Monika Sofrenovic is the Marketing Specialist at CIRA. She is a recent graduate of Carleton University with a Bachelor of Commerce Degree in Marketing.
Welcome to self-care central, friend! We’re glad you’re here. Now. Take a load off, light a candle and disappear into this soothing pool of .CA health and wellness gifts. Explore delicate scents, nourishing skincare products, luxurious hand-made soaps, yoga retreats and more!
livlong.ca
Move over Flintstones gummies, there’s a new and better way to get your vitamins! LivLong provides “Lypo-Spheric” supplements that are designed to help your body more effectively absorb all the glorious, immune-boosting benefits of Vitamin C.
Price range: $ – $$$
zenfulyoga.ca
Vancouver, BC’s Zenful Yoga is a woman-owned social enterprise that provides high-quality, sustainably sourced cork yoga mats. Now, all the yogis on your list can elevate their zen in a more environmentally friendly way. Healthy body, healthy mind—and a better future. That’s something we can all say namaste to.
Price range: $$-$$$
moonshinemamas.ca
There’s a lot more to turmeric than you might think. Salt Spring Island, BC’s Moonshine Mama’s has tapped into the power of turmeric for their line of delicious elixirs made with all natural ingredients—like ginger, lemon and honey—meant to give your mind, body and soul a healthful boost.
Price range: $-$$
escents.ca
Give the gift of sublime scents this holiday season. Vancouver-based Escents Aromatherapy boasts a massive selection of 100% natural essential oils sourced from around the world. Also check out their bath, body and wellness products designed to pamper, rejuvenate and relax!
Price range: $ – $$
scoria.ca
Scoria is a Canadian, woman-owned and operated company that takes the humble yoga mat and elevates it to an artform. Choose from their line of intricately-designed mats made from sustainably harvest cork, and help that special someone rediscover their inner yogi. Even better? Every yoga mat purchase supports life-skills education for indigenous youth.
Price range: $$
cryingoutloud.ca
Crying Out Loud offers thoughtfully curated care packages filled with tasty treats, snuggly socks and other clever products to help your friends and loved ones honour all of life’s moments. Care packages range in theme from “Date Night In” to “Welcome to Parenthood.”
Price range: $$ – $$$
Candles
corentincandles.ca
Corentin is out to create a cleaner-burning, longer lasting candle for all your soothing scent needs. And they’re doing it by hand, in small batches, using nothing but natural soy wax and high-quality, scented oils. Check out their winter collection for the refreshing aromas of the great outdoors!
Price range: $ – $$$
candalae.ca
Treat the candle lovers in your life to hand made soy wax candles. Located in Toronto, this company is dedicated to making candles that are fitting for any and every occasion. Want to make the gift more personalized? Leave a note or a video your loved one can access anytime through a QR code on the candle.
Price range: $-$$
labrayonneetcie.ca
Take your special someone on a scented journey with artisanal, hand-poured, natural vegetable wax candles from La Brayonne et Cie. For starters, check out their best-selling Lavender Freshness candle that blends relaxing lavender with notes of lime, mint and vanilla.
Price range: $ – $$
moodgie.ca
Life goes by fast, too fast sometimes. Luckily, Moodgie has the perfect candle scents for those moments of much needed self care. Available year-round with a monthly subscription that contains a candle that is inspired by the season such as Vanilla, or Pumpkin Spice.
Price range: $-$$
indigenouslyinfused.ca
Hailing from Curve Lake First Nation, Indigenously Infused draws on traditional Ojibway knowledge and teachings with a modern twist. Traditional botanicals, such as sage and sweetgrass are harvested and infused into candles, sprays, mists, and fondant. All natural, and all handcrafted. Interesting fact: Indigenously Infused was a semi-finalist for the Pow Wow Pitch 2022, a celebration dedicated to Indigenous entrepreneurs.
Price range: $
thecopperbell.ca
Bad puns meet soothing soy-based candles from Guelph, Ontario. “Nog gonna lie”, these candles are the perfect gift for a friend who’s been “workin’ pine to five”.
Price range: $
Bath and body
lovelybody.ca
Stress-relief goodies can be found here! Lovely Body Products makes handmade self-care items in small batches, right out of their shop in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Browse their high-quality soaps, soothing body oils, shampoo bars—and more. Get the full story behind how Lovely Body grew from a hobby to a successful small business.
