Why thousands have been queuing to get into Birmingham's Bullring today

Shoppers in Birmingham city centre might have noticed some huge crowds gathering in the Bullring on Wednesday morning. In case you've missed it, beauty lovers have been gathering in their thousands for the opening of the new Sephora store.

Sephora opened at 10am on Wednesday, November 13, on the upper mall near to River Island, in a unit that was previously occupied by Victoria's Secret.

Customers can now shop from a selection of brands available across make-up, travel, fragrance, skincare, haircare, grooming and wellness. It will stock viral beauty products from the likes of Glossier, Rare Beauty, Kayali and Glow Recipe, as well as the extensive and high-quality own brand Sephora Collection.

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The first 500 people in the queue were promised exclusive goodie bags by Sephora. The brand has shared a 'sneak peek' of a proposed gift bag that it will be handing out - and it featured products from Glow Recipe, The Ordinary, One/Size, Elemis and Nars, though contents may vary according to the brand.

And it prompted beauty fans to turn out in their thousands. By 3am, staff told BirminghamLive that more than 600 people were queuing for the store. It had turned to thousands by 8am.

Sephora UK's managing director Sarah Boyd has since thanked Brummies for the warm welcome the brand has received. She said: "We are so excited to be open.

"We've wanted to get to all of our Brummie fans, and this incredible beauty community, for so long, and so this is a really big day for us. Two years ago I was here at the Bullring, I remember the exact day. To finally have the doors open is something really special."