Sephora has arrived in Malaysia

After a couple years of wishing upon a star, I was super duper excited to see the Sephora logo on the construction walls in front of Starhill, KL some time back.  Now, the store has finally opened!  Yay!

Photo by: Tracelyn Yeoh (Facebook)

Sephora at Starhill, KL opened it's doors to the public during its soft launch today at 12.08pm and from the photos posted on their Facebook, looks like there was a bit of a crowd going on too.  I'll only be flying to KL this weekend so I'll definitely find time to check it out then.

Here is the brands list for Sephora Malaysia:

MAKEUPAMAZING COSMETICS, BAREMINERALS, BAVIPHAT, BENEFIT COSMETICS, CLINIQUE, DIOR, ESTEE LAUDER, FOX, JELLY PONG PONG, LANCOME, MAKEUP FOREVER, O.P.I NAILS, POP BEAUTY, SEPHORA MAKEUP, SMASHBOX, TOO FACED, URBAN DECAY, GIVENCHY  

SKINCARE/ BODYCAREBIOTHERM, BOSCIA, BURT'S BEES (n), CLARINS,CLARISONIC, CLINIQUE, DIOR, DR BRANDT, DR DENNIS GROSS,  DR HAUSCHKA (cn), DR MURAD, ESTEE LAUDER, HYLEXIN, JOHN MASTERS (o), JUICE BEAUTY (o), LANCOME, MARIO BADESCU (cn), OLE HENRIKSEN (cn), PERRICONE MD, PETER THOMAS ROTH, ROSEBUD SALVE, SEPHORA BATH & BODY, SEPHORA FACE, SOAP&GLORY, STRIVECTIN, UCARE 

HAIRCAREBURT'S BEES, JOHN MASTERS (o), OSCAR BLANDI, PHYTO, SEPHORA, OUIDAD 

FRAGRANCESANNA SUI, ARAMIS, BEBE, BOND NO.9, BURBERRY, BVLGARI,  CALVIN KLEIN, CARTIER, CAROLINA HERRERA, CHLOE, CLEAN, CLINIQUE, COACH, DAVIDOFF, DIESEL, DIOR, D&G, DKNY, DUNHILL, ESCADA, ESTEE LAUDER, FERRARI, GIORGIO ARMANI, GIVENCHY,  GUCCI, GWEN STEFANI, HUGO BOSS, ISSEY MIYAKE, JEAN PAUL GAULTIER, JUICY COUTURE, KENZO, LANCOME, LOEWE, MARC JACOBS, MONT BLANC, MOSCHINO, NINA RICCI, PACO RABANNE, PAUL SMITH, POLO RALPH LAUREN, PRADA, RALPH LAUREN, SALVATORE FERRAGAMO, SHISEIDO, THIERRY MUGLER, TOMMY HILFIGER, VERA WANG, VERSACE 

MENCARECLARINS MEN, CLINIQUE MEN, JACK BLACK, LAB SERIES, SEPHORA MEN 

NOTE: (n) : 100% Natural Brands (cn) : Close to 100% natural (o) : Organic Brands

These brand names are as listed in the Sephora Malaysia FB page.  I'm very excited to get my hands on some more Soap & Glory products as well as browse through the whole store as much as possible and see what little gems I can pick up as well.  I'm not too sure as to how the prices are but it is highly likely that it be comparable to those of Sephora Singapore.  I'll go through and compare it with the US prices as well once I get a chance to.

I know a lot of people were really hoping NARS and toki doki to be part of the line up.  Personally, I would've liked to also see Josie Maran and Rock and Republic too.  Looks like quite a number of people are disappointed the UD Naked Palette isn't yet available but from some photos I've seen posted on FB, the 24/7 Shadow Pencils are in!  Wee.  Quite similar to their Singapore outlet, they only brought in the Clarisonic Plus and no Mia in sight.  Maybe I'll just pick one up while I'm in LA in June?

Have you gone?  Which brands are you most excited to try out and which were you disappointed to not find in store?

UPDATE I was recently in KL with my family and managed to drop by the Sephora store to check it out for myself firsthand.  First off, the store isn't as big as I had expected it to be but they still managed to give it that Sephora feel and load up on quite a number of brands.  Location-wise, it's excellent in my opinion as it's right smack in between Pavillion KL and Farenheit 88's traffic light intersection.  I didn't thoroughly go through the entire range of products to compare prices but for the most part, the products are priced at about RM30 (~ USD10) or so more than in the US which I think is a fair hike.  However, for brands that are already available in Malaysia elsewhere (i.e. Smashbox, Lancome, Make Up For Ever, OPI, etc), the prices are the same as those in other retailers. I know on the Sephora Malaysia FB page there were some grouses on product tester hygiene and a host of other things but in general, my visit was quite pleasant.  Sure, there were no promotions or certain brands but the experience wasn't bad.  Personally, I would advice against applying the products directly to your face/eye/lips as with any testers found elsewhere but if you so wish, disposable applicators are available in the make over vanities as well as sanitizers and make up removers as well as cotton pads and tissues.  I can't comment on how knowledgeable the staff are as I wasn't engaged with any one while browsing. I was somewhat disappointed though that the products I was looking forward to get from Soap & Glory wasn't available yet.  In due time I suppose.  Also, while a slot for the Urban Decay Naked Palette was visible, the palette hasn't arrived on our shores yet.  Sephora Singapore just received their latest batch of Naked Palettes this week so maybe it'll be in stores soon here?