Retail

From botanicals to barrier care: Meet 8 B.C. skincare brands making waves

These homegrown brands—from Vancouver to the Okanagan—are proving that beauty can be natural, inclusive and rooted in local ingredients.

By Dani Wright , Sandrine Jacquot /

From Bowen Island to the Okanagan, a wave of B.C. beauty entrepreneurs is rethinking what goes on our shelves—and our skin. Whether rooted in Indigenous plant science, botanical oils or barrier-boosting serums, these eight homegrown skincare brands are proving that “clean beauty” can be both holistic and high-performing.

1. Sangre de Fruta

Allison Audrey Weldon founded Bowen Island-based botanical skincare brand Sangre de Fruta with the intention to “share the secrets of holistic indulgence,” based on what she learned while studying under a collective that had led a holistic medicine apothecary in Kitsilano in the 1970s. The brand’s small batch, organic products—like the dreamy botanical body cream in scents like lavender (which is harvested on Salt Spring Island)—are all free from synthetics and artificial fragrances. sangredefruta.com

 

2. Blume

Taran and Bunny Ghatrora started Blume to support “young people as they build their first skin care routine,” Taran says. Growing up, the sisters found most skincare products too harsh or clinical, and so they curated a line tailored to sensitive and acne-prone skin, being intentional about their ingredients. And what started out of the basement of their Vancouver family home has bloomed into a big-name brand that’s found in thousands of Sephora and Ulta Beauty retailers and has collab campaigns with influencers, like one with Canadian beauty-positive champion Spencer Barbosa (3.2 million followers on Instagram) for its silky, toffee-flavoured Superbalm tripeptide-1 lip tint. blume.com

Photo by Lauren Leggatt

3. Om Organics

Om Organics’ apothecary in Invermere is designed so that customers coming to shop the plant-based, clean products can watch from inside the store as orders are manufactured and fulfilled. Previously working as an esthetician in the spa world, founder Kari Asselin says she designed Om to be customizable to different skin types and made with high-quality, highly concentrated natural ingredients—like the dewy Multitasking Radiance face mask with adaptogens and copper peptides. Om Organics is set to open its second location in Calgary later this year. omskin.com

4. Harlow

After more than two decades as a makeup artist, Chrystal Macleod founded Vancouver-based Harlow Skin Co. with the intention of using fewer fillers and harmful ingredients, like parabens, in skincare products. Harlow’s products use “specific formulations for what your skin needs, when it needs it,” Macleod says, including less than a dozen natural ingredients in its skincare products. Macleod’s holistic approach cuts through all the “clean and green” noise and is housed at Harlow’s shop in Vancouver—which also stocks other clean beauty, body and home products. harlowskinco.com

Photo by Angie Gallant Photography

5. Sḵwálwen

Every product in the Indigenous skincare line Sḵwálwen Botanicals has a Squamish name, like the Kalkáy (wild rosebush) line, designed to sooth and moisturize all skin types, including sensitive ones. Sḵwálwen, which means heart in the Squamish language, uses sustainably harvested organic plants along with Indigenous plant science and wisdom from the Squamish Nation as the foundation for its products. “Sḵwálwen is a way for me to honour my ancestors who carried cultural knowledge forward so that I, and others, can continue the work of Indigenous knowledge renewal,” says founder Dr. Leigh Joseph. skwalwen.com

Photo by Mahihkan Studio

6. Glow Jar Beauty

Glow Jar Beauty’s founder and CEO Jaime Pereira knows what it’s like to need soothing products for highly sensitive skin. It’s this gentle, moisture-forward philosophy focusing on skin longevity rather than perfection that sets the Victoria-based brand apart. Its research-based products are designed to be inclusive of every skin age. The brand has also gone plastic neutral, so customers can feel good about stocking up on Glow Jar Beauty’s bestselling (and radiant) Pineapple Body Oil. glowjar.ca

7. EOL Medical Skincare

Founded by medical aesthetician Leah Corrin, EOL Medical Skincare’s products are as gentle as they are soothing, ideal for sensitive and acne-prone skin. Corrin worked with dermatologists to develop the holistic, science-based line, and every product she “personally tests for 3 months to ensure results.” The goal: to create effective and nourishing products, like the lightweight, scent-free Daily Method B5 Calming Cleansing Gel, or the brightening, anti-aging Glow Getter Retinol Serum. eolskincare.com

8. Collage Beauty

Collage Beauty takes an “empowered aging” approach to redefining beauty with its skincare products. Co-founded by Marlene Schluter and Olga Roberts, the Okanagan-based brand combines 97 percent active botanicals with ingredients like niacinamide and hyaluronic acid to strengthen the skin barrier. Collage’s signature three-step routine starts with the Canvas serum to brighten and gently exfoliate, followed by the Composition gel to hydrate and smooth pores, and ends with the Gesso balm to encourage cell turnover and leave skin feeling refreshed. collagebeauty.com