The world's biggest beauty store is now open in Australia. It's pure chaos in the best way.

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Kylie Minogue. Bluey. The Big Lobster — all undeniably big, all Australian icons.

But after spending just three mind-boggling, over-stimulating hours at 299 Bourke Street, Melbourne before it opened to the public, along with approximately 500 other people also clutching iPhones and tiny, fluffy microphones, I know one thing to be true.

MECCA Bourke Street might just be the biggest Aussie icon of them all.

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You won't be able to open a social media app this weekend without seeing news of the Australian beauty retailer's newest and largest retail store, which also happens to be the largest freestanding beauty store in the world.

Beyond the 4,000m² floor plan, New York-esque interiors and 200+ brands to shop, we need to debrief about what it's actually like to visit MECCA Bourke Street.

Warning: The answer is ridiculously magical and completely overwhelming — in the most beautiful way.

If you're planning a visit or just want the goss, consider this your beauty editor-approved MECCA Bourke Street debrief.

And yes, it was a tough gig. I'm a team player.

WATCH: Your Mecca Bourke Street tour with Amy Clark and Leigh Campbell. Post continues below.

MECCA Bourke Street cheat sheet.

MECCA Bourke Street address:

299 Bourke Street, Melbourne (opposite David Jones, in the old David Jones menswear store).

MECCA Bourke Street opening hours:

Saturday through Wednesday, 10am-7pm; Thursday and Friday, 10am-9pm.

How to get there:

Catch the 86 or 96 tram (get off at Swanston St/Bourke St or Elizabeth St/Bourke St, or a train to Flinders Street Station (an easy 10-minute walk away).

Paid on-street parking is available if you have time to circle the city streets. Midcity Arcade Car Park is the closest secure car parking.

Store guide: You'll find golden MECCA Concierge help desks on every floor, along with 24 incredible artworks from female artists and an insane collection of furniture, decor and tiles.

Ground floor = Main shopping and checkout floor for makeup, hair, skincare, bodycare, travel minis and wellness, The Melbourne Apothecary, Flowers Vasette, Skin Studio (mostly redeemable, beginner-friendly skin services), makeup services, dry styling hair services, and the Brow Studio (brow waxing, tinting, lamination, lash tinting).

Mezzanine floor (second level) = The MECCA Gift Box, dedicated to gifting and personalised gift wrapping and calligraphy! Gifts are curated and categorised by types of gifts, occasions and milestones. You can even find wedding anniversary gifts aligned with the traditional gift for the milestone, like 'paper' for year one and 'wood' for year five.

Top floor (third level) = Bathrooms, The Scentsorium, Café MECCA, Trophy Wife Nails, Josh Wood Hair (cut, colour and blowdry services), MECCA Atelier (hair, makeup and nails in under 90 minutes!), MECCA Aesthetica (clinical treatments), Maria Tash piercing and ŞENER BESIM jewellery and eyewear.

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Best time to visit MECCA Bourke Street.

Easily overstimulated? Want to browse and swatch at your own pace? Skip opening weekend.

Trams won't be running, crowds will be WILD and the usual opening kinks might still need ironing out. Live vicariously through TikTok instead and visit in a few weeks' time.

If you simply can't wait, I'd time your visit for mid-morning or mid-afternoon to avoid peak shopping times like the late-night shopping, weekends or weekday lunchtime.

Beauty editor MECCA Bourke Street recommendations.

A glimpse into my camera roll. Image: Supplied.

I say this with kindness, but you need a game plan if you want to have an enjoyable time visiting MECCA Bourke Street for the first time.

Having scouted every inch of the store, here's how I'd do it.

(Side note: Melbourne-based beauty writer Gemma Dimond has done God's work in producing a 7-part store walk-through TikTok series complete with screenshot prompts, highly recommend checking out!)

1. DECIDE WHAT KIND OF EXPERIENCE YOU WANT TO HAVE

You can't do everything in one go, so think about it.

You could wander for hours with nowhere to be (it's kind of like a big beautiful bookstore in that way), or get brunch in the CBD and then enjoy a fully private skin treatment or wellness experience.

Or my recommendation: a social afternoon hair, makeup or nail appointment, followed by drinks and a dinner booking with friends!

Can confirm the croissants are INCREDIBLE. Image: Supplied.

2. BOOK A SERVICE

On that note, jump online and plan your visit around one of the 80+ beauty services on offer.

My top picks are both on Level 1 (the top level) — a BIAB manicure at Trophy Wife if I'm going out afterwards, or a clinical skin treatment at MECCA Aesthetica.

FYI, the skin clinic is super private. You'll find the secluded, high-end skin clinic away from other shoppers, with its own art-filled waiting areas and seven treatment rooms staffed with registered nurses and dermal clinicians ready to offer everything from injectables and VISIA skin-age scans to skin needling, laser and chemical peels.

Can I live in this clinic forever?! Image: Supplied

3. EAT BEFORE YOU GO, THEN VISIT CAFÉ MECCA

The in-store cafe is gorgeous, but I'd get coffee and breakfast before arriving so you're not hangry should there be long lines.

Important intel: Not only can you get a world-famous Lune croissant and Melbourne coffee snob-level good caffeine, but this is also where the bathrooms are.

4. START ON THE TOP LEVEL

Once you enter on the ground floor, go straight up the two sets of stairs or escalators, then work your way down to avoid all the stunned mullets clogging the entrances.

Level 1 houses arguably the coolest area unlike anything I've seen before: The Scentsorium.

A New York-style Bar Perfumeria offers 'fragrance flights' with a scent sommelier — sadly, no gin or whisky on offer (I checked).

Instead of spraying cult fragrances like Baccarat Rouge and Le Labo Santal 33 onto tiny cards (which leaves you smelling just the top notes), you can sample what the perfumes will smell like once they've dried down via porous fragrance 'cakes' stored under cloches.

Oh, and you can even stick your nose into AirParfums to find your ideal scent notes using the digital fragrance finder tool.

If only you could smell things through your phone screen. Image: Supplied.

5. HAVE A BREAK IN THE FLOWER FRIDGE

This is exactly what it sounds like. A fridge cool room filled with stunning flowers from the in-house florist Flowers Vasette.

6. BUY YOURSELF SOMETHING

Finally, whether it's a gift from the gifting mezzanine, an always-out-of-stock product, a lip balm or a travel mini, don't leave the store empty-handed.

After the effort of getting to MECCA Bourke Street, you deserve it!

Feature image: Supplied.