Oh Canada! Favourite Canadian Beauty Brands (Beauty History)

These are a few of my favourite cosmetic brands that happen to also be Canadian! This is a day late in posting, but it is to celebrate Canada Day! Read more to hear some interesting facts about each of these brands...

1. MAC Cosmetics

So funny enough a lot of people don't realize that this one is our baby. This company was started by Frank Toskan and Frank Angelo in Toronto, Ontario. It is made specifically for Makeup Artists but as we know is now used by all consumers. The main chemist from the start of MAC was Vic Casale (please see Cover FX for more on Vic). 

Fun Facts: 

• The first lipstick made by MAC was called Flamingo and was inspired by a pink Crayola crayon. 
• The next 24 lipsticks where inspired by the 24 packs of Crayola crayons. 
• Frank Angelo died in 1997
• Estee Lauder Companies bought MAC in 1996
• The MAC AIDS fund has raised over $295,000,000 since 1994
• Viva Glam is a program in which the full purchase price of the product goes to the MAC AIDS fund.

2. LIT Cosmetics

Glitter Glitter Glitter. This brand is still up and coming. With the recent launch into sephora...I think they will be quickly moving up that ladder of success. LIT was created by Jodie Perks in Calgary 2001. One of the main keys to her success is the glitter adhesive that she created. 

Fun Facts: 

• LIT Cosmetics was featured on Dragons Den and was turned down for an investment. 
• LIT is supported by Cirque du Soleil 
• They have 400+ varieties of glitter! 
• Paraben free, Alcohol free & propylene glycol free

3. Cargo Cosmetics

Cargo cosmetics was founded by Hana Zalzal in 1996 in Toronto, Ontario. They have very neat packaging and always have clever ideas. The pigmentation and quality of the products are usually spot on. 

Fun Facts: 

• Cargo is sold in five countries 
• The idea of the brand name came from the vision that makeup is every womens "Cargo" 
• The tins that Cargo uses are part of their signature look
• One of their best selling all time products in the Reverse Lip Liner

4. QUO

QUO is specifically made and sold only at Shoppers Drug Mart locations. It was very hard to find information for the brand, as they don't really have a website since the idea is to draw you into the Shoppers locations to purchase. They carry a wide variety of products, some are impressive..others..not so much. 

Fun Facts:

• The speaker Derek Selby (Cover FX) used to work for QUO. 
• QUO teamed up with ORLY nail polish and now carries them in most Shoppers Drug Mart Locations

5. Lise Watier

Lise Watier...NOT LISA WATERS....c'mon guys!! This is probably one of my favourite Canadian brands and it deserves some world wide love! It was founded in 1972 by Madame Watier. Some of the key products I would have to say is the eyelash glue, the lipliners and the portfolio palette. 

Fun Facts: 

• Madame Watier was actually a TV star and was known around Quebec as the leading voice on Women's issues.
• In 1968 Madame Watier opened a beauty and charm school
• The Lise Watier foundation is a not for profit company that Madame Watier started in order to help women with self esteem, scholarships, and other areas. 

6. Annabelle Cosmetics

Annabelle was founded in 1967 by Morrie Cohen, it was then purchased by Marcelle Groupe in 1999. It is known as the "house of colour" because they have a huge selection of colour products, all at affordable prices. They recently teamed up with Shenae Grimes-Beech and have a lot of really neat products on the way! 

Fun Facts:

• Annabelle cosmetics is sold at over 2000 retail locations across Canada.
• They are a cruelty free brand
• Their eyeliners are the number 1 selling mass eyeliner in Canada

7. Trust Fund Beauty

This is a new up in coming brand. They where officially launched in February 2014 and already have 10,000+ Instagram followers. They are a cruelty free and non toxic nail polish brand that has very cheeky polish names in sleek packaging. The brand was created by Samara Granofsky. They are very present on Social Media and have built relationships with bloggers in order to generate buzz around the brand (which is working well). The quality of the polishes is also ah-mazing, like I am talking Dior good. 

Fun Facts: 

• Samara's drive behind having non-toxic 5-free polishes, is due to her mother falling ill with Cancer and she wanted her to have something that she could use that wouldn't have harmful chemicals. 
• They are looking to expand into other non-toxic cosmetic items in the future. 
• They have a monthly colour and collections are released 7 times a year. 

8. Cover FX

Founded in 2000 in a hospital research facility, Cover FX is now a globally recognized brand that offers one of the widest shade palettes I have ever seen. They are proudly Canadian, with their roots firmed planted and started with Shoppers Drug Mart. It all began due to the SARS outbreak of 2003, Sunnybrook hospital closed it's doors and patients who relied on Cover FX for beauty needs could not get the product. Founder Lee Graff, brought some product to one of the Shoppers Drug Marts and asked if they could just keep the product in the drawer at cosmetics. That is how it all started! It is an amazing story of a women just trying to help others out and now it is a global brand! 

Fun Facts:

• Vic Casale (mentioned in my MAC Cosmetics section), left MAC cosmetics and came to Cover FX. He is the leading force behind the generation 2 of Cover FX. He helped to create the formulas to all the new products that you see on the shelves worldwide. 
• Derek Selby is the official face and artist for Cover FX
• They feature 25 unique shades and use a undertone gage called P(pink), N(neutral) & G(golden) 
• They are Vegan, Gluten Free, Paraben Free, Talc Free, Mineral Oil Free..basically all bad things...they don't have it

9. Jouviance

Jouviance was founded in 2003, it hit Shoppers Drug Mart shelves in 2007. It is developed by dermatologists and is free of parabans, sulfates and other harmful ingredients. The products are manufactured in Canada and where founded in Montreal. 

Fun Facts: 

• Jouviance carries a product labeled 3 in 1. It is one of the only of it's kind (that I can find), on the market. It can be used as an eye cream, day cream and a night cream. All with extreme anti-aging benefits.
• Jouviance has recently gone in to colour cosmetics and fragrance. These are only featured in Pharmaprix locations (French Shoppers Drug Marts in Quebec). 
• They have the only cleanser that I can use on my eczema prone skin, that does not cause irritation. 

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Final Thoughts...

I am very proud to be Canadian, and I love that we have some amazing cosmetic brands that I can be proud of. Something that I noticed between the brands was that we in Canada are very caring about Animal Safety, Low amount of toxins/harmful ingredients, and having very vibrant colour cosmetic lines. 

I hope that some of these stories of cosmetic brands have given you a little inspiration or some Beauty Blogger pride in Canada, because I know that I loved some of these stories and facts.

Thank you to all my fellow CBB's, it is a pleasure to talk and blog with you all! 

Most of all Happy (belated) Canada Day!!

Until next time, 

amye89 xoxo