Saltridges - Lotions and Potions, Burlington

On a bright, sunny and extremely cold Saturday a few weeks ago, your intrepid Spa Travellers made a road trip to visit Saltridges, located in the scenic town of Burlington on Lake Ontario, about an hour's drive outside of Toronto. The main purpose of our trip was to buy Lipstick Queen lipsticks as, unfortunately, Lipstick Queen do not ship from their on-line store to Canada. Luckily for us, in our search for lipstick, we discovered this delightful shop filled with all manner of niche lines of make-up, perfume, body products, and home fragrance. The store sells only natural products which made us extremely happy and made it even more of a find.

Saltridges Lotions and Potions, Burlington

 

Our kind of store - Beauty with a Conscience 

Saltridges was started by two friends and product lovers, Deborah Lamarche and Nancy Salter. The store is beautifully laid out with chandeliers and products very tastefully arranged throughout the store. We had a guided tour of all the products by the two lovely ladies staffing the store, who were extremely informed on the products, where they were sourced, ingredients, background, etc. It was like having our own personal shoppers. It was better than kids in a candy store. It was your ultimate product lovers in a store filled with all manner of natural, hard to find products.  We really didn't know where to start first.  But when in doubt, perfume is always a good bet. And so we started with the natural perfumes.

 

A beautiful natural perfume by B-Essential, based on essential oils of patchouli, jasmine, woods, florals and ambers. Ummm, exquisite!

 

A selection of natural perfumes by D'Orsay, Paris.  I want one of each!

  

  

A beautiful potpourri from California made with dried roses and oranges.  Heaven.

Decorative compact mirrors with Swarovski crystals.

  

After sniffing our way through the perfumes, we then we moved on to the different product lines.

This fun line Doll Face is from California and aimed at a younger shopper.

  

Key Lime Coconut body scrubs

Love Fresh is a wonderful line of body products, containing no harmful ingredients, made in Canada.

We continued through the store oohing and ahhing, testing, and sniffing all the wonderful lines.  There were products from all over the world, Terre from Italy, based on glacial mud, Juara from Indonesia based on botanicals like rice, tamarind and candelnut oil.  There was Coola, a range of organic suncare products for body and face.  Belli for mothers to be and their babies, products formulated by a medical doctor. Lalicious body creams and scrubs.  There was a wonderful smelling hand sanitizer by Jao with lavender, eucalyptus and tea tree oils. There were Hourglass cosmetics, Geisha Ink from Japan, an entire section of men's products, a section of home fragrances and candles, and finally, last but not the least, we made our way to the display for Lipstick Queen.  By this time we were a little in overwhelm but we still managed to swatch Saint lipsticks, Sinner lipsticks, and Butterfly Ball, so many decisions to be made and so little time.


All good things must come to an end and after spending more than 2 hours in product heaven, it was time to pay for our [many] purchases and say our goodbyes.

Our purchases were packaged in tissue with gold cherubs and these stylish red bags, made from recycled products, which seemed to sum up the essence of Saltridges - beauty with a conscience.

If you would like to have as much fun as we had, contact Saltridges for directions by telephoning: 1-905-333-5959.

Nuxe Reve de Miel Foaming Bath and Shower Gel and Gentle Shampoo

I am enjoying using both these nourishing products from the Nuxe Reve de Miel range as a pick me up for the winter blahs.  As with all Nuxe products, they contain no parabens or chemical ingredients.   They are formulated using honey, lime blossom and plant oils. The Foaming Bath and Shower Gel smells wonderful and I use it for a relaxing bath or as a shower gel. Either way, it leaves my skin feeling nourished and softly scented.  The Reve de Miel Gentle Shampoo is a wonderful all purpose shampoo.  As my hair tends to be dry, I use it with the Huile Prodigieuse and put a little oil in my hair as a treatment followed by the shampoo, or if I am in a hurry, I use the shampoo first and use a little of the Huile Prodigieuse as a leave in treatment.    

I take both these products in smaller bottles to the gym and love using them in the shower after a work out. I use the Huile Prodigieuse for a hot oil treatment on my hair while I am in the sauna, and my hair turns out wonderfully silky and smooth.  Then I use a little of the Huile Prodigieuse as an all over body oil while my skin is still a little damp after my shower.  The oil sinks into my skin quickly and gets rid of the winter dryness.  So I leave the gym feeling refreshed as though I had been at the spa.

The Reve de Miel line is available with the rest of the Nuxe products at Shoppers Drug Mart and the Bay.

NUXE PARIS

I discovered Nuxe Paris for the first time last year and quickly fell in love with this wonderful brand. Consequently, it made my list of "Best Beauty Discoveries for 2009".  What drew me to the line was the fact that it was pure and natural, not tested on animals, and based on essential oils and plants. The line contains natural vital ingredients and contains no mineral oils, animal ingredients, and no harmful parabens or phenoxyethanol. (Rule of thumb: if you can't pronounce it, don't put it on your skin). Rather, Nuxe is based on nourishing plant oils such as Borage, Sweet Almond, Camellia, Hazelnut and Macadamia. These oils contain anti-aging and anti-inflammatory properties and moisturize, nourish and tone the skin naturally.  The products are also formulated with essential oils such as neroli, petigrain, orange and pine, that not only smell blissful but add healing and energizing properties, as well. 

