593 sq ft of total sales floor space.

As with all Sephora stores, it will feature global and local brands across make-up, travel, fragrance, skincare, haircare, grooming and wellness. 

These will include Makeup by Mario, GXVE by Gwen Stefani, Haus Labs by Lady Gaga and Topicals – all of which are exclusive to Sephora UK.

There will also be the chain’s signature beauty playgrounds with in-store beauty services from quick treatments to a full hour ‘Glam Look’ makeovers. Included are bookable services across make-up, skincare, hair and brows. 

Brands here include Elemis, Dermalogica and Seasonly offering a variety of facials, Benefit with its BrowBar services, and Dyson dry styling hair.

As mentioned, Sephora has been at Bluewater before, opening at the turn of the millennium but exiting several years later as high rents and intense competition meant the business wasn’t viable.

But the years since then have shown the beauty segment to be one of the most buoyant discretionary categories. Other entrants have included Next with its premium beauty offer and Harrods with the H Beauty chain, while long-term specialists such as Boots and Superdrug have ramped up their premium and services offer to make the most of the trend.

Sephora’s re-entry into the UK a few years ago has been marked by a rapid opening programme at key malls and intense interest in its stores.