One of the most exciting things about heading abroad for me is to visit a Sephora. I know, that sounds a little lame, but Sephora really is the crowning glory of all beauty retailers. And while we have some epic department stores and online-only retailers here, there's nothing quite like Sephora in the UK. Until now, that is. Because new retailer AFTERbeauty is here to fill the gap in our beauty-obsessed market, and it looks like everything we've been hoping for. But what is AFTERbeauty? Here's a run down of everything you need to know about the new online retailer and in-store experience.
Let's begin with AFTERbeauty as a concept. Essentially, the brand is all about bringing together the very best of beauty from all corners of the globe to one place, making shopping for makeup, skincare, body and hair bits (and beyond) as easy and accessible as possible.
The store itself carries this ethos most, with 140 brands from around the world, and over 5000 products across the five floored townhouse. Experts working there have been trained to give a non-biased, completely honest service to each individual customer, and do not work for a single brand.
AFTERbeauty's townhouse is really designed for the consumer to play, experiment, and have fun. Not only is testing product OK, it is in fact actively encouraged, and the store is not driven just by selling, it aims to get the customer through the door to experience everything from the meditation zone on the lower ground floor, to the lift, which is jam packed with teddy bears. In short, there are endless selfie opportunities here, even if you don't end up picking anything up.
AFTERbeauty isn't just a shop, either; it's a treatment space, that will offer services from brands including Dermalogica, Haute Custom Beauty, SkinCeuticals and SKININC. Appointments can be made via Treatwell, or online at AFTERbeauty's website, as well as in their store.
While the bricks and mortar side of the brand is in London, the online platform is accessible to all, making AFTERbeauty available to the UK in its entirety. The site promises to stock just as much goodness as in store, and by the looks of its holding page, it's going to be a pretty damn cool experience in itself.
If you're wondering exactly which brands you can expect to shop for from AFTERbeauty, fear not, as I've managed to get my hands on the full rundown:
Make Up
Anna Sui, Ardell Beauty, Ardell Lashes, Battington Beauty, Beauty Blender, Beauty Blvd, BE3, Ciaté, Clio Lashes, Code Beautiful, Eco Tools, Ex1, Glossy Makeup, Holika Holika, Inika Organics, Kohl Kreatives, L.A. Girl, Lord & Berry, Lottie, Mai Couture, Makeup Drop, Makeup Eraser, Milani, Paul & Joe, PÜR, Physicians Formula, Real Techniques, Stila, That’s So Tanning, The Brow Gal, The Konjac Sponge Company, Tweezerman, Ultrasun, Unicorn Makeup, Wetnwild, Winky Lux, Yadah and Yumi Lashes.
Skincare
001 London, Alba Botanica, Bee Good, Bubble T Cosmetics, Dermalogica, Dr Botanicals, Elemental Herbology, Evian, Guam, Haute Custom Beauty, Holika Holika, Huangijsoo, It’s Skin, Juice Beauty, Leaders, Likami, Magnitone, Masker Aide, Merci Handy, Mighty Patches, Murad, Oh K Masks, Patchology, Skin Chemists, Skinceuticals, Skinfood, Skininc, Starskin, Sugu, Sukin, The Better Skin Co., Tony Moly, USPA, Weleda, White Lotus and Yadah.
Fragrance
Anna Sui, Anya Smells, Archipelago, Bon Parfumeur, By Rosie Jane, Kierin Nyc, Little Miss London, Notebook and Solinotes.
Bath & Body
Bubble T Cosmetics, Dr Bonners, Foamie, Guam, Holika Holika, Nesti Dante, Plant Apothecary, Skinfood, Sunday Rain, The Konjac Sponge Company and Yope.
Hair
Biolage, Giovanni, Invisibobble, John Masters Organic, Rahua, Remington, Panasonic, Sachajuan, Show Beauty, Style Dry, Tangle Angle and Tangle Teezer.
Men's
Anthony, Apothecary 87, Archipelago, Baxter Of California, Blind Barber, Izola, Jack Black, Men’s Society, MMUK, Mo Bros and Salt & Stone.
Nails
Butter London, Duri Nails, Kure Bazaar, Leighton Denny, Shellac (CND), Vinylux (CND) and Yumi Nails.
Pretty impressive, huh? AFTERbeauty has already opened its doors at 189, St James' Piccadilly, London, W1J 9ES, and its website will go live on 13 November.
