Beauty obsessives, brace yourselves. The thing we’ve all been waiting for has finally – and officially – happened: Sephora UK is opening the doors to a real-life, bricks-and-mortar store this week. The rumours have been circulating for a while, but the news of the store – located in London’s Westfield White City – was confirmed by the brand to WWD back in January.

The announcement follows a few months of only being able to shop Sephora UK online, and while that’s all well and good – the website brought with it a number of exciting new brands – nothing quite beats the feeling of being able to shop in person, checking foundation shades, swatching eyeshadows and sniffing perfumes. 

According to WWD, the store will be 600m² and the decor will, naturally, be made up of the brand’s now-iconic black-and-white stripes. The interior is said to be the “first of its kind in the world”, with double-height ceilings, ambient lighting and textured finishes. 

Sephora UK will be home to a selection of 135 high street and premium brands, and we’ll also be able to exclusively shop from Makeup by Mario, Tarte, Kosas, Ilia and Sephora Collection, among others. Plus, there are plans for a self-service checkout, wrapping stations and a host of beauty services, including a Benefit brow bar. 

Talking to WWD, Sarah Boyd, managing director of Sephora UK, said she thinks the UK is home to “the most dynamic beauty lover in the world” and of the location, she said: “Westfield London is the perfect environment where you’ve got the mix between mass market and luxury, you can imagine going and spending a whole day there. It really felt like the right place to start.”

As for what the future of Sephora UK holds, we’re hoping it’ll be more successful than its previous attempt (which saw the brand open nine stores between 2000 and 2005, most notably in Bluewater shopping centre, but close down because of competitors) and that there’ll be an array of nationwide shops – but time will tell.

For now, the London Westfield store is set to open on Wednesday 8 March, with the first 300 customers getting a limited edition goodie bag. We’ll meet you there.

Images: Getty