Toying With a Trip (or Post-Election Move) to Canada? We Have Your Beauty Needs Covered

Stylists, editors, and models are descending upon Canada for the fashion shows that are popping up in place of what would have been Toronto Fashion Week. With all eyes on our northern neighbor—tonight’s debate and the country’s recent viral act of goodwill maintaining a steady gaze—those dusting off their passports for a quick, inspiring jaunt north (or would-be defectors readying their permanent escape plans) would do well to dip into the best of the country’s offerings in beauty, health, and fitness. From a cult colorist to cloud-inspired skincare, whichever way the race swings, there are plenty of reasons for a border crossing.

Montreal
The best place for the newly arrived to get their feet wet? At Bota Bota, the floating spa docked in the St. Lawrence River along the city’s Vieux Port. Should the Nordic-style water circuit not prove detoxifying enough, there are more than a dozen massage styles on offer—including one with a live harpist. Stock your fridge with gut-friendly fermented foods, like tiny glass pots of Cult Yogurt, made with Jersey cow milk sourced from Quebec farms, and local kombucha by Rise (Rose + Schizandra is a standout) and Fous de L’île  (ditto Cerise). Then stock your bathroom with cold-processed soap by Carriage 44, whose signature hand-cut black bars come fortified with activated bamboo charcoal. For the workout-weary, Le Saint-Jude, a gym located in a converted 1905 church, might offer divine inspiration, along with circuit training and Pilates; those looking for challenging flows will find them at Le Studio de Yoga Wanderlust (kin to the namesake festival) and Element Yoga (good vibes, good people). The salon Two Horses, run by tattoo artist Jessi Preston and stylist Sara-Isobel Mulder, is a beacon for the well-coiffed and well-inked. When it’s all over, make your way to Le Café Bloom for avocado tartines and radish-studded salads.

Toronto
Two of the city’s loveliest small-batch makers—Fran Miller, who blends oils under the name F. Miller, and Karen Kim, who mines her Korean roots for her Binu Binu bar soaps—are friends, and so are their wares, which turn up alongside Sophie Buhai jewelry and Maryam Nassir Zadeh sandals at the boutique Ewanika. (Keep an eye out for Miller’s floral-water Toning Mist and Kim’s Hibiscus Cleansing Balm, both due this summer.) The convergence of naturals and aesthetics continues with Greenhouse Juice Co., whose cold-pressed blends (East of Eden; Rabbit, Run) take a literary bent, and with Kupfert & Kim’s daytime cafés, where the virtuous fare includes avocado smoothie bowls and brown rice congee topped with house-made kimchi. For hair with serious edge, follow Canada native Grimes’s lead and head to DNS (short for Day + Night), the salon and creative consultancy responsible for the musician’s dip-dyed purple locks seen in this year’s “Kill V. Maim” video. Hands-on treatment of a more restorative sort can be found at Province Apothecary, where founder Julie Clark gives holistic facials using her herb-focused skin care. Need more mental clarity? Will, a new line of fitness-focused aromatherapy, has handsomely designed olfactive inhalers to help you cool down or speed up; the Drake Hotel offers mindfulness workshops in “How To Not Give a Sh*t”; and Scandinave, a two-hour drive outside Toronto, lets you soak and steam amid birch, pine, and maple trees.

Vancouver
When a city is as renowned for its natural beauty as this one, it follows that it boasts no shortage of artisanal plant-based soaps (courtesy of hometown makers Woodlot) or botanical body lotions in starkly chic packaging (Sangre de Fruta). For the rest of your clean skin-care needs, seek out Green & Pure, which carries Vancouver-born Rose-Marie Swift’s makeup line, RMS Beauty, and Canada’s Matcha Ninja. Tea lovers will find an even larger array of rare brews at O5 Tea, stocked with fermented pu-erh, delicate Yunnan Silver Needle, and newly arrived green varieties. Over at Le Marché St. George, a gorgeous general store and café, you can refuel with a chai latte and crepes while browsing locally made Belmondo skin care (with wistful names like The Cloud and The Rain), Canada-grown golden quinoa from Grain, and Janaki Larsen ceramics. Work up a sweat at the Vinyasa studio One Yoga or at Tight Club Athletics, which offers a mix of boxing, strength training, and balance work. Then hit Stanley Park for its ocean views or Lighthouse Park for its tree-lined trails. Afterwards, soothe your hard-earned aches with the Arnica Rescue balm by Saje.

 

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