‘Tis the season for love and gratitude but also eating great food and giving gifts to the people you love. But with all of the fun comes the responsibility to celebrate this season with Mother Earth in our hearts by doing our part to minimize our environmental footprint. By purchasing items with zero-chemicals and little waste, we’re one step closer to minimizing our effect on the planet this holiday season. We’ve put together a list of five ways you can transform your holiday into one that’s kind to the earth this year. Here’s how we do it:

1. Make Lists:

This is a key to avoid holiday stress from the time crunch, over-spending and unnecessary buys. Make a little holiday planner, digitally or in a notebook, with lists for each category which might include: gifts, food and decor. Then write down: what you have, what you need and where you’re going to get it from. This lets you put all of your thoughts down and visualize everything because it’s in one place. It lets you avoid polluting the air by driving around to many different stores and gives you a plan for how to best purchase each item. You end up saving money because you’re shopping with a purpose rather than wondering around stores aimlessly, which we’ve all done. 

2. Gift Experiences:

You know what never goes out of style and we can’t have too many of? Memories. They’re the perfect presents that will actually go to use rather than sitting around. Some of our favourite experience gifts include: cruelty-free pedicures, massages, movie passes, weekend getaways and romantic picnics. There’s tons of different pricing options when it comes to experience gifts so whether it’s your work secret Santa or a gift for mom and dad, the ideas are endless. Also, depending on who you’re giving it to, you can always include yourself in those plans to make the present extra special as an excursion for both of you. It’s a super simple way to show someone you care and are thinking of them, while minimizing the waste that comes from material things. We love fashion, but you can only give your sister so many turtle neck sweaters. 

3. Homemade Over Store Bought:

This goes with gifts and the food you’re bringing to parties. It’s super easy and convenient to head to the store and buy pre-made dishes or a pre-packed gift set, but this causes a lot of plastic waste and can be expensive. By making your own food and presents you takeaway the extra costs from the middle man and can more easily control the amount of waste being produced. There’s tons of DIY holiday food and drink ideas plus endless handmade presents that every person on your list can enjoy. And as always, it gives a beautiful personal touch to show your gratitude this holiday. 

4. Reusable Wrapping

Wrapping is a huge part of the holidays but causes a lot of waste. Approximately 540,000 tonnes of wrapping paper get’s thrown out in Canada each year alone. The key is to use items that can be reused in convenient ways or to package it with things you already have at home, rather than buying new things. This saves the cost of wrapping and lessens the waste you cause with each gift. Things like: scarves (that you can add as a part of the gift), shipping boxes (you maybe got from your latest online delivery) and recyclable brown paper (tied with twine and dried plants) are great wrapping ideas. A tip for standard wrapping paper is if you can crunch it into a ball with your hand and it stays in a ball you can recycle it, but if it opens up, it goes in the garbage 

5. Decomposable Decor:

It’s easy to get caught up in the sparkly wreaths and jingly bells as you’re getting into the holiday spirit, but think about the plastics and toxic chemicals that are going into making those decorations. They’re cute, but being eco is cuter, which is why decorations that are made out of natural materials are a great idea. To make them, you can just go for a walk and collect pine cones, pine leaves, twigs and berries that have fallen on the ground for your materials. You can even cut up some oranges and dry it out with cinnamon sticks in the oven for another pop of colour and nice smell. From this you can make table settings, hanging decor and wraps for the staircase, which can all be tossed in compost bin or saved when you’re done. You can easily make your own waste-free decorations and look trendy while doing so, plus it’s a fun way to get into the holiday spirit. 

If you’re not in the crafty mood, here’s some in-store brands that make great eco-holiday gifts:

Retailers Across Canada – Cocoon Apothecary

Montreal – V & O Salon

Toronto – Consonant Skincare

Retailers Across Canada – Fruits & Passion

While essential oils have become a pretty buzzy topic in the wellness space the past few years, some of us are still a little confounded as to where to get started with them. A great way to dip your toe in the scene if you’re still on the fence about what oils you should buy is to explore their benefits in beauty products.

