Five Toronto skincare stores offering delivery—plus their pandemic pampering recommendations

Nothing combats pandemic-induced anxiety like a soothing bathtub soak or a luxurious oil-enhanced facial massage. If your self-care rituals need a boost, we found a few local shops that will deliver all manner of feel-good beauty and skincare treats to your door.

Consonant Skincare

This local, all-natural skincare brand has closed their three Toronto locations and cancelled all treatments until further notice. Their online business is still up and running, though, and they’ve shifted much of their community programming to social media platforms, where they’ve been partnering with experts to share wellness-focused content like guided meditations and fitness classes. They also launched a program called the Care Collective a month ago, providing skincare accoutrements to frontline workers, and have partnered with other small businesses to donate 3,100 products to 47 facilities across the country.

Since the pandemic, Consonant has decreased their free shipping threshold to $50, and are including a free sheet mask with every order. Says founder Bill Baker, “We hope that when paired with our free guided meditations, it can help bring a moment of peace to your day.”

Bill’s self-isolation essentials:

Self-care at home facial bundle ($44): “Valued at $61, this kit comes with cleansing cloths, our DHE mask that exfoliates the skin, two HydrExtreme charcoal sheet masks, which nourish and hydrate the skin, and the vitamin E and oat serum, which provides extra hydration. The package will keep you glowing on your next Zoom meeting.”

Total body relaxation bundle ($38): “This bundle comes with three of our bath bombs, which are made with epsom salts to relax tired muscles and mango butter and honey to deeply hydrate the skin. There’s also a bottle of the organic body lotion to help lock in hydration. It’s a great way to treat yourself to an indulgent bath night.”

Radford Studio

When they closed their Yorkville studio, the Radford team decided to focus on their online business (which already shipped worldwide). They set up discount codes for their staff to offer clients after working with them on recommendations. Founder and co-owner Victoria Radford has been posting popular at-home facial routines on Instagram, and the brand has added “Vic’s Picks” to the website, a section devoted to top sellers from the studio. They’ve also added virtual skincare and makeup consultations with Victoria and a few other staff members. Says co-owner Laura Reid, “Clients have loved the personal interaction with Victoria. People have noticed their skin has really been affected because of stress, so Vic’s at-home facials have been a game changer for a lot of our clients.”

Laura’s self-isolation essentials:

Radford buff ($50): “This is a great enzyme exfoliant to use as a mask and help treat the skin. With clients being home and not wearing makeup everyday, they have more time to do these luxurious treatments.”

Radford tint ($50): “Our tinted moisturizer is a beautiful product that leaves a flawless, dewy glow. It’s helps you look a little more polished for a Zoom call, but it’s also just a nice daily pick-me-up.”

Radford 24K gold mask ($16): “These have been a big hit for an especially luxe spa night—they flew off the shelf in the first few weeks of quarantine, but they’ll finally be back in stock by mid-May, and they’re currently available for pre-sale.”

Province Apothecary

This organic skincare brand and west-end clinic, which offers soothing facial treatments, is now focusing on online sales and connecting with clients over Instagram Live sessions about facial massages and dry brushing techniques. They also recently launched virtual skin and naturopathic consultations with their skin therapists and naturopathic doctor Nastasia Irons. Says founder Julie Clark, “We’ve really missed connecting with our clients and seeing their faces.”

Julie’s self-isolation essentials:

At-home facial kit ($28): “We just launched this kit, which lets shoppers indulge in a relaxing 30-minute facial ritual. It comes with samples of our oil cleanser, our balancing toner, our clear-skin spot concentrate, our full brow serum, our regenerating exfoliator and our detoxifying clay mask.”

First-time client skin consultation ($70): “This is a 25-minute chat where one of our holistic skin therapists speaks to you about your skin concerns and custom-blends a totally personalized face serum.”

Hydrating rescue balm ($26): “This is my personal favourite product right now, because we are all washing our hands constantly and mine are way drier than normal.”

Deciem

The Toronto-based umbrella brand behind cultish labels the Ordinary and Niod shut down all their retail stores before it was mandated, and launched Deciem at Home shortly after, a software that lets shoppers connect with retail associates from their couches using text, call or video. Says co-founder and CEO Nicola Kilner, “Our team has been giving recommendations on building regimes, or even looking inside shoppers’ bathroom cabinets to provide advice on how best to use their existing products.”

Staff is currently working from home when possible, and the company has enacted strict distancing rules in their logistic centres and production facility. Staff can choose to come in or not, and those that do are receiving a 50 per cent attendance premium as a thank-you. “We still have a lot to learn about what the new normal will be, but are starting to design the way we wish our new world to be,” says Nicola.

They’ve started producing hand sanitizer, and are donating bottles to hospitals and other places in need across North America. Globally, they’ve also been donating hand creams to frontline workers.

Nicola’s self-isolation essentials:

Hand chemistry by the Chemistry Brand ($7): “We’re washing our hands more frequently than ever, and it’s important to keep our skin hydrated. This cream contains a biotechnological derivative of the mushroom, Tremella Fuciformis Sporocarp, which is shown to be 400 times more moisturizing than Hyaluronic Acid.”

Niod survival 0 ($25): “With most of us increasing our screen time and exposure to blue light, there is no better time to incorporate an antioxidant into your regimen. This product helps to support healthy skin defences against daily aggressors—we like to think of it as ‘stress protection.’”

The Detox Market

This natural beauty boutique, with three locations in Toronto, has closed the doors to their seven North American stores, but is still offering delivery on all goods—and they’ve lowered the minimum spend for free shipping from $100 to $70. They’ve also launched a live chatting service on their website, letting shoppers ask questions about products and receive personalized skincare consultations. Says founder and CEO Romain Gaillard, “We’re doing our best to give our community what it needs most right now: self-care and connection.” Their newsletters discuss subjects like immune health and making the most of quarantine, and the brand is pushing live interviews and masterclasses through Instagram. Romain says they’re also using this time to intensify environmental efforts, and have committed to planting half a million trees this year.

Romain’s self-isolation essentials:

Detox mode impossible soap ($30): “This has been a top-seller recently as hand hygiene is obviously top of mind for everyone. It’s formulated with nourishing fruit oils, so skin feels silky smooth afterward, not stripped.”

Odacité mood cleansing ayurvedic bath soak ($32): “People suddenly have time for long, relaxing baths—something that helps with stress, too. This is a spirit-lifting, head-clearing blend of Himalayan crystal salt, grapefruit, and lemongrass—perfect after a long day of Zoom calls or chasing kids around the house.”