Dealuxe

We’re thrilled to say that an edited range of our products is now available on the fabulous, Canadian, luxe shopping site Dealuxe!

To celebrate the new partnership, we’ve created a kit that is available exclusively on Dealuxe called “The Award Winners”. This kit contains our Organic Foaming Face Wash, which won Top Beauty Product from BeautyConnexion.com and our Organic Firming Eye Cream, which won Best Canadian Beauty Product from Chatelaine Magazine. Pick up this kit to enjoy instant, amazing results while saving 15% vs buying the two products separately!

Head over to Dealuxe now to check us out, as well as the covet-worthy selection of clothing and accessories!

Consonant at ING

Every month ING picks a local company and sells their products (or services) at their gorgeous ING Cafe space at Yonge and Shuter. Even more fantastic is the fact that they donate 100% of the proceeds to a charity of the featured company’s choice.

This month we’re thrilled to announce that they’re featuring our products! For the month of April our Face and Body Detox Kits are available for purchase there as well as our Help Some-Body Soap (100% of the sales priceis donated) with all proceeds being donated to The Canadian Breast Cancer Support Fund.

Check out the Consonant tub!

We’re so happy that they chose to partner with us and are in love with the fun display they made for our products.

This is a great opportunity to stock up on your favourite Consonant products and support a great cause at the same time, especially if you’re in the downtown core.

Great place to sit and learn about Consonant and CBCSF

Market Days

Want an individual product instead of kits or would you like some samples to “try before you buy”? A Consonant rep will be on hand at the ING Cafe every Thursday during the month of April for their “Local Market” from 11:30am – 1:30pm selling the full face line. Proceeds from the sales on these market days will also go to CBCSF.

Best Skin Seminar: Summer Radiance

You and a guest are invited to join our experts Marina Cortese (B.Kin, RHN, NNCP) and Donna Bishop (Editor-in-chief Bamboo Magazine, Natural Beauty Expert on the Marilyn Denis Show), for a free evening of education geared to your skin type.

Best Skin Seminar: Summer Radiance
Monday May 14th from 6:30-8:30 p.m.
2479 Yonge Street, Toronto. No cost to attend: registration required.

Seminar topics include:
• Beyond basic salads – Healthy and delicious meal ideas to keep you looking fit and fabulous all summer long
• Healthy eating for healthy skin
• Summer skin protection – Sunblock vs. Sunscreen etc
• How to get a healthy summer glow
• Summer makeup demos, and much more!

Out with the parka, in with the shorts and dresses! Summer is your time to shine and our experts are ready to help you look your most healthy and radiant. This is a great seminar for all ages and skin types.

Seminars are free and include the course, refreshments and a take home package full of great tips and helpful facts from our experts. Please call (416) 925-2855 to register. Space is limited to 16 participants and registration is first come, first serve.

Best Skin Seminar: Beautiful Skin Throughout & After Pregnancy

You and a friend are invited to join our experts Marina Cortese (B.Kin, RHN, NNCP) and Donna Bishop (Editor-in-chief Bamboo Magazine, Natural Beauty Expert on Marilyn Denis Show) for a free evening of education geared to your skin type.

Best Skin Seminar: Beautiful Skin Throughout & After Pregnancy
Monday, May 7th from 6:30-8:30 p.m.
2479 Yonge Street, Toronto. No cost to attend: registration required.

Seminar topics include:
• Important nutrients before, during and after pregnancy
• Healthy nutrition for healthy skin
• Healthy weight gain during pregnancy and weight loss after
• Key things to look for on personal care product labels for you and baby
• Makeup tips to enhance your beauty in 2 minutes or less, & much more!

No matter what your skin type is, it’s difficult to anticipate the changes in tone and texture that will come along with your new little bundle. Our experts will share some great information and tricks about how to get your best skin while pregnant and after birth from the inside and out! They will also teach you how to look for truly healthy products for yourself and the new baby.

