It’s noon on a Monday and there’s an orderly queue outside Sephora at the Victoria Square shopping complex in Belfast, which has been open from 9.30am.
The French cosmetics giant opened its 2,550-sq ft store on February 12th, describing it as a “beauty playground in the heart of Belfast’s main shopping district”.
For the uninitiated, Sephora could be described as a mix between Boots and Brown Thomas with products starting at drugstore prices and winding up in the high-end territory.
Though the queue is nowhere near as long as on the opening day peak, there are still five or six people in line, and a security guard ensures that queue etiquette is followed.
READ MORE
Inside, the relatively small shop is full of customers swatching foundations, bronzers, eyeshadows and lipsticks on to the backs of their hands, and perusing the selection of lotions and potions.
It’s just over three weeks since the beauty retailer opened its first store in Ireland, and the buzz hasn’t died down just yet.
Dublin-based, I have taken a day trip by train (hourly trains make this so much more doable than it used to be) to see what the island’s second-biggest city has to offer on the retail front.
The Sephora outlet stocks celebrity brands such as Hailey Bieber’s Rhode and Lady Gaga’s Haus Labs. Other so-called exclusive names include Makeup by Mario, Merit Beauty and Tower 28. Sephora also has a slew of Korean Skincare brands such as Dr Jart+, Erborian, Beauty of Joseon and Laniege.
In-house beauty treatments include getting your eyebrows done at the Benefit Brow Bar, although this incurs a fee and can be done in Arnotts and selected Boots locations in the Republic too.
The Belfast Brow Bar works out cheaper than its southern counterparts though, with brow lamination, shape and tint coming in at £55 versus the Republic’s €66 in Boots and Arnotts, and with Revolut’s exchange rate, the euro price works out at €63.
[ Sephora investigated over ‘insidious’ skincare marketing to young girlsOpens in new window ]
Sephora own-brand eye shadows and lipsticks range start from under £10 (€11.50), to luxury brands such as Yves Saint Laurent where a single lipstick will set you back £38 (€43).
If you can elbow your way past other customers, there are also haircare products like Kérastase serums, Ouai oils, K18 hair masks as well as perfumes ranging from Replica to Tom Ford.
Apple Store
Next in my pilgrimage of consumerism was the Apple store on Corn Market. A curious quirk of the Republic is that in spite of being home to the EU headquarters of Apple, there is no official Apple store.
Sleek and glossy, the Belfast Apple store feels slightly sterile. These in-store locations are supposed to feel like a “town square”, where people can gather, use free wifi and learn more about Apple products.
There is also the “Genius Bar” where customers can get their Apple tech fixed.
There are all manner of things you can hand your cash over for, including the latest iPhone 17 pro which is priced at £1,099 in Belfast versus €1,339 in the South, when purchased directly off the Apple.ie website. With the current exchange rate on Revolut, the phone purchased in store works out at €1,259, with the exchange rate that day, a saving of €80.
Visitors to the Apple store can avail of a 30-minute demo of the Apple Vision Pro.
Vivi, an in-store specialist, guided me through the experience, helping me to measure my head using an iPhone, instructing me on how to control the headset and showing me all the impressive and slightly terrifying features.
At the end of your VR demo, you are invited to watch an immersive clip where you experience being up close and personal with an unnamed rock band at an arena concert, sitting in an ambulance with Canadian superstar The Weeknd, and experiencing the panic in a submarine with crew mates after an exploding pipe causes chaos.
The Apple Vision Pro, ranging from £3,199 – £3,599 (€3,677 – €4,137), is not yet available to southern consumers, and if you do want one, you need an Apple UK or US account to use it.
Anthropologie
Sticking to the city centre, Anthropologie is not too far from the Apple store, and features all manner of whimsical bits and bobs.
Eye-catching items include a sparkly bag with a lobster design for £88 (€101), French bistro-style butter dishes, boho blouses and three-quarter-length dresses, along with £25 (€29) keyrings and glassware.
The Melie Bianco Tulip Top-Handle Crossbody Mini Tote Bag came in at £58, and if you were to order the bag from their EU website it would cost €70 rather than €66 with the exchange rate on the day.
While charming, for those who enjoy Anthropologie, there are cheaper alternatives both in the Republic and the North. Oliver Bonas or even a big Dunnes does the trick nicely.
That said, one advantage the US retailer might have over Dunnes or Oliver Bonas, is the wide selections of floral midi dresses, which make for perfect summer wedding guest attire. Two such gowns are a buttercup yellow number priced at £138 (€159) and a pastel puff sleeve outfit for £188 (€217).
Lakeland
Last, but certainly not least, was Lakeland, on Boucher Road, which required hopping on the 9e bus from Donegall Square.
A tough exercise in self-control, the cookery shop stocks all kinds of instruments that solve problems you never knew you had.
Struggling to get the top off of strawberries? They have a yoke for that. Want a specific device to boil seven eggs at a time? They have a yolk for that. Struggling to get takeaway perfect burger patties? They have a shaping mould for that too.
Not only that, they have a whole selection of countertop electronics; the kind of things I would beg my parents to get me as a child, putting them at great inconvenience and expense, and then use less than five times (cue the crêpe maker, the popcorn machine and the ice-cream machine).
I was unlikely to impulsively spend three grand on a VR headset; I could live without a glitzy bag charm, and I could walk away from my perfectly matched foundation, but the potential utility of a pizza oven was immense.
The Ooni Karu 2 2nd Generation 12in multi-fuel outdoor pizza oven was priced at £349.99 in store versus €399 if ordered it directly off the Ooni website.
If you bought it in Belfast it would cost €400 with the current exchange rate, so there was a euro increase for buying it in store.
Luckily, I was getting the Enterprise train home so I couldn’t run too loose, as I would have to lug everything with me.
I managed to leave Belfast with nothing more than two new eyeliners, an eye shadow and a resolve to return with wheels underneath me for a future haul.
