Beauty Event: W3LL People Launches at the Detox Market!

Hi, everyone! Hope you all had a lovely Valentine's and that your weekend continues to bring good things. A few weeks ago I got an invite from The Detox Market to an exciting beauty launch. The invite spawned a few sentiments: 1) There is a Detox Market in Toronto!? Where have I been? 2) Yes! A perfect opportunity to discover some new organic skin care and cosmetics products, further feeding into my current addiction, and 3) I get to attend another beauty event with Jenn? Always fun!

Before delving into the exciting brand we were introduced to that evening, a bit on the shop itself. The Detox Market was founded in California by Valerie Grandury (also the creator of Odacite skin care) and Romain Gaillard, entrepreneurs who were interested in curating a collection of truly pure, truly effective products. In a world where a growing amount of beauty products are marketed at 'natural', they wanted to hone in on the brands and items that are truly non-toxic and skin-friendly without sacrificing results and a luxurious experience.

The Toronto location opened up over three years ago for the Toronto International Film Festival and stuck around due to the success of the shop. So glad it did and wish I would've discovered it sooner! 

Upon entering the store, I was instantly struck with a vibe that was both rustic and luxurious:

The Detox Market features an impressive array of natural skin care (including this drool-worth lineup of Odacite booster serums)...

... as well as teas, soups, and juices...

... and beautiful organic makeup lines. I was truly impressed with the selection and the range of exciting brands. 

Speaking of amazing brands, let's get to the reason I was at The Detox Market that evening! That day, the shop was launching W3LL People, a natural cosmetics line that is brand new to the Canadian market. The Detox Market is the only brick and mortar store in the country to carry the line! 

W3LL People was launched by three passionate entrepreneurs who were dedicated to creating completely non-toxic, skin beneficial, professional quality makeup products. The faces behind the brand are James Walker (a marketing guru and self-proclaimed tree-hugger), Renee Snyder (an experienced dermatologist), and Shirley Pinkson (a professional makeup artist of 20 years). Quite the trifecta! For the event, we were lucky enough to have Shirley in-store to tell us more about the brand and demo some of the products. She had been doing makeovers using her W3LL People products all afternoon, and was incredibly gracious to spend over an hour with a room of us eager bloggers afterwards. 

Listening to Shirley speak, it was clear that this woman knew her stuff. Not only does she have a keen understanding of the ingredients that go into a quality natural makeup product, she also has a strong grasp of the conventional beauty world and the makeup items and trends that get consumers excited. Some of the key points from her talk were:

• The main objective of W3LL People was to create safe, natural products that perform just as well as our conventional favourites. Not sacrificing quality was a must!
• The products are designed to be streamlined, simple, and a pleasure to use
• The brand is completely free of fillers, petrochemicals, preservatives, fragrance, or petroleum by-products, such as mineral oil
• Since makeup is worn on our skin, it should be skin-friendly! As such, W3LL People products include ingredients like aloe, green tea, peptides, and essential oils
• All products are made in small batches and are completely cruelty-free
• The line contains items ideal for a "no makeup makeup" look, but also includes goodies to bump up the glam factor, if desired. 

After reviewing the brand's ethos and sharing with us each product from the line, Shirley demonstrated how to create a quick 5-product face on one of the lucky Detox Market interns. It was a pleasure to watch and the results were ultra glowy and natural! 

A product and price list was passed around, which revealed a solid, non-excessive lineup of items with standard, mid-range price tags, quite similar to brands such as MAC or Clinique. Shirley stressed that despite the careful ingredient selection, she wanted to ensure that the prices of W3LL People products were non-prohibitive and on-par with many conventional brands. 

After the talk and demo, we all got to have a closer look at the product range and a one-on-one chat with Shirley. She was down-to-earth, friendly, and knowledgeable and was eager to give recommendations. These products are her babies, after all!

While I was able to show some shopping restraint (I had already purchased my February makeup of the month!), I did allow myself one treat- W3LL People's Altruist Mineral Foundation. I had just finished up a tub of Revlon ColourStay that morning (perfect timing), so thought it an appropriate move to replenish that with a more  natural option. Shirley matched me to the fairest shade 11, and I have to say that my preliminary trials have been quite promising! 

Overall, I was so thrilled to attend this event. Not only did I get to discover a new store full of luxurious, organic treats, I got to interact with the creator of a cutting edge brand. Not everyday that you receive such an opportunity! I am definitely eager to try more items from W3LL People (my March beauty purchase, perhaps?!) and am sure I'll be back to visit The Detox Market soon!

Have you tried any natural, organic makeup brands? Does W3LL People appeal to you?
Thanks for dropping by! xo