Skincare and makeup are HUGE nowadays and not to mention, the countless brands that continue to fill the market. When I started studying skincare, I was overwhelmed. There is so much to learn and most importantly, so much to research when picking out a product for yourself. When it comes to my skincare regime, I have gradually switched over to using products labeled as “organic” or “clean”. Although I try to stay alert of toxic chemicals, there is still so much to learn.
When I attended Bloom Beauty several weeks back, I was excited to learn about the non-toxic and organic products they carry. The studio offers services including extensions, organic facials, organic spray tanning, makeup application, and much more. They also carry a handful of organic-based and toxic-free brands. I also had the chance to briefly meet Pam and enjoy her clean beauty makeup master class.
The studio is founded by Sam and Pam who used their talent and experience to create Toronto’s first “clean beauty” makeup studio. Bloom Beauty emphasizes on non-toxic and natural ingredients to focus on your safety first. I wanted to dig deeper into learning about the studio and their practices and so, I had the chance to interview Pam and learn more on ‘clean beauty’ and the studio itself.
Tell us more about yourself and Bloom Beauty?
Well my own background, I started when I was 17 selling makeup at the mall before university. I have a Fine Arts background including Visual Arts like painting and drawing which is partially where I get the artistic part of the job. I also have my diploma in makeup artistry. So I worked through university selling makeup and I loved it and it loved me. Instead of becoming an art teacher, I became a makeup artist. I also struggled with really sensitive skin my whole life. I was a makeup artist looking for products I didn’t react to. The detox market came into town and I loved the idea of it. That’s how the idea of Bloom Beauty was born.
What sparked the idea of “clean beauty”?
I have a 19-year-old daughter. And there are a lot of articles out there and people were beginning to talk about clean beauty. I didn’t like the idea of my child putting aluminum in her armpits for example. I know we absorb everything into our system through our skin! I explored and it led me to there. I wanted my child to be safe whether it’s with makeup, skincare, early teens and I didn’t like what I saw my child putting on her body.
That’s a good way of looking at it! I have a son and I am careful of what to put on him!
It’s not even just our kids. I see a lot of young mums who are realizing their babies are rubbing baby faces on moms. Or moms kissing the baby and what’s on the lips. Now I have a lot of moms coming to me and asking for clean lipsticks. There is a list of ingredients that are called Endocrine Disruptors. They mess with your hormones basically. That’s something Paraben would be linked to.
How is Bloom Beauty different from other studios in Toronto?
I think the main reason is that everything in the studio is clean. We don’t use any products that aren’t safe. So they are safe and effective. And we also offer services on top of that. We have a full aesthetic service, makeup lessons, makeup applications and all of that.
Can you tell us about the brands you carry and how they are different from other brands in the market?
The main difference is that they are all clean, non-toxic, organic and natural. A lot of these words used are for marketing. Natural isn’t always good. Synthetic isn’t always bad. Natural ingredients like led and poison ivy aren’t safe to use. And there are synthetic ingredients that are safer and more sustainable. In the end, it really comes down to healthy.
Tell us about some of the toxic ingredients we need to stay away from? And ingredients we should be looking for in labels?
There are a lot of ingredients. The main ones to recognize are Paraben, Riley, etc. But I think the thing people have to be aware of is the term fragrance. The term fragrance is used by manufacturers to hide the ingredients they want. In the states, the legislation is different from Canada and EU. The EU has about 2000 ingredients that are banned from their beauty products, Canada has about 1300, and the States has only 18. US is legally allowed to use the term “fragrance” and they can put whatever they want. So that’s the word you need to watch out for. In our store, we don’t use any synthetic fragrance and if it is a synthetic fragrance, it is backed by the manufacturer that it is a safe fragrance.
What is the most popular service offered by Bloom Beauty?
The most popular ones are makeup lessons. It is very personalized, we take into account your lifestyle, your budget and we ask you to bring in your own products so we can go through them with you. We can help you decide what to keep and replace. We show you the techniques that you need. It’s not the general look we do on anybody, it’s very personalized. Another popular one is spray tanning. And sugaring as a lot of people don’t offer it and it’s much gentler on the skin than waxing.
