As Selfridges Birmingham opens the biggest Beauty Hall outside of London next week, the department store retailer has revealed the beauty shopping habits of the UK’s second city that “reflect bold beauty moves – and the numbers prove it”.

That’s according to its own data to reveal “what women in Birmingham are buying now” and the choices that are “reshaping the shelves”.

The Hall is now complete and covers 30,000 square feet, making it the UK’s biggest beauty hall outside of London. It also offers more than 160 beauty brands – including Charlotte Tilbury, Fenty Beauty, Kylie Cosmetics and Pat McGrath. And there are over 300 specialists on hand to help customers get the right products. The new Beauty Hall also has the UK’s first physical counter for Gen Z favourite skincare brand Sol de Janeiro. 

It’s part-Beauty Workshop (which is already open), part-Beauty Hall (the section opening now) and has a big focus on platforming new and experimental brands. Visitors will be able to access a range of services such as getting their nails done, specialist massages, and a Beauty Concierge. 

As for those shopping habits, let’s start with make-up, which “remains Birmingham’s biggest beauty obsession”, accounting for 45% of all beauty sales.

And it’s all about the finish, with the city’s top five best-selling products are setting sprays and powders with all-day favourite brands in these categories including Charlotte Tilbury, Huda Beauty, Nars and M.A.C Cosmetics.

Selfridges says that setting sprays account for over 5% of Birmingham make-up sales vs Manchester and London which track at around 3.8%.

Foundation is the top make up category for Birmingham with complexion obsessives take the lead on the category at 20% vs around 15% in London and Manchester. 

Powder takes 7% of the make-up business vs other locations averaging at 4%, “making flawless finish a big priority for the city’s beauty lovers”. 

When it comes to lips, the natural look rules with nude shades and nourishing lip oils the go-to for Birmingham beauty lovers. 

‘Pillow Talk’ by Charlotte Tilbury continues to be the city’s most popular lipstick shade with 65,000 units sold this year. Customer favourites among all stores regionally are nude and light pink lips. However, the category defining Charlotte Tilbury ‘Pillow Talk’ smashes through in double digits in Birmingham, taking 13% of lipstick sales vs 6% in London.

For fragrance, sales here are up 4% year on year, now making up 36% of total sales, with niche luxury outpacing classic scents.

Birmingham shoppers “are seeking out exclusive and experiential scents”, with Maison Crivelli’s Hibiscus Mahajád Extrait, Creed’s Aventus, and Maison Francis Kurkdjian’s Baccarat Rouge 540 topping the list.

The “craze” for niche fragrance brands is driven by Birmingham’s typically younger, more prestige-loving customer. Compared to London, brands such as Kayali, Initio, Fragrance du Bois and Versace perform very well in Birmingham, it noted. 

However, the brands that are seeing the best growth in Birmingham are Byredo, Ormonde Jayne, Atkinsons, Initio, Fragrance du Bois and Goldfield & Banks all in the top contributors vs last year. 

In Birmingham, haircare is now about “health, finish, and serious volume”, the data shows. Scalp detoxing and strengthening treatments are trending with brands like Champo and Ouai dominating the hair oil and detox space while Color Wow’s Bombshell Volumizer and Champo’s Volumising Conditioner are the top picks.

The biggest sales in haircare in Birmingham are seen across Styling and Treatments accounting for 56% of the category. These are the larger categories across all stores in the three regions but Birmingham indexes higher in styling.

Best-selling Styling products are oils from Aveda and Gisou and Dream Coat Spray from ColourWow.

Treatment sales have grown in the category mix vs last year by 3% and is now at 28%. South Asian brand, Champo’s Pitta Growth Serum is driving treatment sales which accounts for close to 30% of Birmingham’s total treatment sales. 

Scalp scrubs and hair serums are another key sub category within Treatment at 15% of the category. 

 Finally, 2025 “marked the debut of Korean skincare brands in stores — and Birmingham has embraced the boom in skin health trends”. 

Shoppers are reaching for cult-favourites like Beauty of Joseon, Medicube, Biodance, and Laneige.

It notes that with so many universities in Birmingham, “Tiktok trends are influencing the younger demographic who are investing more in their skincare and replicating routines or seeking out the latest brands that they see on social media”.