If you've noticed a Sephora popping up somewhere new this year, you're not imagining things. The French beauty giant has been opening stores at a pace that's taken it from a handful of shopping centre units to a genuine high street presence in under two years. Scotland got its first stores this summer. Wales got its first late last year. Central London got two boutique-format shops that look nothing like the big mall stores. And the company has publicly committed to having 20 UK stores open by the end of this year.
For UK beauty shoppers, that's worth paying attention to for a few reasons: it means Sephora is likely opening somewhere near you soon if it hasn't already, it's reshaping how much choice you have on brands that were previously US- or online-only, and it raises the obvious question of whether shopping there is actually worth it once you factor in price. Here's what's actually happened, where Sephora is heading next, and how to get the best value if you do want to shop there.
How many Sephora stores are there in the UK right now?
Sephora returned to the UK in 2022 (online first, with its first store following in 2023) after an absence of nearly two decades, and growth was steady rather than explosive at first. That changed through 2025 and 2026. By fits and starts, the store count has climbed through shopping centres in London, the North East, the North West, the Midlands, and the South East:
- Westfield White City, London
- Westfield Stratford City, London
- Eldon Square, Newcastle
- Metrocentre, Gateshead
- Trafford Centre, Manchester
- Manchester Arndale
- Bullring, Birmingham
- Liverpool ONE
- Bluewater, Kent
- Meadowhall, Sheffield — Sephora's first Yorkshire store
Then came a run of firsts. Cardiff became Sephora's first store outside England, followed by a store at Oxford's Westgate Centre. This summer, the pace picked up again with four more openings in quick succession: St James Quarter in Edinburgh and Silverburn in Glasgow — Sephora's first two stores in Scotland — plus two very different, smaller-format shops on Carnaby Street and at Old Spitalfields Market in central London.
Put together, that's around 16 stores trading across England, Wales and Scotland as of this autumn, up from 10 this time last year. Managing director Sarah Boyd has confirmed the target is 20 stores by the end of 2026, which means several more openings should land before the year is out.
Scotland and Yorkshire get their first stores
The Edinburgh and Glasgow openings matter beyond the headline count because they're Sephora's first physical stores anywhere in Scotland. St James Quarter and Silverburn are both busy, established shopping destinations, and both stock the brand mix that's made Sephora popular in the UK: Rhode (Hailey Bieber's skincare label), Haus Labs by Lady Gaga, Makeup by Mario, Merit Beauty, Tower 28 and Half Magic among them — several of which had previously been available in the UK only through third-party resellers or direct import, often at a significant markup.
Sheffield's Meadowhall store did the same job for Yorkshire and the wider North of England, giving shoppers in the region their first chance to try these brands in person rather than relying on swatches and reviews.
London's new "boutique" format
The Carnaby Street and Spitalfields stores aren't scaled-down versions of the big shopping centre units — they're a deliberately different concept. Sephora has described the format as being "shaped directly by customer feedback," built for a quicker, more focused visit rather than a browse through the full range. Expect a tighter edit of bestsellers, a stronger focus on the brands that are hardest to find elsewhere, and a layout built around central London footfall rather than a weekend mall trip.
It's a format worth watching, because if it performs well, it's a template Sephora could realistically roll out to other UK city centres that don't have the retail space for a full-size store — think Leeds, Bristol or Nottingham high streets rather than out-of-town shopping centres.
Where is Sephora opening next?
Sephora hasn't published a full list of the remaining 2026 openings, but the pattern so far is instructive: after clustering around London and the North East and North West early on, the brand has deliberately gone after regions and nations that had no presence at all — Wales, Scotland, Yorkshire. On that basis, cities without a store yet — the Midlands beyond Birmingham, the South West, and Northern Ireland — look like sensible candidates for the next wave, though nothing has been confirmed publicly.
If you want to know as soon as a store is confirmed for your area, Sephora runs a store-opening waitlist on its UK website where you can register your interest by location — a more reliable way to find out early than waiting for local news coverage.
