LivHealthy

At the Canadian Health Food Association Expo East trade show I recently attended in Toronto, I had the opportunity to get a mini-make-over from Pure Anada, an all natural make-up company based in a small town just outside of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. I confess, that I really don't like wearing make-up. I get that from my Mom, who always goes au naturel because she has sensitive skin. I also couldn't be bothered with spending more time in the bathroom. I'm a no-nonsense kind of gal, and I like to keep it simple. I don't look in the mirror very much and I often have to remind myself to take a look to make sure I look presentable.

For me, make-up needs to be made from natural ingredients, feel light on my skin as if I have nothing on, be easy to apply, and look natural. I have had a hard time finding a natural make-up that was affordable, available in a variety of shades of colours, and easy to buy- I don't want to have to go to downtown Toronto to buy more when I run out. Pure Anada covered all of these bases for me.

I was greeted at their booth on Saturday by Clarissa, a kind, beautiful young woman, who is the sister of the company's founder, and proud ambassadors of Pure Anada. Clarissa provided me with an overview of the company, and I was impressed with the love, and attention to quality put into the products. You may think that this is just a small Canadian company, but then you learn about how much of their business is done online, and that they have a huge following in the Phillippenes- so much so that they developed new colours to suit the needs of this market.

I was taping a video on Saturday for Organic and Wellness News, so I had already slathered on some other make-up for filming, but it was a product that I didn't really like, but I wanted to get my money's worth out of it before I went and bought something new. I made an appointment to return to the booth on Sunday with a clean fresh face, ready for the full Pure Anada experience.

I had the honour of having my make-up done by Candace Grenier, the company founder. She is also very kind, and sweet with that "girl next door" look about her, but don't let that small-town image fool you. Candace is a smart business woman who is committed to providing quality products in a growing market. She knows all about her competition, and is always looking for new ways to grow her business. What I admire most about her is that she's found a way to build her business while being a Mom too. She'll be sharing some tips on what to look for when searching for natural make-up, in an upcoming article on Liv Healthy.tv

Now, back to the make-up, Candace gave me a full tour of the product line as she expertly applied foundation, eye make-up, blush and lip gloss/lip stick. I shared with her my ignorance on make-up application, and she gently coached me on how to apply it, sharing some tricks of the trade, like tapping the foundation brush before applying it to my face. Pure Anada also includes make-up application tips in their catalogue, so clearly I'm not alone-others are looking for this information too.

I really liked the look of the make-up at the end of our session. I didn't feel like I was wearing anything, because the make-up felt so light. It looked natural and highlighted my eyes and my lips (the secret for the lips is in the application of both a lip stick with a bit of lip gloss on top, just at the plump part of the bottom lip).

Pure Anada passed my test of looking natural and being easy to apply. There are over 40 shades of eyeshadow, which I was really excited about- yes, the girl who doesn't like to wear make-up likes eye shadow. Who would have ever thought that so many colours could be made from minerals. The purpose of Pure Anada attending the show was to find new stores to carry their product, so they will be available in more locations closer to home. Plus, I can buy the product online. And as I share my experience with my friends, we can all place a big order together, which will save on the shipping costs (there's free shipping on orders over $50) and give me an excuse to get together with them too!

Are you looking for natural make-up too? Liv Healthy fans can get a discount of $5 off of their order of Pure Anada products by visiting the Pure Anada Boutique and entering the coupon code:

livhealthy

Enjoy and Liv Beautifully!