Sephora is a chain of cosmetics stores founded in France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 in 1970 and acquired by Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

-based conglomerate LVMH

LVMH

LVMH Moët Hennessy • Louis Vuitton S.A., better known as LVMH, is a French multinational luxury goods conglomerate headquartered in Paris, Île-de-France, France. The company was formed after the 1987 merger of fashion house Louis Vuitton with Moët Hennessy, a company formed after the 1971 merger...

 (Louis Vuitton and Moet Hennessy) in 1997. The Sephora chain includes more than 750 stores in 17 countries. Carrying over 250 brands, including Sephora's own private label

Private label

Private label products or services are typically those manufactured or provided by one company for offer under another company's brand. Private label goods and services are available in a wide range of industries from food to cosmetics to web hosting...

, the store offers cosmetic and beauty items that include makeup, skin care, fragrance, bath and body, hair product, and hair and make-up tools.

Overview

Sephora opened its first US store in New York City in 1998. Its North American headquarters are located in San Francisco, with marketing offices in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 and Montréal

Montreal

Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

. Sephora is a division of the Paris-based Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH). Sephora is known for their sampling program and for their lifetime return policy. If you purchase a particular brand and if a certain location does not carry that brand, they will still accept the product under their return policy.
In 1999, Sephora launched its online shop available in nine countries.

Name and logo

Sephora is a combination of "sephos", which is Greek for "beauty" and the name Zipporah

Zipporah

Zipporah or Tzipora is mentioned in the Book of Exodus as the wife of Moses, and the daughter of Reuel/Jethro, the priest or prince of Midian...

, the exceptionally beautiful wife of Moses

Moses

Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...

 in the Book of Exodus. The name Zipporah in the Greek Old Testament (LXX or Septuagint) is rendered, Σεπφώρα Sephora. The Sephora logo is a white "S" shaped flame against a black background.

Sephora Beauty Insider

The Sephora Beauty Insider is a rewards program that offers customers coupons, discounts, and points for frequent buyers. The program is available to all Sephora customers and is free for sign-up. Each dollar spent is equal to one point, every one hundred points offers a free "deluxe" sample-size product. Beauty Insider members also receive sample-size gifts on their birthday. When a member spends $350 in one calendar year, they are upgraded to a Very Important Beauty Insider membership (V.I.B).

Sephora's private label

The cosmetics store launched its private label featuring make-up, bath products, and other beauty tools. Packaging for the line features the company's elongated flame logo in standard black print.

Sephora inside JCPenney

In April 2006, Sephora joined JCPenney to sell cosmetics in its stores. The JCPenney version of Sephora is a "store within a store" concept. The first five "Sephora inside JCPenney" stores opened in October 2006. These stores, which are smaller than the size of a normal Sephora store, carry a more limited selection. In 2010, there was a grand opening of Sephora in Slatten Ranch's JCPenney in Antioch

Antioch, California

Antioch is a city in Contra Costa County, California. Located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area along the San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta, it is a suburb of San Francisco and Oakland. The city's population was 102,372 at the U.S...

, California and in North East Mall

North East Mall

North East Mall is located at 1101 Melbourne Rd in Hurst, Texas, a Fort Worth suburb. Many people from Fort Worth and Haltom City, Texas use this mall...

 (JCPenney) in Hurst

Hurst, Texas

Hurst is a city in Tarrant County, Texas, United States. Hurst is one of the Mid-Cities between Fort Worth and Dallas, but is a suburb of Fort Worth. The city was founded by William Letchworth Hurst...