We’ve rounded up our favourite essential oils that can act as a guideline as you start your journey, along with our picks of Canadian beauty brands that offer up the additional benefits of essential oil blends and diffusions.

GRAPEFRUIT

Benefits: This fruity oil ups your energy, immune system and positivity, making the mood-boosting benefits of citrus-based scents perfect for your morning routine.

Our Product of Choice: Spritz on some Triple Citrus Blend Hair and Body Mist from Cake Beauty to make your a.m. a breeze.

Image from Cake Beauty website

FRANKINCENSE

Benefits: This oil has stood the test of time with its ability to soften your skin when applied topically plus it calms your mind while reducing negative thoughts.

Our Product of Choice:For smooth skin and moments of pure bliss, use Crawford Street Natural Skin Care’s Hand Cream in Frankincense.

Image from Crawford Street Natural Skin Care Instagram 

LAVENDER

Benefits: Its properties to de-stress, reduce anxiety and help you sleep work with your body to keep your mind and soul relaxed, creating the perfect oil for your nightly routine.

Our Product of Choice: Sink into its benefits with Cocoon Apothecary’s Touchy Feels Bubble Bath in lavender and rosemary.

Image from Cocoon Apothecary Instagram 

PEPPERMINT

Benefits: This super oil is great for combatting headaches, nausea, sore muscles and even a stuffy nose, keeping the pep in your step.

Our Product of Choice: Lather up with some basd invigorating mint body wash and experience peppermint’s cool and soothing sensation.

Image from basd Instagram

LEMON

Benefits: Its antibacterial and antifungal properties disinfect while the oil detoxifies and reduces your stress, making this master of many trades ideal for cleaning.

Our Product of Choice: For a fresh and squeaky clean home try Lemon Aide’s All-Surface Cleaner, Kitchen Hand Wash and Dish Liquid.

Image from Lemon Aide Instagram

While the weather hasn’t been entirely favourable, we’re finding refuge in prepping ourselves for when the sun is finally here and we can step out in all our goddess glory, our mineral-sunscreen protected faces to the sky.

There is nothing like stocking up your beauty shelf for spring. Right now we’re favouriting products that help us achieve an all-over,  post-winter glow naturally.

1. Cocoon Apothecary’s Carotene Glow Antioxidant Booster 

If you buy one new and interesting beauty product this season, make it THIS! While serums have been hyped up to no end, the Carotene Glow Antioxidant Booster will take your moisturizing game to the absolute next level. Add a few drops to your serum or cream-based moisturizer and you will see an immediate glow that lasts all day. The carotene base protects skin cells from UV damage and converts to retinol, which is an active vitamin A that keeps skin smooth and firm.

Carotene Glow Antioxidant Booster consists of the organic sea buckthorn, organic rosehip and organic pomegranate seed to repair skin’s barrier, replenish hydration, and protect skin cells. Wild-grown frankincense derived from the resin of the Boswellia tree offers soothing and rejuvenating properties.

2. 1’Lux Body Brush and Velvet Blonde Emolient Oil 

New to the skincare scene, 1’Lux is an actual unicorn of #zerotox product lines that focus specifically on the body. The scents and quality of the capsule product line are immaculately luxurious, formulated with nourishing botanicals such as aloe, apricot, calendula, camellia, chamomile, chia, green tea, jojoba, meadowfoam, rosehip, rosemary and sunflower. Fruit infusions include almond, avocado, blueberry, cocoa, coconut, cranberry, goji, grapeseed, mango, raspberry, shea, squalane, and strawberry.

Our favourite ritual is a quick once over with the SRSLY BUFFED dry brush, followed by the indulgent Velvet Blonde Emolient Oil.

