Alternatives to Sephora US: Makeup & Skincare
By App Store Tracker Editorial · Updated — live App Store data verified
The short version
Sephora US is a beauty shopping app for makeup, skincare, fragrance, and haircare, with Beauty Insider rewards, reviews, and shade matching. For US shoppers, the obvious alternative is Ulta Beauty, which carries similar brands plus a salon and a massive following. Sigma Beauty is a focused option for clean, cruelty-free products and brushes. The list ranks by embedding similarity and live App Store ratings, with several regional Sephora apps included.
The app you searched for
Sephora USA, Inc
Sephora US is where beauty fans browse thousands of makeup, skincare, fragrance, and haircare products, read reviews, find their shade, and earn Beauty Insider points. Alternatives split into two clear groups. First are Sephora's own regional apps for the Middle East, India, Southeast Asia, Europe, Mexico, and Brazil, which offer the same experience but ship to and price for those markets, so they are mainly useful if you are shopping outside the US. Second are competing US and premium beauty retailers like Ulta and Sigma that carry overlapping brands and their own loyalty perks. We ranked these alternatives by embedding similarity to the Sephora US app, then weighed live App Store ratings and review volume so the proven, widely used apps surface first. A note up front: most of the regional Sephora apps have few or no ratings on the US store and may not ship to a US address, so check availability before relying on one.
Why it's similar
Both are official Sephora apps offering the same world of makeup, skincare, haircare, and fragrance with shade matching and trend discovery. The Sephora shopping experience is identical in spirit.
How it differs
This edition serves Saudi Arabia, so pricing, inventory, and shipping are built for the Middle East rather than the US. With 1,259 ratings it is region-specific, useful only if you shop in KSA, not as a US replacement.
Why it's similar
Both give you personal access to Sephora's catalog with app-exclusive perks, store finder, product reviews, and beauty alerts. The browse-and-shop Sephora experience matches the US app.
How it differs
Sephora India is built for the Indian market with local brands, pricing, and fulfillment, and it ships there rather than to the US. It currently has zero ratings, so it is both region-locked and unproven on this store.
Why it's similar
Both are Sephora apps with the same shop-anywhere catalog, exclusive perks, and a Beauty Pass loyalty program echoing Beauty Insider. The membership-plus-shopping model matches the US app.
How it differs
This app covers Southeast Asia and Australia and New Zealand, with gift cards limited to those regions. It is rated 5 but tiny at 46 reviews, and it serves those markets rather than US shoppers.
Why it's similar
Both are official Sephora apps with shade matching, trend discovery, and the full beauty catalog. The Sephora shopping flow matches the US app directly.
How it differs
Sephora UAE is tuned for the United Arab Emirates market in pricing and shipping, not the US. With 1,700 ratings and a 4.44 average it is established regionally but not a US-shipping alternative.
Why it's similar
Both are Sephora apps offering thousands of makeup, perfume, and skincare products with exclusive offers and a smooth shopping experience. The core Sephora catalog and perks match the US app.
How it differs
This is a German-language European Sephora app, so it serves that market's pricing and fulfillment. It has zero ratings on this store and is not aimed at US shoppers.
Why it's similar
Both are Sephora apps stocking luxury and Sephora-exclusive brands like Fenty Beauty, Rare Beauty, and Charlotte Tilbury, with online ordering. The brand lineup and shopping experience match the US app.
How it differs
Sephora: Compra en Línea is the Mexico app with local pricing and delivery, not US shipping. It has no ratings yet, making it region-specific and untested here.
Why it's similar
Both are Sephora apps offering imported perfumes, makeup, skincare, and haircare from renowned global brands, plus app-only discounts. The Sephora catalog and perks match the US app.
How it differs
Sephora Brasil is built for Brazil, including a Portuguese interface and a first-purchase coupon for that market. It has zero ratings and ships within Brazil, so it is not a US alternative.
Why it's similar
Both are premium beauty shopping apps covering makeup, skincare, fragrance, and personal care across many brands. The shop-beauty-by-category experience overlaps with Sephora.
How it differs
SSBeauty from Shoppers Stop is an Indian retailer carrying local brands like Lakme and Sugar, aimed at that market. It has zero ratings and a different brand mix, so it is region-specific rather than a US Sephora swap.
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance, Inc
Why it's similar
Both are major US beauty retailers selling makeup, skincare, and fragrance with strong loyalty programs and product reviews. For a US shopper, this is the closest direct competitor to Sephora.
How it differs
Ulta Beauty mixes prestige and drugstore brands and adds in-store salon services, a broader range than Sephora's prestige focus. With 2.26 million ratings and a 4.87 average it is the most proven alternative here and ships to US addresses.
Why it's similar
Both let you shop beauty on the go with product browsing, tutorials, and beauty content. The shop-and-learn beauty experience overlaps with Sephora.
How it differs
Sigma Beauty is a single-brand store focused on clean, cruelty-free makeup and its signature brushes, not a multi-brand marketplace. At 3.87 across just 55 ratings it is niche, best when you specifically want Sigma's brush and clean-beauty line.
Every app in our database carries a dense vector embedding derived from its title, subtitle, full description, and category metadata. To find apps similar to Sephora US: Makeup & Skincare, we compute cosine distance against every other app and surface the closest 60 candidates. The similarity score shown on each pick is 1 - distance/2 clamped to [0,1] — 100% means the embedding spaces are identical, 0% means orthogonal.
We then re-rank the candidate set using current App Store rating and review-count signals so a 4.8-star app with 100,000 reviews ranks above a 4.5-star app with 200 reviews even when their embedding distance is similar. Apps that haven't shipped an update in 12 months are filtered out before re-ranking.
The similarity cache is recomputed weekly. Live App Store data (rating, review count) is verified every 6 hours.
No paid placements. No affiliate links. No sponsored picks. Read our full methodology.
More popular iPhone apps with curated alternative lists, each ranked by embedding similarity, rating, and category fit.
