CANADIAN BEAUTY
Canadians have been creating cosmetic companies since Woodbridge, Ont.-born Florence Nightingale Graham moved to New York, changed her name to Elizabeth Arden and opened her salon in 1910.
Since then, a long line of intrepid Canucks have found success creating unique beauty brands recognized the world over. And if you aren’t familiar with all the names below, you soon will be.
MAC Makeup lines celebrating racial and gender diversity may seem ordinary now, but MAC rewrote the rules when it was created by makeup artist Frank Toskan and hair stylist Frank Angelo in 1984. Audacious at a time when makeup was foursquare, MAC’s highly pigmented matte lipsticks, fantastical colours and groundbreaking marketing (using RuPaul to front a campaign, for example) were game-changers.
Bought by Estée Lauder in 1998, MAC products are now sold in more than 110 countries. Their celebrity collaborations still break barriers (think Caitlyn Jenner) and their Viva Glam lip colours and other
initiatives have raised more than $400 million to help fight HIV-AIDS.
DECIEM Created in 2013 by Brandon Truaxe, Deciem aims to disrupt the beauty industry with transparent cosmetic pricing directly related to ingredient costs. Already available in 15 countries, its 10 lines of skin care, hair care and supplements are sleekly packaged, and products are often named after their ingredients, requiring customer knowledge. But where else can you get a brightening “23% Vitamin C Suspension” for $5.80 Canadian? That is from its best-selling line, The Ordinary and, no, that price is not a misprint.
BITE BEAUTY Believing that we ingest what we put on our lips prompted Toronto’s Susanne Langmuir to create Bite Beauty, foodgrade, petrochemical-free lip products in vivid shades and chic, matte grey packaging that belie its natural ingredients. Handmade in Toronto and sold at Sephora in Canada, the U.S. and Australia. To honour Canada’s 150th, Bite has brought out a limited-edition shade of Amuse Bouche lipstick.
COVER FX What began as a clinic at Toronto’s Sunnybrook Hospital in 2000 where corrective makeup specialist Lee Graff helped people suffering with skin conditions and burns soon blossomed into Cover FX, a line offering healthy, full-coverage foundation that didn’t exacerbate skin issues. Built on a core of 40 foundation shades developed on real people and based on skin undertones for natural coverage, Cover FX is now the de facto leader in skinenhancing makeup and is available in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K.
Singularly Canadian, the Montreal brand’s Age Control Supreme skin care for women 50-plus stars Ladrador tea from the Gaspé, a plant that delivers three times the antioxidant power of vitamin C. Neiges, its floral fragrance, inspired by a first snowfall, will celebrate its 25th birthday in 2018 and remains on bestseller lists year after year.
NUDESTIX Inspired by her millennial daughters’ fussfree approach to makeup, in 2014 Canadian former beauty executive Jenny Frankel created Nudestix, a range of natural lip, face and cheek colours in appealing chunky pencils. Nudestix is available in more than 280 stores in 12 countries (in Canada at Sephora). Though created for a younger market and championed by influential media like Teen Vogue, the muted colour palette and streamlined approach make the line an all-ages success.