Sephora Opening New Store at Ocean County Mall in Toms River

There’s no sugarcoating it. Some traditional malls have had a rough couple of decades.

Online shopping changed everything, department stores disappeared, and plenty of malls that were packed on Saturday afternoons when we were kids now have empty storefronts and a lot less foot traffic.

The Ocean County Mall in Toms River certainly hasn’t been immune to those changes. But I’ll give the mall credit. It continues to evolve, bringing in new stores, restaurants, and attractions that give people a real reason to leave the couch and shop in person.

And another pretty big name is officially on the way.

A Major New Store Is Coming to Ocean County Mall in Toms River

This one is especially interesting because technically, Ocean County shoppers already have access to the brand.

There are smaller versions of the popular beauty retailer inside Kohl’s stores, including one right on Route 37 in Toms River. Those locations are convenient and actually carry an impressive selection of products. The Toms River location advertises more than 135 brands.

But there’s still something different about walking into the full standalone experience.

Sephora Is Opening at Ocean County Mall

Yep, Sephora is coming to the Ocean County Mall.

The mall’s official directory now lists the store as “Coming Soon,” but no exact opening date has been posted yet.

For beauty fans, the biggest deal is that this will be a full Sephora store rather than a Sephora shop located inside another retailer.

The Kohl’s versions were designed as smaller beauty destinations. Many of the original full-size Sephora at Kohl’s shops were around 2,500 square feet, while later small-format locations featured a more condensed selection of bestselling products.

A standalone store gives shoppers more of the experience people associate with Sephora, including a broader beauty-shopping environment and, depending on the location, services that aren't offered at Sephora at Kohl’s. Sephora specifically says beauty services are not available at its Kohl’s locations.

The Ocean County Mall listing already mentions brands including Fenty Beauty, Drunk Elephant and Tatcha, along with Sephora Collection.

For a mall that has watched retail change dramatically over the years, landing a store people will actually make a special trip to visit feels like a pretty significant win.

Now we just need that opening date.

And in other big news, we are getting closer to a new occupant of the former Bahama Breeze.