Located in the former Esprit site, it will offer the largest range of cosmetic and beauty products in the country under one roof, from  La Mer creams (pots of which sell for more than $250) to other well-known brands to make-up, lipsticks and accessories.

It is expected the store will get the same "rock star" opening as nearby Zara, where queues stretched around the block. Uniqlo, which opened last week, has forecast daily sales of about $300,000.

The multibillion-dollar beauty sector is embedded in the online shopping world but retailers also make big profits, and even duty free stores make money on cosmetics and other beauty products.

Sephora is owned by the world's leading luxury goods group, LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton.,

Sephora, which has about 1900 stores in 29 countries, will open an 800-square-metre site in Pitt Street.

It will join other international labels Zara and Uniqlo, and soon H&M and Forever 21, in Pitt Street Mall, which, thanks to those arrivals, has been voted the fifth most expensive retail strip, by rent per square metre, in the world.

Cushman & Wakefield's retail research report, Main Streets Across the World, says Pitt Street Mall's average rent was €8650 ($12,496) per square metre, per annum. That compared with the most expensive strip, Upper Fifth Avenue in New York, with average rents of €29,822.

In times of belt-tightening, cosmetics remain immune, as they fall in the pampering category. They also cut across all ages.

Retail insiders have said that while the department stores are feeling some pressure from the apparel shops, the arrival of Sephora will hit them hard.

One source said cosmetics was one of the most competitive and lucrative areas for a general retailer, generating large margin sales.

But the arrival of the new retailers is also causing what experts call a "bulge" effect, where they require a lot of space and are forcing smaller tenants to non-core locations.

Colliers International head of retail Michael Bate said where international retailers like HM and Uniqlo were demanding  about 3000 square metres, this was pushing the local brands, which typically required 200 square metres, into surrounding streets.

"This 'bulge effect' is changing the face of core retailing across the globe. You'll notice that when you visit the core retail precincts of any city, be it London, New York, Tokyo or Paris, you'll see the same brands along the main strip, and to find the local retailers, you'll need to step back a couple of blocks," he said.