Beauty retailer Sephora has announced it will open its first store on the island of Ireland next month. Speculation has been growing since a hoarding sign with Sephora’s distinctive black and white stripe branding was erected in the Victoria Square shopping complex. On Tuesday, Sephora UK announced the new store will open on February 12th, teasing an “iconic moment”.
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The store will open in Victoria Square shopping complex in Belfast (Liam McBurney/PA)
It will be the retailer’s 13th store in the UK, and the first on the island of Ireland. It has described creating a 2,550-square foot “beauty playground in the heart of Belfast’s main shopping district”. The store will also bring a number of internet viral brands, which are exclusively available in Sephora to the island of Ireland for the first time.

Sephora Products

These include Hailey Bieber’s Rhode and Lady Gaga’s Haus Labs. They will be joined by Makeup By Mario, Merit Beauty, INNBeauty Project, and Tower 28. The shelves will also feature brands such as Tatcha, Glossier, Glow Recipe, Rare Beauty, Sol De Janeiro and Kosas. It is aiming to have 20 store locations open in the UK by the end of 2026, with the next location, Cabot Circus in Bristol, to open this spring. Sephora UK has hinted at a grand opening, pointing to its openings since its first store in the UK in 2023, having become “iconic moments rooted in the cultural zeitgeist”.

Grand Opening

They have said it will be “filled with entertainment from local and emerging talents, curated queue experiences, and the tastiest delicacies from favourite local culinary hot spots”. It is also to include the potential of on-the-spot prizes, with details to follow on that and the opening in general on the @sephoraUK account on Instagram. Sarah Boyd, managing director of Sephora UK, said the company is excited to finally reveal the date for its first opening for 2026 in Belfast. “This opening will mark another first for Sephora UK – our first store in Northern Ireland, located at Belfast’s Victoria Square,” she said.
Cosmetic entrepreneur Hailey Bieber
The store will bring a number of internet viral brands which are exclusively available in Sephora to the island of Ireland for the first time, including Hailey Bieber’s rhode (PA)
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