Driving the winding the roads from Vancouver to Naramata, along the Coquihalla and through the bench lands, in a 2021 Cadillac CT4 sport gave me a new appreciation for the activity and by extension—the car.
Allie Turner
Amandine Sol Botanicals’ Anticipated Dew Dream Spray Serum
Dew Dream is made up of witch hazel acting as an anti-inflammatory and blooms like calendula, chamomile, rose, and elderflower providing antioxidants.
Sensory Exploration With the Launch of Loewe’s Botanical Rainbow
The fragrance collection has exploded into a kaleidoscope of colour with the launch of Botanical Rainbow, a range of hues for the botanically influenced scents.
Why CBD Topicals Make the Ideal Relief Companion When Out in the Sun
Cannabis topicals are an umbrella category that encompasses balm, cream, gel, or oil that contains any level of CBD and/or THC. By and large they are used for pain relief, but the cannabinoids also offer calming, anti-inflammatory, and protective benefits, which makes them prime candidates for after-sun care when applied directly to the skin.
Book Reviews: a Coming of Age Memoir and a Surreal Literary Thriller
We review Somebody’s Daughter and The Other Black Girl.
The Best Canned Cocktails and Seltzers From Someone Who Hated Them
This summer, with COVID turning local parks and beaches into our favourite neighbourhood bars, the novel concept of a cocktail in a can becomes an essential convenience.
5 Rosés for Summer
Summer is a natural companion to the chill and tartness of these wines, so I make a point of seeking out a stockpile of my favourites at the beginning of May to get me through the season.
How Triarchy Founder Adam Taubenfligel Created a Radically Sustainable Fashion Brand
Adam Taubenfligel and his sister Ania built Triarchy to offer something beyond the usual denim brand. They saw the oversaturation of the fashion industry and decided the world didn’t need another brand unless it offered something more.
The Best Canadian-Made Ice Cream That Can be Enjoyed at Home
Here, we have rounded up just a few of our favourite ice cream brands across Canada that can be enjoyed at your leisure in the comfort of your home.
How to Get in on the Luxury-Handbag Consignment Trend
Some people have a treasure trove in the back of their closet without even realizing it.
The Sorry Girls Teach At-Home Upcycling and DIY Sustainability
Content trends come and go, but the ones that endure for years speak to a shared cultural interest. In the case of The Sorry Girls ten year history on Youtube the interest is design and environmentalism, with their channel sitting at the intersection of the two.
Sustainable Delivery Services in Canada
Here, we have explored all of the categories for home delivery services across Canada and selected the ones we think are doing the most sustainable and environmentally friendly work.
Fashionista Meredith Shaw on the Importance of Inclusive Sizing
Meredith Shaw started her inclusive style journey as a curve model (a more inclusive term for plus-sized)—a gig she says helped her fall in love with her body.
By The Namesake’s Journey to a Toronto Bricks-and-Mortar Studio
Until last year, By The Namesake was an e-commerce custom-leather-jacket brand. When the company planted concrete roots in Toronto, it not only expanded its offering but also caught the attention of locals.
5 Eye Products That Will Help You Fake a Good Night’s Sleep
Lighter-weight formulas, silkier textures, and more visible results are the hallmarks that make these five products better than their predecessors. These aren’t your mother’s under-eye creams.
At Last, The Anticipated Pandemic Books Arrive, Here’s Five
Words of grief, frustration, and hope reflect on the novel virus that brought the entire world to a standstill.
Maison d’Etto Artisan Perfumery
Maison d’Etto focuses on craftsmanship and melds well-known practices and styles that heritage brands have used for years with contemporary ideas and ingredients.
Book Reviews: Two of This Season’s Most Magical Titles
We review The Centaur’s Wife and The Absolute Book.
La Prairie’s Latest Contribution to the Art World Features Max Richter and Nobuhiro Nakanishi
Swiss skin-care line La Prairie has a tradition of separating itself from the fleetingly trendy and all preconceived notions of what a beauty company should be.
