Shopping for cosmetics at Sephora is meant to be a hands-on experience. Through more than 300 stand-alone stores in North America and another 475 inside J. C. Penney department stores, Sephora USA takes a self-service approach to buying makeup, fragrances, and skin care products. It offers more than 200 brands of prestige products, including its own-brand products, all of which customers are encouraged to sample. The company also sells via catalog and online at Sephora.com. Part of luxury brand giant LVMH, Sephora USA is the North American retail arm of France-based Sephora, which was founded in 1969 and has a global network of more than 1,540 stores. Sephora USA's first shop opened in New York in 1998.