Tell us about more about the clean swap service?
So you will bring in your makeup bag and we switch it out for you. If you don’t want to purchase it that day, we can try it again for you as you run out of your products, we will replace it with clean products. We also teach lessons like if you bring in your makeup brushes, we will show you how to take care of them properly, how to wash them, how to dry them because they should last a lifetime if they are decent quality. We also help you learn how to use them. A lot of makeup artistry has to do with makeup techniques and the tools as opposed to just products. You can have a fabulous blush if you don’t know how to put it on properly, it doesn’t matter. Also, makeup is an art and there are no rules. It’s upsetting when someone comes and tells you to have to do it this way. Technique varies and we use makeup to enhance what we love and hide what we don’t like too much.
I was intrigued to learn about sugaring? Can you tell us more and how that is different from regular hair removal?
It’s an ancient technique made up of water-soluble. It’s not like you can wash it off with warm water when you are done. It’s much safer because there are no chances of being burned like with wax. Wax if too hot can burn upper lips or brow bone if not tested before. Or let’s say you are using retinol products and it took the first layer of your skin off and you are not aware of it until that area is waxed. The result is your skin being taken off. That will never happen with sugaring. Sugaring is longer lasting, more effective, and helps kill the root of the hair. Over time, you actually lose hair. When you wax against the direction of the hair, it is assumed it is coming out of the roots but in fact, it breaks it. When you wax, you can still notice something there and sometimes, you start to feel uncomfortable regrowth of hair, you will not have that with sugaring. For sugaring, the technician applies it on with hands, they put it onto the skin in the direction of the hair growth and pull it off with the direction of the hair growth. It’s pulled out of the root and there is no breakage. The regrowth takes a couple of weeks and it ends up damaging the follicle over time. If the follicle is killed, the hair will not grow back over time. Again, it’s much more gentle on the skin. Wax on the other hand really pulls at the skin and if you are doing your brows, it’s going to pull the skin so much that it will affect it after years of doing it. Sugaring, on the other hand, is not harmful to the skin.
Can we expect more services being added in the menu in the future?
Yes, we are going to be introducing clean manicures and pedicures. We will not be doing acrylic, shellac and all that. We have been sourcing our minds for a while, just this week we have found what we have fallen in love with. They are long-lasting, the coverage is beautiful, colors are gorgeous and so just back to the basics like the facials. Clean manicures. Clean pedicures. We will be using amazing products right down to the nail polish remover. We will also be introducing crystal facials. We are also working out the details now. It can sort of be a hot stone massage except it’s with crystals and it will be on the face, neck, and chest.
Lastly, If I came to you with limited knowledge and asked you to walk me through clean beauty products and services, where would you begin?
I would take you through your routine as in whatever you are doing at home and figure out a way to replace it all with the clean products. It will be based on your budget and lifestyle. And I would do it from the skincare and out. Not just makeup! For example, how are you cleansing? What moisturizer you are using? Do you use a mask or do you exfoliate? And then we would go over the makeup. Without the canvas underneath, the makeup won’t sit properly. The skin needs to be taken care of first. We teach our clients what we call ‘5 minutes face’ which is how to get the most out of the least amount of products. How to get out of the door fastest looking the best so for one person it will be a BB Cream and for another person, it will be a tinted moisturizer with an SPF. Somebody else is going to want a foundation or someone else will want nothing. It’s different for everybody. We are able to look at a person and have a conversation about it immediately. This is what we are here for. Guiding them so they don’t walk in overwhelmed or something like it. I want people to walk in and not feel overwhelmed. I see that as number one complaint. It gets extremely overwhelming what products to turn to, who to believe. You need to know someone who is going to know all the brands. know what is going to work and why. That’s what we do. We educate!
Bloom Beauty is located at:
1625 Bayview Ave
East York, ON
M4G 3B5, Canada