This Vancouver Company Provides Well-Designed Cat Furniture
Searching for beautiful pet furniture in Canada often means looking at sites or in stores that carry pieces from Scandinavia and Japan. Why has it taken so long for North American companies to catch up?
The History and Meaning Behind Right-Hand Rings
Also known as the cocktail ring, this piece was worn by women to symbolize independence and little bit of rebellion.
How a BC Indigenous Community Is Creating a Micro-economy Through Wellness
What began as an idea for a shack on the beach—a temporary structure—was destined to become a permanent site dedicated to Indigenous well-being and empowerment.
This Company Took Work-From-Home as Far as It Could Go
The work-from-home era that COVID kicked off has many reevaluating their dreams and expectations for the future, with some brave souls even taking matters into their own hands and relocating to escape.
4 Ways to Improve Your Space in Lockdown
The idea of “new year, new me” is suspect in many ways. New year, improved home? Now, that has potential.
Alexandra Gater Is Changing How Renting Millennials Do Interior Design
Blame it on avocado toast, the job market, or crippling capitalism, but less than 50 per cent of millennials are homeowners. Renting not only creates a defeatist or apathetic attitude toward decorating, but the rules and conduct can also spark paralyzing fear, stopping people from changing anything at all.
6 New Scents to Add to Your Collection
A new year is the perfect time to refresh our routines and add some spice (or sweetness depending on your taste) to our fragrance wardrobe.
What Is the World Having for Dessert This Christmas?
There is one custom that is a large part of Christmas no matter what country: food.
Dior J’adore, the New Infinissime
Referred to as a “younger” sister by perfumer-creator François Demachy, the new fragrance embodies the changing definitions of femininity.
The Show Must Go On(line): A Look at Live Performances in the COVID Era
Does COVID mean the curtain has fallen? Not likely.
What Comes after Phyllis Ellis’s Documentary Toxic Beauty?
We breathe it in, apply it to our skin, let it sit, and move on with our lives, leaving it forgotten. But the body remembers.
The Story Behind Toronto’s Breakout Beauty Company Fancy Face (Plus: A Video Makeup Routine)
Since May, Fancy Face’s dedicated following has grown exponentially with each collection.
Caudalie’s Vegan Collagen Alternative
Collagen—the hero skin-care ingredient—is derived from animal origins, until now.
Just Our Type Book Reviews
These new winter releases are educational, engrossing, and most definitely worth reading.
10 Canadian BIPOC-owned Businesses to Support This Holiday Season
In addition to showing our support for independent Canadian businesses, it is important to continue showing up for the Black, Indigenous, and people of colour in our communities.
Tata Harper’s Skin Smoothing Morning Routine
Tata Harper is giving us a glimpse inside her morning routine and letting us in on her skin smoothing secrets.
A Lifestyle Oasis Opening in Vancouver
Now that COVID has profoundly affected our lives, finding ways to make everyday life romantic, beautiful, and enjoyable is more important than ever.
A Master at Work: Tsutomu Hoshi’s Legacy in Vancouver
Hoshi fell in love with cooking at 15 when he was working in a restaurant and watching the “big boss creating and making beautiful dishes that made people happy,” and he aspired to do that too.
Toronto Stylist Julianne Costigan Launches an Online Style Guide to Elevate Everyday Fashion
Stylist Julianne Costigan believes that every woman has a power outfit, the ensemble she reaches for instinctively and feels amazing in every time she wears it.
The Many Red Flags of Cannabis-for-Women Culture
How effective are these cannabis-oriented solutions, really? And are companies pink-washing issues to sell women more products?
A World Pasta Day Recipe From Toronto Chef Michael Hunter and Barilla
With many restaurants shuttered around the country, COVID has provided an opportunity to reconnect with where our food comes from and sink into the rhythms of the kitchen.
10 Refillable Beauty Products
We can only hope that all cosmetics will be available in refillable packaging one day.
The LA Infrared Sauna Trend Arrives in Vancouver
Vancouver’s Yaletown neighbourhood has long emulated the same hipster energies of the major beauty cities, so it’s only natural that the Shrink Wrap Urban Sweat Lounge, an infrared sauna pod and body-roller studio, opened its doors there last August.