3.Wildcraft Face and Body Scrub

While many drugstore scrubs can rip away your skin’s natural moisture and protection barriers, this mineral rich exfoliant for the face and body from Wildcraft consists of nourishing ingredients that gently remove blemishes for a supreme glow. Ingredients such as arrowroot powder, apricot kernel shells, chamomile flowers, peppermint oil leave skin polished and refreshed.

4. Cardea AuSet AURORA Facial Oil 

AURORA, (aka The Goddess of Dawn) is the the perfect way to embrace the morning with a glow. This skin-firming oil is enriched with vitamin’s A, C, D, E, and lends omega fatty acids from avocado oil, the building blocks of cellular membranes. The presence of jojoba and apricot work to reduce inflammation while firming skin and the refreshing tones of grapefruit will brighten you skin for the day.

As our new year’s resolutions are often focused around grand goals for wellness, spirituality and physical fitness, we often forget about our daily routines and how small changes can go a long way towards helping us feel better, lighter, nurtured and more conscious.

One of the simplest ways we can enhance our daily wellness is by turning a conscientious eye to our make-up counters and beauty products. Mindful beauty purchases not only benefit our bodies, they are also a great way to nurture our hearts and planet. Further to, when we purchase from companies that are conscientious about their ingredients, we are supporting brands that have oftentimes chosen to put the well-being of their customers ahead of mass profits, by sourcing responsible, quality ingredients that are truly beneficial to our bodies. And as part of our 2019 resolutions, why not absolve to part with our hard earned money responsibly and exchange it for products that serve us not only from a beauty perspective, but from a heart perspective as well?

Here are 5 of our favourite Canadian clean beauty products and companies to try this year:

Boosh Lipstick 

Boosh is a small-batch lipstick company from western Canada that develops bold and fun lipstick shades without the chemicals, food-dyes and petroleum-based fillers. All colours are limited to season so get them while you can!

Image from boosh instagram 

Altilis Beauty 

With a strong focus on sustainability, Cambridge, Ontario-based Altilis Beauty focuses on incorporating environmentally-sound and highly effective natural ingredients such as breadfruit into its soothing and nourishing products.

Image from AltilisBeauty instagram

Woodlot

A sublime combination of self-care products for your skin and and home, Woodlot offers a stunningly simplistic line of soy-based candles, room sprays and skincare inspired by the rituals of previous generations and aligned to a planet-forward lifestyle of the future

Image from Woodlot instagram

Graydon Skincare

Graydon Skincare is developed with superfoods (think chia, avocado, blueberries and more!) and pure plant-based ingredients which the company strives to source from Canadian growers and manufacturers as much as possible, creating products that feel luxurious while being effective and highly nourishing.

Image from Graydon Skincare instagram

Cocoon Apothecary 

Beautifully crafted with quality organic botanicals and high-end green chemicals, Cocoon Apothecary is a plant-based vegan line that is biodegradable and highly effective with top tiered serums that perform amazing on all skin types.

Image from Cocoon Apothecary instagram

While clean/green beauty continues to become a priority amongst Canadian consumers, there still remains only a handful of Canadian-grown trailblazers in the clean/green beauty space and Jennifer Freitas, founder of The Truth Beauty Company, is without a doubt, one of them.

We call her a trailblazer, because not only has Freitas built an online platform (and two brick and mortar locations) where Canadians can shop a carefully curated selection of the best and most current products in the clean/green beauty and eco-friendly lifestyle space, The Truth Beauty Company also hosts regular Masterclasses and Workshops where interested people can meet the faces behind some of the industry’s most coveted brands. For example, JoAnn Fowler, founder of Sappho will be at The Truth Beauty Company’s Guelph Location this Friday. Past events include a meet and greet with Indie Lee, the founder of Indie Lee and a Masterclass with Jessica Burman of Cocoon Apothecary.

All images from The Truth Beauty Company Instagram Feed

We sat down with Jennifer to find out her inspiration, how she selects brands to carry, her advice for brands just starting out and what clean/green beauty products she’s loving for spring.