Price range: $ – $$
malinandgoetz.ca
When it comes to skincare, Malin + Goetz believe less is more. That’s why they’ve created a line of uncomplicated products for every skin type and tone that deliver all the essential cleansing, moisturizing de-blemishing benefits—without the need to have an advanced chemistry degree. Perfect for the time-pressed person on your list that deserves a good pampering.
Price range: $$$
pureanada.ca
What if makeup could enhance the health of your skin? Pure Anada creates beauty products that nourish the body by using clean, ethically sourced organic ingredients. Discover lipsticks with nourishing butters, eyeshadow enriched with purified minerals along with a whole host of skincare products based on simple, natural, non-irritating formulations.
Price range: $ – $$$
soapsandsuch.ca
One day, Soaps & Such founder/creator Kim Fleet got fed up with having her skin dried out by commercial soaps. And thus, Soaps & Such was born! Kim’s soaps are hand made from scratch in small batches using a traditional cold pressing method. They’re also hand mixed and poured, using a selection of plant-based oils. The result? Skin that’s left feeling silky, moisturized and well-loved. A luxurious stocking stuffer for anyone on your list.
Price range: $
lameybrookefarms.ca
Sure, there’s farm-fresh produce and eggs…but farm-fresh soap? Queensville, Nova Scotia’s Lamey Brooke Farms produces handcrafted, small-batch natural soaps that eschew parabens and other harmful chemicals. Instead, they use essential oils and shea butter to provide soothing scents and smooth, luxurious feels.
Price range: $ – $$
racinebouclee.ca
You’re bound to know someone that has curls for days! For them, there’s Racine Bouclée – or – “curly root.” They specialize in selling natural products that are hand-picked and proven to clean, nourish and repair all types of locks, whether wavy, curly or frizzy.
Price range: $$
oshamaesoap.ca
Herbalists and aroma therapists by trade, Osha Mae harnesses the power of plants and scents to create soaps and self-care products that not only soothe skin but relax the spirit. You won’t find any synthetic chemicals here, either. Everything is made from organic botanicals, roots and plant oils foraged from their land on the Nova Scotia coast.
Price range: $ – $$
splishsplashhandmadeproduct.ca
Splish Splash specializes in artisanal, hand-made soaps designed to soothe even the most sensitive skins. Everything they produce contains natural ingredients influenced by the Moroccan Hammam spa culture, a centuries-old traditional bathing and cleaning ritual. Browse their selection of soap, loofahs, bath bombs—and more. We can feel the soothing stress relief from here!
Price range: $-$$$
ccbeesnaturalproducts.ca
When you want to indulge in a little self-care, leave it to the bees! The husband-and-wife duo behind CCBee’s Natural Products handcraft their entire luxurious collection of skin, bath and body products using all-natural oils, as well as beeswax and honey from their own apiary.
Price range: $ – $$
shopstudio36.ca
Who knew soap could be this wholesome? Studio 36 started out as a small, home kitchen-based business. Now—many thousands of batches later—they’ve perfected their recipes. All their artisanal soaps, scrubs, body rubs, lotions—and more—are hand-crafted in small batches, so you get products that are high quality and as close-to-natural as possible.
Price range: $
bottlenone.ca
Bottle None invites you to ditch the plastic shampoo and conditioner bottles and check out their natural, eco-friendly shampoo bars. Every bar contains salon-quality ingredients and can be used to nourish and repair any hair type. Also—don’t overlook Bottle None’s all-natural face washes and deodorants.
Price range: $ – $$
cleano2.ca
Now you can reduce your carbon footprint by lathering up! CleanO2 body bars use a unique technology—called CarbinX™—that captures C02 then converts it to pearl ash. This gives each of their soap bars a smooth lather. Now, you can act against climate change—and come out smelling like a rose, too.
Price range: $
stoic-beauty.ca
Stoic Beauty offers a complete line of cosmetics that are water-safe and free of harmful chemicals and synthetic fragrances that damage vulnerable marine habitats. Want to sample all the natural skincare goodness Stoic Beauty has to offer? Start with one of their holiday bundle collections.
Price range: $ – $$
Great—you’ve got everyone on your list feeling rejuvenated and relaxed! Now, breathe deep…and get busy browsing all the other categories of great gift ideas in our full .CA Gift guide!
