As 2024 comes to a close, we're filled with gratitude and excitement looking back at the year we've shared with you. This year has been one of growth, celebration, and of course, discovering new clean beauty gems! Here are the highlights:
Your Favourite Brand of 2024: Laurel
All of our brands are so loved, but Laurel Skin stole the show this year. Their holistic, farm-to-bottle approach continues to resonate deeply with our community.
Top-Selling Laurel Skin Products:
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Elixir II – Beloved for its calming and clearing abilities, while delivering crucial hydration. We often recommend it to reduce redness, acne breakouts and overall sensitivity and irritation.
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Unburden Serum – A soothing staple for sensitive and inflamed skin. We love this oil serum so much and it is often the first serum we recommend to new clients. Inflammation is the root cause of most skin conditions and concerns and we know it is important to address inflammation, before moving on to other concerns, as well as, more active ingredients and products.
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Day Balm – A nourishing, protective daily essential that deeply moisturizes while defending against sun exposure with natural sun protecting oils. We love its lightweight texture- perfect for all skin types, concerns and ages!
Best Seller of the Year:
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Salt & Stone Natural Deodorant
You made Salt & Stone your daily staple—on average, 2 of these deodorants found new homes every day this year! Its cult-following scents and long-lasting performance made it a customer favourite.
Favourite Product Launches:
2024 was packed with exciting new releases that quickly became favourites:
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Josh Rosebrook Bioidentical Collagen Serum An innovative, vegan collagen serum that fully absorbs and integrates into your native collagen matrix, for fuller, firmer skin. Josh and his team formulated it with nourishing and supportive botanicals for increased collagen production. We sold out of it within a week of launching it!
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LILFOX Moss Mask We always look forward to the next concoction LILFOX founder, formulator and aromatherapist, Alexis, will launch. This year we got MOSS- a calming, hydrating, brightening emulsion mask that leaves your skin plump, even and glowing.
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The Laurel Herbalist Collection Laurel Skin compounds epitomize whole-plant slow beauty to support healthy, radiant skin. The Herbalist collection was launched in October to be your medicine chest for the skin. Each compound, including 2 brand new ones (full size will launch in 2025!), Vitality and Brighten, help you address specific skin concerns made with whole-plant magic.
Most Reviewed Product of the Year:
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LILFOX Succulent Pudding
"Decadent! It’s got a great texture that goes on smoothly and is not greasy. It’s my last step to lock in everything else at night or before SPF in the am."
Formulated with cell-communicating pentapeptides that inhibit the pain receptor in skin cells, helping reduce redness and irritation. Combined with an adaptogenic complex of eight desert succulents, encapsulated niacinamide, fermented oats, and ceramides this unique moisturizer deeply hydrates, brightens, and supports a healthy skin barrier.
New Brands We Welcomed:
This year we introduced some incredible new brands to our shelves, all Canadian, as it happens! :
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East Coast Glow When traveling to Newfoundland for the very first time this summer, we discovered East Coast Glow, a skin and body care line that celebrates the beauty of the east coast with its Iceberg water-infused formulations, designed to nourish and soothe the skin, while also elevating everyday rituals.
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Wonderblush In May, we welcomed Wonderblush, a Montreal-based line of beautiful everyday makeup essentials. Created by Mélanie Hachey, a renowned makeup artist, she understood what women were looking for: easy, versatile formulas that add a touch of luxury to their routine. We even hosted an inspiring Masterclass with Mélanie with a small group of women to learn some tricks of the trade!
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Sunna Team ORESTA loves a good tan, but always wants to achieve it safely. We were overjoyed to find Canadian brand Sunna for its easy, streak-free and nourishing formulas that provide the perfect bronzed sunless glow all year round, without the strange self-tanner smells and ingredients.
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Bite. Bug spray, but make it chic and effective! Leave it to Canadians Jaime and Erin to create a non-greasy, non-stinky alternative to traditional insect repellents so you can enjoy the great outdoors without compromise!
Most Loved by Our Team:
Here are the products we couldn't stop using this year:
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Josh Rosebrook C Complex A gentle, but effective Vitamin C serum clinically proven to combat UV damage, brighten, even skin tone, and enhance luminosity. Boosted with phytonutrients like Azelaic Acid, Licorice extract, and Tamanu, this lightweight, non-sticky serum it enhances suppleness and smoothness while creating an invisible shield against environmental stressors
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Laurel Elixirs Not a day goes by that we don’t reach for these nutrient-rich, hydrosol-based elixirs. More than just toners, they’re like water-based serums—brimming with whole-plant goodness that calms, hydrates, and revitalizes the skin. With every mist, they deliver vital nutrients to promote a balanced, radiant complexion.
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LILFOX Flower Goo We love this serum because it really is a one-and-done formulation. Orchid milk, peptides, and flower stem cells work to repair and firm skin while hyaluronic acid, licorice root, and fermented oats deeply hydrate, brighten, and soothe. Its lightweight, fluid texture melts into the skin, leaving behind a bouncy, dewy glow.
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Kahina Oil Cleanser A gorgeous, nourishing start to our routines, the Kahina Oil Cleanser is our must-have cleanser. We love its anti-inflammatory and brightening properties and silky lightweight texture that removes makeup, dirt and impurities. Plus, it smells divine!
- Salt & Stone Body Mists Salt & Stone's Body Mists have been a standout this year, offering fragrances that lift our spirits. Infused with red algae, these mists come in the brand's three most popular scents, and we've become completely hooked. While each scent has its own unique charm, I’m personally obsessed with the Black Rose & Oud—though it’s tough to choose just one favourite!
Other Highlights:
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We Went Viral! This year, we created 87 reels (wow!), but one really took off—our sunscreen IG reel from June racked up over 340,000 views! It’s wild to think that something so simple can resonate with so many people. Sometimes, you just have to get out of your comfort zone and put it out there—big things can happen! We're so grateful for your support, shares, and comments. Thanks to you, we've reached more clean beauty lovers than ever before!
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I turned 60 —and it was my year of YES! I celebrated with travel, new experiences, and saying yes to joy. From solo adventures in Georgia to celebrations with friends and family, it’s been a year to remember.
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Meredith Joined Us! Meredith joined us as the new Retail Manager of our Glebe Shop. If you've popped in for a visit, you've no doubt been greeted by her beautiful smile and welcoming, fun personality. She's definitely a wonderful addition to our ORESTA family.
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More Gifts Than Ever! This year, we gave away more free gifts than ever in ORESTA history! We teamed up with our incredible brand partners to gift our wonderful customers with amazing products. One highlight was our biggest Instagram giveaway yet—the International Women's Day Giveaway—where we collaborated with inspiring women entrepreneurs from our EMPOWERED AGING: Female Entrepreneurs series. We’re already planning special partnerships and promotions for 2025 that we can't wait to share with you!
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Connecting with Founders: From Dr. Sarah Vadenboncoeur to Laurel Shaffer (of Laurel Skin) and Ere Perez, we had the joy of collaborating and learning from incredible women in beauty and wellness.
- ORESTA celebrated 23 years What a milestone! Celebrating 23 years as a small business is no small feat, and we couldn’t have done it without you—our incredible clients. Whether you’ve been with us from the very beginning or just discovered ORESTA this year, your support means the world to us. We feel truly lucky to be part of your skincare journey and are so grateful for this beautiful community.
Thank you for being part of our journey this year. We can't wait to see what 2025 holds and to continue growing and glowing together.
Wishing you a radiant and joyful new year!
With love,
Oresta & The ORESTA Team