Canadian Urban Legends: Quebec’s Date With the Devil
As one of the most historically and culturally rich provinces in Canada, Quebec has a surplus of folklore and urban legends.
This Restorative Facial for Mask Acne Is Only Available in October
The combination of body massage and facial treatment is exactly what these times call for.
5 Indie Canadian Handbags for Fall
Whether it’s vegan leather, giving back to the community, sustainability, or environmentalism, these indie brands make you feel good about adding to your wardrobe this autumn.
Hana Shafi Tackles Mental Health, Body Positivity, Racism, and More in Her New Book
Hana Shafi uses her affirmation artwork series to bridge visual connections between the words.
9 of This Year’s Book to Film Adaptations You Haven’t Heard About but Need to See
People say, “books are always better,” and while it’s true that it’s a rare and fantastic occasion when a film supersedes its source material, there are times when something that began on the page can be given new life on screen.
Marjane Satrapi Deconstructs Traditional Biopics
Over the course of her career, Satrapi has stopped trying to please people. “It’s a lost cause,” she states. “I never wanted to be a cultural prostitute.”
The Importance of Locally Sourced Ingredients Has Finally Reached the Beauty Industry
Efficacy will always be the top requirement of beauty products, but there is a growing call among conscious consumers for a traceable, accountable chain of sourcing.
Honey Is the Ambrosia of Skin Care
The humble bee is at the centre of a growing farm-to-face movement in the beauty industry that is harnessing the repair signal to heal wrinkle breakage and slow the breakup of cells that occurs as we age.
The Strange and Unusual Beehive Books
The projects championed by founders of Philadelphia-based Beehive Books, Josh O’Neill and Maëlle Doliveux, set out to challenge how design and publishing work together.
6 New Fragrances for Fall
The fall catalogue of fragrance launches provides a delightful, refreshing change of pace to the season.
Upstart & Crow Is Not Your Average Bookstore
Opening a bookstore and filling it with your favourite painstakingly chosen books is a dream for most, but Zoe Grams, founder and principal of literary marketing agency ZG Stories, made it her reality this month.
Catriona Jeffries Articulates Canadian Art
The Catriona Jeffries gallery has been an institution of contemporary art in Canada for over 25 years, but it’s the work, or more accurately, the woman you don’t see, that makes all the difference.
The Beauty of Decoding Skin Cells
This new and improved serum increases the skin’s production and quality of new cells.
Catherine Bush’s Tempest-Inspired Climate Story Has Surprising Implications in the Pandemic
“Sometimes it seems like a neoliberal gesture to be obsessed with originality.”
Canadian Urban Legends: New Brunswick’s Haunted Hotel
It’s no coincidence that so many ghost stories and hauntings take place in hotels—but one Canadian hotel in particular stands out as the ultimate haunted spot.
Nimmo Bay Will Heal Something Within You
“People may not even realize it, but they arrive with an intention and leave having healed something.”
Evan Clayton on the Connection Between Drag and High Fashion
RuPaul’s Drag Race may have changed the conversation around fashion and beauty by bringing the different forms of self-expression into the mainstream, but queerness has been part of the industry for much longer than the show has been on the air.
Book Review: Eighty Days to Elsewhere
The release of a book that captures the spirit of travel, the cosiness of book shops, and the whimsy of summer is either very serendipitous or total genius.
These 7 Liqueurs Are Distinctly Canadian and Just a Little Strange
Many distillers take advantage Canada’s the berries, grasses, and roots in their distillation process (especially gins) but few have the courage to take one uniquely Canadian ingredient and make it the star of its own liqueur.
This Online-Only Houseplant Company Delivers Greenery Right to Your Home
Plantsome, has created a foolproof platform to bring locally grown greenery into people’s homes and keep it there.
Design-Forward Pet Furniture That Purrfectly Blends in With Your Home
No one wants a shag carpeted cat tree or lumpy dog bed in the middle of their carefully curated, well-designed living room. Luckily, these brands have taken notice and set to work designing pet furniture that is functional, suitable, and most importantly beautiful.
