Beauty Diary: ’Huge’ line starts at 5am for new Adore Beauty store

Forget sleeping in, these dedicated people were up at dawn to be the first in Australia to experience a popular online store in real life.

It’s 5am on a Saturday morning, and while most of Australia is still tucked up in bed, a group of dedicated Aussies are lining up to get inside a swanky new store.

Adore Beauty, a cult e-tailer beloved by skincare and make-up fans, has just opened its first bricks and mortar outlet in Melbourne’s Westfield Southland after 25-years as an online-only business.

By the time the doors swung open for the very first time at 9am, a huge queue was snaking through Westfield Southland, in the trendy “up-and-coming” Melbourne suburb of Cheltenham.

“Customers came from far and wide to be the first to experience shopping Adore Beauty IRL [in real life] and to get their hands on some of their favourite brands,” Anna Beaton, Adore Beauty’s Head of Brand Marketing, told news.com.au’s The Beauty Diary.

“The whole team was so excited to see the huge response from our community.”

The company, famed for including a free Tim Tam biscuit in every order, was founded in 1999 by Kate Morris and James Height in her garage.

The company has swelled since its early start up days, achieving a record net profit of $992,000 last year, according to the AFR.

While Morris and Height stepped back from their executive roles in 2023, though both still remain as share holders, the business has decided to amp up its offering under new CEO Sacha Laing’s leadership.

“Adore Beauty started with a mission to make the world’s best beauty brands more accessible to Australian beauty enthusiasts – to be a place for our community to find inspiration and solutions for both everyday and complex skin and hair care needs,” he said.

“That same spirit still drives us today. Our Westfield Southland store is here for our local community and we look forward to welcoming new and existing customers of Adore Beauty, and cultivating a whole new community of beauty enthusiasts for years to come.”

SHOPPING: Best beauty buys at Adore Beauty

Adore Beauty founder Kate Morris with the new CEO Sacha Laing opening its first ever physical retailer in Melbourne. Picture: Supplied

In-store shoppers also get a free Tim Tam with every purchase – just like online orders. Picture: Supplied

But just how does the first offline Adore Beauty store differ from its original digital roots?

Shelves are stacked with items from 50 of the e-tailers 300+ brands and those who make a purchase in store will be pleased to know they’ll still snag a free Tim Tam, just like online shoppers.

Visitors can also peruse products by strolling the aisles and can ask staff on hand any burning questions they may have.

Items stocked online that are not available in store will be available to shop through digital kiosks to ensure shoppers can still access Adore Beauty’s entire range of international and Australian brands.

There’s also a personalised digital skin analysis service in-store to help buyers identify their skin type and needs.

“We all shop for beauty in different ways, but the common thread is we all want to feel like we’ve found the right product for our unique skin, hair, budget and lifestyle,” Adore Beauty’s Chief Operating Officer, Sarah Mullen, said.

“Whether it’s using your La Roche Posay body moisturiser with a Prada fragrance, or your Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Serum with your NYX concealer, we always aim to give our customers the freedom to make the right choice for them.

“Now our customers will be able to experience the beauty of Adore Beauty’s unique ‘high-low’ mix in a physical setting.”

People began lining at 5am in Westfield Southland to be the first through the doors. Picture: Supplied

‘Could not believe it.’ Picture: Supplied

Judging from the reaction, it is clear Aussies are thrilled with the store’s opening, which Adore Beauty said marks the “first of many” stores for the retailer, with plans for a national network of shops set to roll-out across the country in the next few years.

“Finally, Adore is so much cheaper than other beauty stores in Australia, this is what we need,” one wrote online.

“I’ve bought from Adore for years, everything is so much cheaper,” another agreed.

As one declared: “This is the best news I’ve ever heard.”

“Nice to see more Aussie online companies expanding,” noted someone else.

Morris thanked shoppers for turning out in the early hours on its opening day, stating she “could not believe the line of dedicated Adorables who had been there since 5am”.

“What absolute legends, I hope you love the store,” she wrote on Instagram Saturday.

“It really makes me so proud and humbled, truly, to see the effort and grit the Adore team has put into making the store so beautiful and unique, and so alligned to my original mission of helping customers.

“I honestly would never ever have dreamt of something so amazing when I dreamt up Adore from my garage 25 years ago.”

If you have a question about a beauty product or an item you’d like to see road-tested in The Beauty Diary, jump into our official Facebook group where you can join like-minded beauty junkies. You can also catch me on Instagram and TikTok

Originally published as Beauty Diary: ’Huge’ line starts at 5am for new Adore Beauty store