Sephora is the French cosmetics retailer whose origins date to 1969 in France and whose brand became closely associated with Paris.
The historical detail needs a small clarification: Dominique Mandonnaud created the original self-service perfume-shop concept in Limoges in 1969, rather than founding the business in Paris that same year. A Sephora store was launched in Paris in the early 1970s, with sources commonly dating that Paris launch to 1970 or 1973.
Mandonnaud’s innovation was an open, assisted-self-service format. Customers could browse and test perfumes and beauty products more freely instead of waiting for a shop assistant to retrieve items. In 1993, he acquired the existing Sephora locations and merged them with his own perfume chain.
LVMH bought Sephora in 1997 and drove its international expansion. The name refers to Zipporah, the biblical wife of Moses. Sephora is distinct from L’Oréal, MAC and Ulta Beauty, which are separate companies or brands rather than the same French retail chain.