CJAD 800Am at 8:40am – Skin Care and Make-up
Wednesday, September 15th, 2010Q1: The summer plays havoc with our skin since we’re outdoors a lot, so now it’s time to do some maintenance. Where can we go in the city to find someone that can help in this area?
In the past, we used to have to wander through the first floor of a department store from counter to counter trying to figure out what might be best for us. Each brand had salespeople vying for our loyalty so it was uncomfortable and sometimes difficult leaving one to go to another. There are now stores that have taken that whole floor, turned it into a specialized store for skin care and cosmetics.
Q2: Who are they?
First we had Sephora, the world-wide chain show up at Fairview. Then Kiehl’s the famous NYC shop settled itself down on Ste-Catherine St near McGill College and lastly we have our homegrown Murale which is an offshoot of Pharmaprix in Place Ville Marie.
Q3: How are they different than the department stores?
The concept is to take all the possible brands of makeup, skin care products and perfume and put them all together in one store, so you can compare them side by side. Salespeople are trained for a month in ALL of the brands. You can mix it up and buy one brand of moisturizer, another of shadow and still another one’s lipstick.
Q4: Okay walk us through the 3 of them and tell us the differences.
Sephora‘s brands are endless: Philosophy, Bliss, Makeup Forever, Bare Escentuals, Too Faced, Du Wop, Hourglass, B Kammins, Smashbox and on and on and on… Make up applications are free with appointments.
Locations: Fairview Pointe-Claire, 6815 Transcanadienne at boul. St-Jean (514-630-6100); Carrefour Laval (450-688-8886); Promenades St-Bruno (450-441-3400).
Hours: Mon-Fri 10-9, Sat 9-5, Sun 10-5
www.sephora.com
Since 1851, Kiehl’s has been a venerable NYC purveyor of fine quality skin and hair care preparations. With simple packaging and repeat results, it has continued to have loyal fans. The Creme de Corps, a custard-like body lotion, is a perennial favourite.
New products come out in response to customer demands and after rigorous testing. One, the Blue Herbal (appeared in 1964) gel cleanser, magically zaps pimples, and the lip balm has SPF4.
Men too can shop here, and try the mint or lavender shaving cream as well as cleansers. There’s 8 shower scents, like coriander or acai, and even baby has a line too. In a salute to the owner, each store has a motorbike to oogle. Curb service and mail order are available.
Location: 760 Ste-Catherine ouest
corner: McGill College
Phone: 514-788-4226
Hours: Regular plus Sun 12-5
www.kiehls.com
Pharmaprix has spun off its beauty department into Murale for makeup and skin care. The overwhelming whiteness is a canvas for about 200 prestige brands of cosmetics, creams, lotions and makeup. Some brands are only here, like June Jacob, and there’s Organic by Stella McCartney, Skin by Monica, Smash Box, Mommy, Skin Lab Series, Chanel and Barcelona’s Natura Bisee. For makeup there’s Bare Escentuals, Bobbi Brown and the Danish line GOSH.
You can try out the Free high-tech skin analysis computer called “Beauty Metrix” to find out about your: hydration, sebum, wrinkles, pores and hyperpigmentation, in order to get a list of recommended products. There’s a brow bar for shaping ($19) and private rooms for treatments.
Location: 1 Place Ville Marie
corner: Rene-Levesque
Phone: 514-875-1593
Hours: Mon-Wed 9:30-7, Thurs & Fri 9:30-9, Sat 9:30-5
www.murale.ca