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Hi! I'm Oresta, holistic aesthetician for over 25 years. Helping women look and feel beautiful is my life's work.

My journey to clean beauty began in my mid 20s. While living overseas, I developed cystic acne: large, inflamed painful pimples. In my desperation to clear up my skin, my bathroom cabinet overflowed with 'sure to cure' harsh acne products in every price range. I also spent years ingesting acne meds and enduring harsh chemical treatments.

Feeling embarrassed and frustrated with my skin, I took matters into my own hands and embarked on a strict food and product elimination diet. I removed wheat, dairy, sugar and all acidic foods from my diet and purged all of my ‘miracle creams' replacing them with more ‘natural’ products and ingredients.

I made homemade yogurt to eat and cleanse my skin. I created face masks with raw honey and essential oils. I introduced alkaline-rich millet, quinoa, amaranth and kale - all foods that I had previously never even heard of, into my diet, all in the name of clearing my skin.

To my surprise, my skin did improve. I had my 'aha' moment that you REALLY are what you eat and my diet was affecting my skin. As the largest organ of the body, skin purges toxins and that’s what my skin was doing. I became fascinated with the complexities of the body systems and their effect on the condition of the skin and decided to return to school to study skin care.

While researching products and ingredients, I was shocked to discover that many of the supposedly ‘natural' skin care products that I was using actually contained ingredients that were compromising the health of my skin. Our body absorbs significant amounts of what we topically apply onto our skin . The average woman uses 12 beauty products a day. I wanted to educate and empower women with healthy beauty.

In 2001, (before organic was more hippy than hip), I founded ORESTA organic skin care: Ottawa's first organic spa and beauty boutique. It continues to be a space where I help simplify clean beauty by curating a collection of luxurious, high performing clean beauty brands and offer advanced holistic facial treatments to help women feel and look their best.

Since then, we have expanded to include our sister location, ORESTA organic skin care apothecary in Ottawa's Hintonburg neighbourhood. In 2007, oresta.ca became the first clean beauty e-commerce retailer in Canada, where we get to connect with people all over Canada and beyond.

As a woman in my 50s, I want to age radiantly. My focus is not on preventing wrinkles. It’s about nourishing my skin to maintain a healthy and radiant glow. It’s about embracing and celebrating the natural changes that come with growing older. In this new chapter, I want to shift the narrative from anti-aging to empowered aging. I want to create a community that values and celebrates the experiences and contributions of women at all ages.

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Welcome to ORESTA.
Welcome to your clean beauty journey.