"We really encourage people to take an active approach and to act as their own beauty editor," Sephora's business development director for the Asia region Libby Andersen tells Fairfax Media.

"We offer a really different retail experience from anything else that is available in the Australian market. We really want to encourage freedom inside our stores," she says. "You should feel free to wander around a store and at any stage be able to touch and feel the products. There should be testers available for everything. So for every single product that you see, there should be a price readily displayed so people will always know what the products are about and how much they cost."

The French brand, owned by LVMH, has more than 2000 stores around the world and is slated to open its first store Down Under in December after spending almost a decade conducting market research.

"Australia has been highlighted by a number of international brands, and even within LVMH for many years, as being a really exciting and dynamic market," Andersen says.

"One of our mandates is making sure we are bringing in a whole host of new and unique brands to a country for the first time; this has never been more important than now as Australian customers are very savvy and well educated about Sephora."

Sephora's private label will hold pride of place at the two-storey flagship store on Sydney's Pitt Steet, featuring colour cosmetics, skin care and accessories. Other brands including Marc Jacobs's beauty line and environmentally friendly "tarte" will also be making the pilgrimage.

Andersen hints an online store for Australian customers will launch soon after the first store opens with a "bang" in December, and prices will be closely aligned with those in the US and other sites around the world.

The arrival of Sephora will be the first time in 50 years the likes of Myer and David Jones will encounter competition in the make-up market.

After womenswear, cosmetics is the biggest selling category at both department stores. They control about 60 per cent of Australia's premium cosmetics market, selling everything from Estee Lauder to L'Oreal.

However David Jones' new parent company, South African supermarket chain Woolworths, has confirmed it will be bringing new brands to the department store as well as revamping the David Jones line of products, which includes cosmetics. Woolworths CEO Ian Moir said recently the David Jones-label products will be revamped and targeted at a younger and more fashionable market.

Woolworths in South Africa also sells its own label of affordable beauty wares with products including lipsticks and foundations starting at about $12. David Jones will confirm if WBeauty will migrate to Australian cosmetic counters in the coming months.

This article originally appeared inside Life & Leisure and online at afr.com