The opening of the new Sephora store in Manchester's Trafford Centre on May 16 has seen thousands of beauty fans queue for hours to get their hands on the best makeup and skincare
As Sephora opened its doors in Manchester’s Trafford Centre this weekend, thousands of shoppers queued to get their hands on coveted and exclusive beauty buys, many of which are difficult to get your hands on on the high street.
The brand new store is home to over 100 brands, so some beauty enthusiasts may find themselves overwhelmed and unsure which ones to add to their basket. One thing we love to do to work out what’s hot and in-demand, is see what other people are buying, and it seems one brand in particular is cropping up time and again: the cult vegan skincare brand Summer Fridays .
The Trafford Centre store is also debuting new brands including Adwoa Beauty, Relevant, STRAAND, Salt & Stone and Naked Sundays. In-store exclusives like TATCHA, Glow Hub, Glow Recipe, Coco Cosmetics and Danessa Myricks are also available to swatch joining favourites like Fenty Beauty, MILK Makeup, Kosas, Drunk Elephant and Sol de Janeiro.
READ MORE: Every beauty buy I received and loved at Sephora's star-studded Manchester launch
Ellie Gee, 23, from Manchester got to the Sephora queue at 5am, five hours before the store opened on Thursday, May 16, and had already filled her basket by 10.15 am - just 15 minutes after walking through the doors.
She is such a big fan of Summer Friday’s Lip Butter Balm she snapped up every colour. Talking through her purchases, Ellie told the Manchester Evening News: “I came for the Glow Recipe toner and serum, this [the Summer Fridays Jet Lag Mask ] got recommended to me so I thought I’d give it a go, and then the star of the show Summer Fridays lip balm has sold out everywhere so I had to get every single colour."
Other items she bought included Sephora’s dual exfoliating wipes and a Laneige mask.
By 8am 2,000 customers were in the Sephora queue. At the front were sisters Zailah Zeria, 22, Maliha, 19, who had joined the queue at 6pm the night before. The pair said they were planning to make a beeline for the Summer Fridays products as well as the brands Drunk Elephant, Haus Labs , and Rare Beauty .
Pals Caitlyn Marrell, 20, and Maisy Henry, 23, who joined the queue six hours later at midnight, also bought the Summer Fridays Lip Butter Balm along with a Ultra Violette SPF mist . The pair said other brands they love include Make-Up by Mario.
Fellow Summer Fridays fan Lauren, 34, said she too bagged one of the brand’s sell out lip balms. “I’ve got a Summer Fridays lip balm and Drunk Elephant bronzing drops so far but I’m hoping to get anything by Natasha Denona or a Gisou lip oil ,” she said.
Britney, 24, said she was ‘excited’ to finally get her hands on a Summer Fridays lip balm . “I started queuing at 3:30am so I’m super happy with the amount of stock they have! I got Sephora’s own brand cleanser , One Size setting spray , Topicals faded brightening and cleansing serum , Huda beauty setting powder , Topicals eye patches , Summer Fridays lip balm and a bunch of samples.
“I’m so excited to have managed to get the Summer Fridays lip balm – it's sold out everywhere,” she said.
Katie, 27, said she too was hoping to pick up some brands that are normally hard to get hold of. “I’m hoping to get Haus Labs by Lady Gaga or something I haven’t been able to get my hands on before. Trying shades on is really hard when you’ve got to shop online so it's nice to get to explore the range in person.
“We got here at 5:30am. I’m hoping the gift bags will have Makeup by Mario in it from what I’ve seen on TikTok,” she said.
Shopper Mariam Elberkawi, 24, who was one of the first to enter the store, bought a Born This Way Too Faced concealer and a Kissing Jelly lip gloss , while Isla McNally who celebrated her 15th birthday in the queue meanwhile said she was on the hunt for Rare Beauty products.
Sheila, 33, also in the queue said she would also be on the lookout for Rare Beauty products. “My sister is in Nigeria, and she would like for me to pick her up some Rare Beauty blushes by Selena Gomez.”
The first 500 customers were given an exclusive wristband ahead of the grand opening. When traded in store the wristband secured them an exclusive goodie bag chocked full of treats.
Brands in the bag included Sephora Collection, Haus Labs by Lady Gaga, Glossier, GXVE Beauty, One/Size Beauty, Makeup By Mario, Skinfix, Vegamour, The 7 Virtues and Commodity.
Beauty fans can now also get shade matches and test out products at the store which has a Beauty Hub where shoppers can sit down with professionals for a makeup touch, new hairstyle, or skin treatment.
There is also a Benefit Cosmetics Brow Bar offering a handful of services including brow lamination, waxing and tinting. As well as the brow bar there is also a Sephora Lip Bar and a Hot on Social corner consisting of the 10 most talked-about products on social media and services including personalised gifting and gift wrapping, fragrance engraving and hair styling from Dyson.
A menu of express skin treatments is also on offer, from brands including Elemis and Dermalogica, as well as Grown Alchemist facials and consultations exclusive to Sephora Manchester.
Of course, it’s not the only retailer with an extensive beauty offering at The Trafford Centre, with Selfridges and Boots also giving makeup and skincare enthusiasts a chance to top up their makeup bags. And while you might think it’s a case of competition, it’s really not, with each of the stores offering something different for customers. All of them have their own exclusive brands in store, with Selfridges being the only place you can buy Charlotte Tilbury in person, while Boots has the likes of No7.
The queues at The Trafford Centre saw more than 3,000 shoppers waiting to head inside on Thursday as the store opened to the public. But if you want to beat the queues, you can still shop Sephora’s extensive range of products online here.