 

 Nuxe Products

There are several ranges within the line, an extensive face care range targeted for different stages of skin care, from youth to anti-aging; Reve de Miel, a nourishing range based on honey; a range of body products, including toning and firming products; and a multi-purpose range that includes the multi purpose Huile Prodigeuse and a wonderful bronzing tint and powder.

Huile Prodigieuse

One of my must-have products that gets me through the winter is Huile Prodigieuse which is a multi-purpose dry oil.  A "dry" oil meaning one that is formulated with oils that sink into the skin quickly without leaving a heavy or greasy residue. It is a wonderful product to use on the face as a moisturizer, as a make-up base, a hair oil and a body oil.  I love the comforting feel of the oil as I use it all over my face on it's own or as a base under make-up.  With any residue on my hands, I run my fingers through my hair to give my hair some moisture before styling.  It is a morning ritual that I love and it helps me get the day started before facing the cold morning air and the commute to work.

Two other products that I love for the winter are the Reve du Miel lip balm and Ultra Comfortable Face Cream.  These products contain fir honey, acacia honey, shea butter and mango butter,  that nourish and protect and are especially good for sensitive skin, like mine. The lip balm is said to be tested "in cold Canadian winters" and going through long, cold, snowy winters in Toronto, puts any moisturizing product to the test.  The texture of the lip balm is like coating your lips with a spoon of honey  It sinks in immediately and leaves my lips soft and nourished. To get a gloss effect, I apply a light layer of the balm and then follow with lipstick.  This gives a wash of colour with a dewy finish. Another great beauty tip is to apply a thicker coat of lip balm, really massaging into the lips, and leave on overnight so the ingredients can really sink in and nourish the lips while you sleep.

Reve de Miel Lip Balm

Ultra Comfortable Face Cream

I love the texture of the Ultra Comfortable Face Cream.  It glides on like silk and leaves my face feeling nourished and moisturized. I use this as a nourishing night cream or over a few drops of Huile Prodigieuse in the day. The rich ingredients not only moisturize but also nourish the skin.

For me, the Nuxe Paris line is a real find as it combines quality ingredients sourced from nature together with the latest research.  It is truly a luxury line, at a very affordable price point. 

In Ontario, Nuxe Paris is sold at Shoppers Drug Mart and the Bay.  On line it is available through beautyhabit.com.

Yorkville School of Makeup and Esthetics - Part II - Body Treatments

George Brown Yorkville School of Makeup and Esthetics

After having such a fantastic time at the Yorkville School of Makeup and Esthetics enjoying facials, the Spa Travellers returned for a second time to have body treatments, during the student  clinic sessions. The full body treatment was given by the senior students and was 2 1/2 hours in duration, starting off with a salt glow scrub, body wrap using either clay or seaweed, followed by a full hour massage.  Normally a treatment of this type in a spa would cost upwards of $180.00.  The cost at George Brown - $40.00.     

More friends wanted to come along with us this time, but we found that not only was the evening session fully booked, but the entire class session was booked.  This is an extremely popular class with the public and at such an amazing price, you can see why.

Before beginning, we were again asked to list any allergies or health concerns that might conflict with the treatments.  The supervisor is very thorough in seeing that the appropriate treatments are used according to each individual's needs and skin type.

The treatments were given with dim lights and soft music playing in the background for a totally relaxing ambiance.  I was very happy to have Melissa for my student therapist once again, who had given me such a terrific facial in our previous visit.  All the students are extremely professional and thorough as they work, and before beginning the treatments, they check in with their clients to ensure that they are comfortable or if they have any questions.

The treatment starts off with a full body scrub using salt in a heavenly scented jojoba oil, following is a body mask using clay or algae, again scented with essential oils.  After the mask, you are  next cocooned under a foil blanket to allow the detoxifying effects of the products to work.  I was so relaxed, I found myself drifting off.  The body mask is next removed with warm towels, and  is followed by a wonderful and most professional relaxation massage that lasts a full hour.  Talk about bliss!  

The combination of salt glow and wrap help the body to detoxify and over the next few days I could really feel the effects, as I felt less bloated and lighter overall and a lot more energetic.  This is a great treatment to have during the Winter just to revive the circulation and pick up the metabolism.  I would recommend this type of treatment especially to help people kick start a diet and/or exercise program.  

The Yorkville boutique is one of the very few boutiques in Toronto that sell Paul and Joe cosmetics. We loved the cute cat packaging for the limited edition Winter collection.

Although this was just our second time at the school, students and staff are so friendly and welcoming that we felt like long time customers.  We will be back for pedicures next week so stay tuned!

George Brown College esthetic students