More than half are Canadian
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The neverending chase for high-quality skincare that has visible results but doesn’t break the bank has led our team to test a plethora of products. Skincare products (and a good routine) are designed to reduce wrinkles, pores and undereye circles and rehydrate and prevent blemishes, damage from the sun and other environmental factors and often treat hyper-pigmentation.
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It can be a challenge to find a brand that really achieves your skincare goals, while also using natural but efficacious ingredients that are good for our bodies and the planet. Below are six standout brands with a conscience that have helped keep us glowing, while using clean ingredients.
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Beautycounter
Why we love it: This brand may have been founded in America but it’s making waves in the Canadian beauty industry. Led by their motto of “formulate, advocate, and educate” for creating clean beauty products, this brand aims to set the cleanest standards in the industry. There are currently over 2,800 ingredients on its “Never List” — harmful chemicals and substances that will never be found in its formulations. With almost 45,000 brand advocates in North America alone, this brand is clearly making an impact.
Favourite products: All Bright C Serum | All Bright Dark Spot Minimizer | Mighty Plump Ceramide Water Cream | Think Big All-in-One Mascara
Price range: $26-$127 for best sellers
Where to buy: Beautycounter | Goop | Ulta | Amazon
Attitude Living
Why we love it: This Montreal-based brand specializes in clean, high-performance home and beauty products in eco-innovative packaging that considers what’s best for our bodies and our planet. They use clean, naturally sourced ingredients that are also highly effective — a common concern among new and experienced users of natural products. Attitude’s products are EWG VERIFIED, vegan and cruelty-free and dermatologically tested. They offer refillable bottles and products packaged in biodegradable FSC-certified cardboard.
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Favourite products: Kids Sunscreen | Solid Face Scrub | Bronzer Stick | Highlighter Stick
Price range: $20-$45 for best sellers
Where to buy: Attitude Living | Amazon
Algenist
Why we love it: A skincare brand with biotech at its core, focussing on delivering anti-aging benefits to users. Its range of products are built on the brand’s patented compound, Alguronic Acid, a mix of algae extracts that originally function to protect microalgae. These extracts have been processed and formulated into products with similar protective and rejuvenating effects. The brand has gone on to develop collagen molecules derived from plants, with algae continuing to be the star of the show.
Favourite products: Green Microalgae Retinol + Regenerating Serum | GENIUS Sleeping Collagen Moisturizer | GENIUS Collagen Nourishing Lip Balm
Price range: $34-$151 for best sellers
Where to buy: Sephora | Algenist | Amazon
Cela
Why we love it: Not only founded in Canada, each of the brand’s products use ingredients (mostly) sourced from and made on home soil, too. Each product is designed to protect and soothe the skin from our harsh Northern climate. The “Céla Complex”, the basis of most products is a blend of blueberry, elderberry, evening primrose, juniper berry, rosemary and lavender — six botanical extracts found in Canada. When combined correctly, these ingredients protect against environmental factors while bringing out our skin’s natural glow. Check out our Q&A with Cela’s founder to learn more.
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Favourite products: Northern Face Oil | Northern Eye Cream | Essential Balm
Price range: $34-5$8 for best sellers
Where to buy: Cela | Indigo | Ulta
U Beauty
Why we love it: This female-founded brand is backed by celebrity endorsements from the likes of Paris Hilton, Lisa Rinna and Christine Chiu. Using non-toxic ingredients and recyclable packaging the brand is committed to supporting sustainable practices, using 100 per cent green energy in their manufacturing plants as well as planting one tree for every product bought through a partnership with non-profit One Tree Planted. U Beauty’s proprietary (patent-pending) SIREN technology is a mode of encapsulation that claims to deliver anti-aging ingredients to the skin in a unique way, offering optimal efficacy.
Favourite products: The SUPER Body Hydrator | The SUPER Hydrator | The PLASMA Lip Compound
Price range: $68-$228 for best sellers
Where to buy: U Beauty | SSENSE
Lontreau
Why we love it: Another skincare brand born in Canada, Lontreau’s line of endurance skincare products was created for athletes by an athlete. The founder challenged herself to strive for the ultimate in clean standards, with each product formulated to the Credo Beauty Clean Standard — considered by many to be the industry benchmark. The products are tailored for people on the move, with unique serums that harness the power of antioxidants to protect against common environmental factors faced by fitness fanatics. Ultimately, whether you consider yourself an active person or not — these products will make your skin feel nourished and hydrated.
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Favourite products: Endurance Hydration | Game Changer | MVP | Recovery Hero
Price range: $40-$160 for best sellers
Where to buy: Lontreau
Gull + Castle Naturals
Why we love it: This family-owned business hails from Carberry, Manitoba in the heart of the Canadian prairies. Their natural skincare range is produced in Canadian laboratories focusing on sustainable, eco-manufacturing processes. We love that this brand offers “try-before-you-buy” samples on their products to ensure they’re suitable for your skin before investing in them.
Favourite products: wild blueberry + jojoba peptide cream | phyto greens collagen boost whip moisturizer
Price range: $58-$130 for best sellers
Where to buy: Gull + Castle Naturals
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ltaveroff@postmedia.com
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