Luxury beauty brand Living Beauty Inc. is making waves this holiday season with the launch of a holiday pop-up event at Gaspard, located at 886 Queen St. West in Toronto.
Open from November 28 to December 24, the pop-up will showcase Living Beauty’s curated skincare, beauty, and wellness products alongside Gaspard’s elegant fashion offerings.
“This collaboration is a celebration of luxury and craftsmanship,” said Mariam White, Founder and CEO of Living Beauty Inc. “Gaspard is known for its impeccable French fashion, and we’re thrilled to blend that with our premium beauty and skincare collections in such an iconic retail destination.
“I actually started as a makeup artist and then I got into the business of it. So I had practical experience of working in the field. But I really lucked out. I was in the early stages of medical skin care.
“Our flagship brand is Biologique Recherche, which is a French brand focused on the successful channels for beauty – spas, salons, plastic surgeons, five-star hotel spas. And we’ve added different niche brands as we’ve grown through the years.”
Pop Up is a Milestone
The pop-up is a prelude to an even bigger milestone for the brand: the opening of Living Beauty’s first physical retail store in Toronto’s Annex in March 2025. Located near Dupont and Christie, the 2,500-square-foot space will feature a retail area and four treatment rooms, and the front of house with all the beauty retail.
“It’s an established neighbourhood. The whole concept behind opening our own retail is we wanted to be small footprint but in a really established neighbourhood where local residents actively feel some ownership in terms of the different stores, being part of the community. We wanted a place where the community would come out and support us.
“Also the location is definitely under-serviced when it comes to professional beauty and beauty in general. So there was an opportunity. And Dupont which is the main street that it is on is developing like crazy. There was an opportunity to get in early.”
Living Beauty, founded in 2015, reflects her vision of an inclusive, results-driven, and community-focused beauty brand.
“We are a national distributor of niche and cult beauty brands. We have three criteria. Obviously the products have to work, they have to tell a story and they have to be safe. We’re focused on finding those brands.”
A Shift for Living Beauty
The upcoming retail store marks a shift for Living Beauty, which has primarily operated as a B2B distributor. White explained that the decision to open a physical location stems from a desire to create a more intimate, service-oriented shopping experience.
“There’s a gap in the market for neighbourhood-based beauty stores that offer expert advice, high-end products, and exceptional services,” she said. “Big retailers and spas often excel in one area but fall short in others. We’re combining our professional expertise with a curated retail environment to fill that void.”
The Gaspard pop-up offers shoppers a chance to discover Living Beauty’s thoughtfully selected products in a festive setting.
“It’s a unique opportunity to experience the best of beauty and fashion under one roof,” said White.
Looking to the future, White envisions expanding Living Beauty’s footprint beyond Toronto.
“We see the opportunity in Canada. There are no retail options. As we know, there’s certain giant players in the market and they’ve kind of taken control of beauty. I shop at all of them and I don’t have anything negative to say but I do feel there is an opportunity for something that is just more neighbourhood based, especially when it comes to needing advice, looking for great services. It’s definitely a higher end product,” she said.
“And one thing we recognize is while these retailers are amazing at what they do and a lot of these spas are also incredible in what they do, when they’re a giant retailer they try to do spa services but they don’t do them well and then if they’re a spa they don’t retail enough. They kind of get stuck focused on the professional side. So we’re combining all the expertise that we’ve had and working with retailers. We’re hoping that we will be opening up several locations across Canada because I just think there’s an opportunity.”