Is Sephora UK expensive?
This is the question most shoppers actually want answered before they visit. Sephora doesn't compete on price the way Boots or Superdrug do — it's positioned as a premium, brand-led experience, and many of the exclusive labels it carries (Rhode, Haus Labs, Merit) sit at a higher price point than most UK high street beauty. That's a deliberate part of the brand's appeal rather than a flaw, but it does mean it's not the place to go if you're after budget skincare or drugstore makeup.
Where Sephora does try to soften that is through its MySephora loyalty programme, which is free to join — membership was reported to be up 49% since the UK launch. Points earned on purchases convert into vouchers, birthday gifts and early access to sales events, and Sephora's own-brand range (Sephora Collection) is deliberately priced lower than most of the brands it stocks, giving budget-conscious shoppers a way to try the format without spending at the top end.
How to save money shopping at Sephora UK
A few practical ways to keep the cost down if a new store has opened near you, or you're shopping online:
Join MySephora before you buy anything. It costs nothing, and the points you'd earn on a first purchase are wasted if you sign up afterwards.
Check for a current discount code before checking out. Sephora UK runs promotions and seasonal sales events from time to time, so it's always worth a quick check before you pay full price online.
Compare before you commit to a specific product. Not every brand Sephora stocks is exclusive to it. Overlapping fragrance and skincare names — YSL, Armani, Guerlain, L'Occitane — are also carried by other retailers, and price differences are common. PrimeVoucher's Health & Beauty deals page is a good place to check what's currently discounted across multiple beauty retailers in one go, rather than assuming the newest store in town automatically has the best price.
If it's really the scent you're after, check the dupe route too. If you love a specific Sephora-exclusive fragrance but don't want to pay designer prices for it, our guide to perfume dupes rounds up which budget alternatives are genuinely worth trying and which fall short.
Don't overlook Boots for everyday basics. For skincare staples and mainstream makeup brands that both retailers stock, Boots frequently has Advantage Card points and multi-buy offers that can work out cheaper than a one-off Sephora purchase, even before any voucher code is applied.
Time bigger purchases around known sale windows. If you're building a beauty gift set or stocking up ahead of Christmas, our beauty advent calendar guide covers when the best-value sets tend to appear and sell out.
Frequently asked questions
Is Sephora coming to my city?
Sephora hasn't confirmed a full list of remaining 2026 openings, but has stated a target of 20 UK stores by the end of the year, up from around 16 today. Cities and regions without a store yet — including much of the Midlands, the South West and Northern Ireland — are the most likely candidates for future announcements, though nothing has been officially confirmed for those areas. Registering on Sephora UK's store-opening waitlist is the most reliable way to be notified early.
Is Sephora UK the same as Sephora US?
The store experience and many of the brands are similar, but the exact range, pricing and promotions differ by market. Some brands and products available in US Sephora stores aren't yet stocked in the UK, and vouchers or gift cards from one region generally can't be used in the other.
Does Sephora UK do discount codes?
Sephora UK does run promotions and sales events from time to time, though availability varies. It's worth checking for an active code before completing an online order rather than assuming full price is the only option.
Is Sephora more expensive than Boots or Superdrug?
Generally, yes, for comparable product categories — Sephora is positioned as a premium retailer and carries a number of higher-priced, exclusive brands that Boots and Superdrug don't stock. For everyday drugstore staples both retailers carry, Boots and Superdrug are typically the cheaper option.
What brands are exclusive to Sephora in the UK?
Several brands that built their reputation on TikTok and Instagram — including Rhode, Haus Labs by Lady Gaga, Makeup by Mario, Merit Beauty and Tower 28 — are currently sold in the UK primarily or exclusively through Sephora, which is a large part of why the store openings have generated so much attention.
Whether you're planning a first visit to a new Sephora store or just curious whether it's worth the trip, it's always worth a quick price comparison first. Browse PrimeVoucher's full list of UK stores to see what else is currently on offer before you buy.