What led you to start The Truth Beauty Company?  

It was actually a personal need! I had moved from Toronto to Waterloo in 2010 to raise my twin daughters and could not find ‘clean’ shampoo that was not stripping my hair (personally, the brands that I found in health food stores, while they met my ingredients criteria as far as being non-toxic, I didn’t find them nourishing!) I figured I wasn’t the only one in the region who was seeking clean, luxurious and performance-based personal care products. When my minis were 18 months old, I opened our Waterloo store.

When it comes to selecting the types of brands and products you carry at The Truth Beauty Company, what do you look for specifically?

We have a five pronged approach:

1. Is it clean? (free of toxic ingredients)

2. Is it different from other products we presently carry?

3. Is it effective? (like, will the deodorant actually work?)

4. Price-point? (we like to offer a range of prices so price is not necessarily an exclusionary credential, but rather simply something we consider)

5. Is the packaging appealing?

We have different categories at Truth Beauty so it must fall under a type of product we would even carry; we focus on personal care so if it is in that vein and meets the 5 points above, we will review a brand / product.

What Canadian beauty brands do you feel are making an impact in green beauty space?

I think many of them do actually! I know Province Apothecary really looks to source Canadian grown ingredients – hence the name ‘Province Apothecary’. Cocoon Apothecary packages mostly in glass because the founder feels it is important to reduce plastic consumption; it raises an issue so even if it gets you to think about how you are consuming, she is making a difference. Woodlot uses only essential oils in all of its products – including its candles! That is a big deal as it takes a lot of essential oil for the scent to carry and linger – which most people want their candle to do! Sonia, Woodlot founder really believes in the importance of being pure.

Really, I think clean beauty brands all want to make a difference. They entered clean beauty from the outset to make a difference and I think many of them operate from a place of authenticity – and that is certainly true of the brands that I have fallen in love with.

What advice would you offer an independent green beauty brand that is trying to get started in this space? For example, how could one make an impression on you enough to consider carrying it at The Truth Beauty Company?

The market is fairly saturated and I know it’s competitive – so first piece of advice would be: Get ready to hustle.

I would suggest that before you even begin hustling, know your angle. How will you be different? Why will people know about and seek out your line? (This is my prep for newbies, essentially reiterating that it will take a lot of hard work).

Ultimately, a brand needs to stand out. It if stands out and a retailer, like Truth Beauty is interested, it is great when a company is prepared, meaning they should have a press kit, an understanding of the minimums, tester policy, vendor buy-back policy, preferred shipping methods and rates, are able to offer demo support, etc.

Running a business is hard work. Building a brand is even harder.  

What 5 products are on your ultimate must-have list for spring this year and why?

My Must-Haves for Spring! Oh so fun!

I love simplicity with make-up so products that really double up are faves of mine. I am really loving Kosas Duos these days – especially in Velvet Melon; the juicy peach hue I just can’t get enough of! It’s so fresh looking on the cheeks. Get Kosa’s Velvet Melon here. 

Graydon Skincare’s Face Glow is also a staple because it is so versatile. It acts as a primer, offers some sun protection, adds some luminosity and evens out my skin tone. Only thing this gem doesn’t do is the dishes. Get it here 

I really fell in love this year with gel based serums – they offer so much moisture that is long lasting, yet feel fresh upon application and are incredibly light-weight. The one that is on heavy rotation for me these days is the Pai Back to Life Serum.  

Spring also gets me back outdoors. I am out running, gardening and just generally being more active … so a deodorant is a staple. We recently introduced Canadian brand Hola and I think it is my favourite to date! The texture is firm, not gritty and most importantly, it is effective.

Lastly, I am offering a year round must have – the Woodlot Palo Santo spray … for my hair, my linens, my room … I spray this stuff anywhere and everywhere. It just calms me and makes me feel beautiful.