Seminars are FREE and include the course, refreshments and a take home package full of great tips and helpful facts from our experts. Please call (416) 925-2855 to register. Space is limited to 16 participants and registration is first come, first serve.

Best Skin Seminar: Ageless Beauty

Due to popular demand, we’re hosting a second evening of “Ageless Beauty”!

You’re invited to join our experts Marina Cortese (B.Kin, RHN, NNCP) and Donna Bishop (Editor-in-chief Bamboo Magazine, Natural Beauty Expert on Marilyn Denis Show) for a free evening of education geared to your skin type.

Best Skin Seminar: “Ageless Beauty”
Monday, April 16th from 6:30 – 8:30 pm.
No cost to attend: registration required.

Seminar topics include:

-The aging process, wrinkle prevention and beautifying foods
-Healthy nutrition for healthy skin
-Beauty enemies
-Key things to look for on personal care product labels
-Makeup tips to enhance your beauty
-& much more!

As the saying goes, the best defence is a good offense. It’s never too early to start taking care of your skin to prevent those telltale signs of aging. It’s also never too late to start caring for your skin so this seminar is perfect for ages 35+!

Seminars are free and include the course, refreshments and a take home package full of great tips and helpful facts from our experts.

Please call (416) 925-2855 to register. Space is limited to 16 participants and registration is first come, first serve.

Check out what happened at our first Best Skin Seminar here.

*NOTE: The seminar on the 16th filled up so quickly we’ve added a second date. We will be hosting another night of “Healthy Aging” on April 23rd from 6:30-8:30pm. Call to register (416) 925-2855.

Just Beautiful

Did you know that there are little to no government regulations surrounding claims made on skin care products?  That means that companies can claim pretty much anything they want on product labels. There is also a laundry list of ingredients that are banned for use in the EU but are still allowed in North America. Finding the right product for you is confusing enough without having to worry about dangerous ingredients lurking in them.

That’s why we are a proud founding pledge of the Environmental Defence “Just Beautiful Campaign“.

Environmental Defence successfully lead the charge a few years ago to get BPA removed from baby bottles and is now determined to get the government to play a greater role in skin care labelling and product formulations.

In addition to information about product labeling and contents, they have a great resource list of companies with healthy products. If you want to make your voice heard they also have a petition that they’re going to send to the Minister of Health that Canadians can sign.

We believe that transparency and accountability in our industry is extremely important so we’re very passionate about the Just Beautiful campaign and hope that the Environmental Defense are able to convince the government to make a much needed change!

Happy Skin Juice Recipe

This recipe was created by Marina Cortese, a holistic nutritionist, and our “Healthy Eating for Healthy Skin” expert. Check her website and blog out here and follow her on Twitter @nour_ish.

1 cup coconut water (hydrates the skin)
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
1/2 banana
1/2 cup dandelion greens – without the stems (helps to detoxify the liver and purify the skin)
1 tbsp hemp seeds (contains fatty acids that give skin a youthful glow)
1 tsp flaxseed oil (same as hemp benefits) Dash of cinnamon (GREAT antioxidant)
1 tbsp coconut sap (optional, to sweeten)

Blend together and serve! Makes 2 servings (or 1 big one)

Consonant founder, Bill, whipping up a batch of Happy Skin Juice

Put your Best Skin Forward

Education is an important part of what we do at the Consonant Flagship Store. That’s why last night we were the proud hosts of the first Best Skin Seminar. The theme for the night was healthy aging.

As guests arrived they were served the delicious “Happy Skin” juice (recipe by Marina can be found here) to get the night started on the right foot.

At 6:45, our “Healthy Eating for Healthy Skin” expert Marina Cortese kicked off the evening in front of a packed house. After we were all disappointed by the fact that cocktails won’t stimulate our lymphatic system (one of the “skintelligence quiz” questions), we were treated to a fabulous discussion about beneficial nutrients and foods.

