‘Insane’: US tourist blown away by 3-storey Mecca in Sydney

An American influencer on holiday Down Under has shared her shock over a cult Aussie store, declaring it “wins” against US competitors.

An American currently on holiday in Australia has revealed her shock after shopping at local beauty brand Mecca for the first time.

Darcy McQueeny is an influencer from Chicago in the US who was recently flown Down Under by Australian e-tailer White Fox Boutique.

But outside of her duties as an ambassador for the affordable fashion brand, which have included attending the White Fox summer party aboard Seadeck on Sydney Harbour, the 22-year-old has been busy exploring local haunts.

In one video, Darcy heads to Mecca in a bid to compare it against beauty stores back in her home country, and comes to a surprising conclusion.

An American tourist has been blown away by Sydney’s 3-storey Mecca. Picture: TikTok/darcymcqueenyyy

Darcy McQueen decided to compare the Aussie beauty store to her local Sephora back in the US with surprising results. Picture: TikTok/darcymcqueenyyy

“Australians say this is bigger and better than the Sephora in the United States, but I will be the judge of that,” she said.

The influencer then headed inside the brand’s NSW flagship store on Sydney’s George Street, entering on the basement floor and quickly determining the three-storey shop was “pretty big”.

“This is so much cleaner, look how organised this is,” she states, as the camera pans over the Sol De Janeiro and Drunk Elephant displays.

“It’s so different, but so similar,” Darcy continued. “And there’s actually a lot of brands I’ve never heard of.”

After heading upstairs to the ground floor, the young woman tells her 1.6 million followers Mecca is “so cool”, adding: “Wow, everything is so organised.”

“It’s so clean, I love it here,” she states for the second time, seemingly completely in awe.

The 22-year-old was blown away by how clean it was … Picture: TikTok/darcymcqueenyyy

… and praised the organisation of products. Picture: TikTok/darcymcqueenyyy

On the top floor, which is home to all the perfume as well as Mecca Manes – a EdwardsAndCo salon – and luxury piercing brand Maria Tash, Darcy is just as impressed.

“This is so much cooler [than US Sephora], this wins,” she concluded.

Her video has proved hugely popular, amassing more than a million views in the week since it was posted.

While many were from Darcy’s home country, there were also plenty of Aussies who weighed in on the unique Mecca, many sharing their jealousy at its size.

“My Mecca doesn’t have this many levels,” one wrote alongside a crying face emoji.

“That’s the main Sydney store, most aren’t as fancy, but I definitely prefer Mecca to Sephora,” another agreed.

As one declared: “3 levels is insane.”

‘I love it here.’ Picture: TikTok/darcymcqueenyyy

She ended up declaring Mecca ‘wins’. Picture: TikTok/darcymcqueenyyy

Others pointed out Australia has Sephora stores too, offering their own opinions on which one they prefer.

“OMG Mecca is amazing, it isn’t as posh and stressful as Sephora,” one claimed.

“Personally I love Sephora more because Mecca is like only influencer brands,” another chipped in.

Mecca opened its Sydney flagship store in late 2020 after refurbishing the city’s heritage Gowings building. It spans 1800 square metres and is 20 times bigger than the brand’s very first store on Melbourne’s Toorak road. It’s also the biggest beauty store in the Southern Hemisphere.

Mecca was founded by Jo Horgan more than 20 years ago and has become a firm favourite among Australian beauty consumers.

The store is stocked with all 200-plus of the retailer’s existing brands, including Nars, Shiseido, Tatcha, Sunday Riley, Diptyque and Byredo, as well as in-house products from the Mecca Cosmetica and Mecca Max lines.

Most recently, leading fine jewellery and luxury piercing brand Maria Tash opened its first location in the Southern Hemisphere inside the store, which came shortly after cult facial Face Gym also moved into the luxe premises.