Canadian Urban Legends: Newfoundlanders Can Tell You All About the Old Hag
Newfoundlanders call her the Old Hag, but scientists call it sleep paralysis. One name is a lot spookier than the other, but neither can compare to the feeling of terror that comes from waking up to find her crouched on your chest and leering over you in the darkness.
Book Review: Where Things Touch
“To devote oneself to the study of beauty is to offer footnotes to the universe of all the places and all the moments that one observes beauty.”
The Origins of Makeup
Across 7,000 years of history, nearly every culture in the world has some mention or interpretation of cosmetics recognizable as the makeup we know today.
These Whimsical Sinks Are Made to Look Like Sea Shells
Mother of pearl, or nacre as it’s scientifically known, is like quicksilver pressed onto shells and makes for beautiful objects.
7 Best Primers For All Skin Types and Tones
A good primer can make a world of difference (as can a bad primer). Primers function as a base that makes or breaks foundation application.
Toronto’s Dr. Liza Has Created Facial Alternatives to Plastic Surgery
An off-centre nose or asymmetrical features can have people turning to plastic surgery, but Dr. Liza urges other knife-free alternatives.
The Ultimate Guide to Getting the Most Out of Summer Strawberries
From cocktails to crumble, we look forward to strawberry season every year and start to comb through cookbooks and websites to find the best recipes that will put the flavours front and centre.
Canadian Urban Legends: The Mysterious Tale of the Oak Island Treasure
In 1795, 16-year-old Daniel McGinnis stumbled upon a mysterious filled-in passage descending into the earth with a pulley system. The hole was flanked by three trees that formed a triangle, and the trees had symbols carved into the base.
The Results Are In: These Are the Best Restaurants and Bars in Canada
Every year over 100 judges from Canada’s 100 Best tirelessly wine and dine around the country to determine the stand out people and places in our diverse culinary scene. Today, as things are starting to re-open the magazine has decided to publish 2020s results.
Alternative “Scenters” Is a Growing Trend
Perfume has come a long way since its origins in Mesopotamia but not entirely for the better. As modernization took its toll on the centuries-old practice, luxury and care gave way to cheaper chemical alternatives.
What Is Hormonal Skin Care?
Our skin goes through phases, and no one knows this better than Stephanie Sharabura and Kristin Kurian. The Toronto-based duo have developed a skin-care line called P{H}ASE that works in tandem with the body’s natural hormone production to meet skin’s needs during those cycles.
Monika Hibbs’ Tiny Home Store Offers Stunning Design in a Secret Location
Now, there needs to be added incentive to leave the house to go shopping, be it a secret undisclosed location, customization, or impeccable design. Triple-threat Tiny Home Store in Langley, an hour east of Vancouver, provides all three.
Canada’s First Aura Camera: The Machine That Sees Feelings
For someone in possession of an aura camera, energy is captured as bursts of colour and light crowning the subjects head like a halo of emotions. We talk to Canada’s first aura photographer, Evelyn Salvarinas about how this works and why it’s relevant.
Astrology and the Beauty Industry
These days, Astrology and beauty are indelibly intertwined. Not only are zodiac-themed beauty products everywhere but astrology also supposedly dictates the kind of scents, colours, and shimmers we are drawn to.
Tinted Moisturizer and Alphabet Creams: What They Are and How to Know the Difference
Summer is the perfect time to ditch full-coverage foundation that plasters over skin and can be suffocating in the heat, to look for a lightweight alternative.
Whatever Happened to Cushion Foundation?
They’re still being made, although some brands have discontinued their contributions to the trend and the new launches aren’t being met with the same hype they once were. So what happened?
7 Lesser Known but Equally Exquisite Castles in Canada
“Canada” and “castle” are not two words one would immediately place side by side. But indeed there are even more Canadian castles than the famous ones we have all heard of, like Casa Loma and Château Frontenac.
Understanding Your Skin’s Needs Under Stress: Now Is the Time to Rethink Our Routines
The best way to approach skin care is to play the long game and accept that you will change.