Healthy eating tips from Marina

After a quick break for refreshments our “Healthy Makeup and Skin Care Expert”, Donna Bishop, took the stage. Donna shared lots of fantastic information about her involvement with Environmental Defense, the importance of healthy skin care and the “wild west” that is the beauty industry. She finished her talk with a bang with some makeup demos, the smokey eye being a crowd favourite!

Makeup application demo with Donna Bishop

To close the evening we did some Q&A and handed out door prizes including Consonant, Top-it and Alma Natural Spa Gift Certificates. We were thrilled with all the discussion happening amoungst our fabulous experts and guests throughout the night.

A huge thank you to our Best Skin Experts and the ladies that spent their evening with us. It was such a pleasure and we hope to do it again very soon.

If you would like to be notified about future seminars, please join our mailing list on www.consonantbody.com

All Natural in the Bedroom

We spend up to a third of our lives in bed, so why sleep on a mattress filled with potentially harmful toxins? That’s the question Eva Lemster asked me when I visited her at Amami Organics – a sweet little indie shop in Hazelton Lanes in Yorkville.

Natural mattress and topper

While Anami also sells organic clothing and skin care (including Consonant) her main focus is natural mattresses and pillows. Eva cautions us, “Traditional mattresses are filled with many different toxins, some of the worst of which are the flame retardant chemicals they add.”

If you are careful about what you eat and the products you use on your body, you may want to consider switching to a natural mattress to minimize the risk to potentially harmful chemicals.

The mattresses Eva stocks are 95-97% natural and made from pure rubber milk which is harvested just like maple syrup! They’re then covered with organic cotton which makes them deliciously comfortable and a layer of wool acts as a natural flame retardant. Eva tells me the mattresses are baked on site in Malaysia in the same premises where the milk is harvested so no preservatives need to be added to the rubber milk. The foam is then shipped to Canada to be made into the final product.

The inside of a natural mattress

Before testing out the mattress, all I could think of was summers spent at camp on less-than-firm foam mattresses. A fan of a firm bed, I was pleasantly surprised by how comfortable the natural mattress was! Eva only stocks the highest quality mattresses made with dense foam so they don’t lose their shape. If you prefer a softer mattress, Eva has those too, as well as fluffy soft natural mattress toppers. She tells me they’re built to last for about 40 years which more than makes up for the higher price tag (not to mention the benefits of not sleeping on toxins!).

Eva is absolutely lovely and very passionate about the health benefits of natural mattresses so be sure to stop in for a visit next time you’re in Yorkville.

Anami Organic Luxuries is located at 87 Avenue Rd, Toronto. (647) 347-8263.

Healthy Skin Care Swap!

We know that most women have a bin of rejected products under their sink that promise to soothe, plump or hydrate their skin, and fail to deliver. We want to encourage people to try healthier skin care as part of a general healthy way of living, and to prove that you don’t have to give anything up to get great results from healthier formulations.

That’s why, between February 14th and 26th, 2012, you’re invited to bring in your old (non-Consonant) face wash, face cream or eye cream (used or unused) to trade in for a 50 per cent discount on the equivalent Consonant Skincare product (limit one per person).

All Consonant skin care products are 100 per cent natural and free of toxic chemicals and carcinogens.

The Swap is being held at the Consonant Flagship Store at 2479 Yonge Street, Toronto and the following retailers:

If you can’t make it in store, you can still participate! Follow these simple steps to swap your skin care:

1. Take a picture of the product that you want to “swap” for a Consonant Product.
2. Upload that picture to Twitter or Facebook with the following message (make sure it links to us so we see it):

“Hey @consonantbody I want to swap this ____ (eye cream, face cream or face wash) for Consonant 100% natural skin care. #healthyskincare”

3. Call us at (416) 925-2855 to place an order for the equivalent Consonant product at 50% off.
*standard shipping charges will apply

Call (416) 925-2855 if you have any questions about the promotion.