How to Make the Ultimate At-Home Spa for a Mental Health Refresh
Here, a list of realistic and attainable suggestions for an at-home spa that will have a positive effect on body and mind.
Canadian Urban Legends: The Flaming Ghost Ship of Prince Edward Island
The residents of Prince Edward Island are no strangers to ghost stories. The small Atlantic province, with its rocky shores and unpredictable waters, is perfectly positioned for tales of phantom ships, sea monsters, buried treasure, and haunted lighthouses.
This Natural Distiller Is Perfecting the Mid-Week Non-Alcoholic Cocktail
Not everyone can or wants to imbibe, but that doesn’t mean they should miss out on the fun.
6 Coffee Table Books to Inspire You This Summer
Coffee table books, if chosen well, can be more than a decorative statement, a conversation piece, or a half-hearted attempt at making yourself look cultured.
The Retreat at Blue Lagoon Iceland
In the ’60s, a geothermal plant harnessed energy from the earth, and was intended to return the blue water found when drilling back into the earth through the porous lava rock, but the silica hardened and closed up the holes, forming an electric-blue hot spring with the power to heal psoriasis.
5 Multitasking Beauty Products Getting It Right
These five products are emblematic of the latest additions to the multitasking beauty trend.
Skin Care Mixology Hacks: How to Mix and Match Beauty Products
Skincare, allows adults to combine the childhood urge to experiment and mix with the adulthood urge for proper effects. These lotions and potions when used in tandem increase the effectiveness and luxurious skin-feel of the individual products.
Ellie Mae Is a Hidden Toronto Fashion Gem, for Now
Ellie Mae is an independent retailer with several collections inspired by different eras—the spring-summer collection Retired in Palm Springs is an ode to the 1950s—and a vintage closet made up of classic rock, Harley Davidson, and university alumni T-shirts.
Adopt My Shop Is Helping Small Businesses Stay Open
We have seen so many examples of love and compassion between Canadians over the past few months, and Adopt my Shop is yet another.
FREED Brings a Sustainable, Slow Fashion Approach to Faux Fur Outerwear
Marissa Freed is the fourth-generation president of Freed & Freed, a Winnipeg-based garment company that started as a men’s pants manufacturer and has since evolved several times. Her latest contribution to the heritage firm is a sub-brand called FREED, specializing in faux fur outerwear.
10 Books to Make You Feel Good
I would encourage everyone sheltering in place to revisit a novel from their childhood or reread an old feel-good book. If you are short on ideas, here are a few recommendations for books that make you feel good.
Tractor Foods Co-owner Meghan Clarke Talks About Restaurants in Crisis
These are bizarre times for restaurants and all restaurant-adjacent businesses. Meghan Clarke of Tractor Foods provides insight and a recipe to make at home.
Basia Bulat’s New Album Was Co-Authored by Joshua Tree National Park
It was the vast expanse of the desert in Joshua Tree National Park that gave her the vocabulary she needed to create the album.
What It’s Like to Have a Digital Skin-care Consultation With Etiket
People interested in the company or frequenters of the store and spa can find Etiket in the digital sphere through Skype and FaceTime consultations.
Just Our Type Book Reviews: Two Forays Into the Pacific Northwest Wilderness
The author behind Station Eleven and a debut novelist both explore the power and mystery of the British Columbian wilds.
Canadian Comedian Mae Martin Debuts an Honest Love Story on Netflix
Canadian comedian Mae Martin’s new Netflix dramedy Feel Good feels like a dimly lit comedy club as the storyline pulls you into an intimate conversation about sexuality, addiction, family, and modern love.
The Norlan Glass
As any scotch connoisseur will tell you, there is a science to the perfect sip.
6 Face Masks for Self-Care (and Seeing Results)
Beauty rituals, whatever yours may be, are about giving yourself a moment to breath, look inward, and tune out the noise.
The Guerlain Spa Is Parisian Luxury in Toronto
From its earliest days, the Guerlain name has been as synonymous with skin-care as with perfume.