Last Canada Day I made a similar post but it is a mess (I'm not even going to link it). It's also not completely accurate anymore (Canada lost all of its Target stores) so I thought I would redo the post. That post was aimed more at Canadians looking to buy international drugstore brands that can be harder to find. I'm gearing this post more towards my International Followers who may find themselves in Canada this summer looking for different makeup brands to try.
If you're looking for high end brands, your best bet is
Sephora or
The Bay. Both have a large selection of luxury products. The brands can vary depending on the store's location but most popular high end brands are featured.
Sears is another department store that carries a smaller section of brands usually including
Clinique, Lancome, and
Estee Lauder. There are also stand alone stores such as MAC that can usually be found in malls.
I'll start with the accessible drugstore brands that can be found at almost every drugstore. These include
Revlon, L'Oreal, Maybelline, Covergirl, Rimmel, Physicians Formula, Almay and
N.Y.C. I will not be spending anymore time on these brands because many are international and if not, they can be found at pretty much any Canadian drugstore.
Specific Canadian drugstore brands include
Annabelle and
Marcelle. Both of which can be found in most Canadian drugstores.
Disclaimer: Harder brands to find can depend on location of the store and their stock. My explanation is based on the brands I can find in drugstores in my Canadian city. The drugstores chains may also vary depending on province.
SHOPPERS DRUG MART
I'm starting with what I believe to be the best place to buy makeup outside of department stores or beauty retailers such as Sephora. Most Shoppers will have a Beauty Boutique that includes high end brands such as
Benefit, Smashbox, Stila, Lancome etc. On the drugstore side Shoppers usually stocks
essence, Gosh, Bioderma, Quo (house brand) and
Soap and Glory body products with the occasional lip product. I have even found certain shoppers that carry
Bourjois (although they jack up the price like crazy, I'm talking $30 foundations here).
REXALL PHARMA PLUS
Rexall carries drugstore brands such as
Bioderma, Wet & Wild and
NYX as well as the more expensive brand
theBalm. For brushes, many Rexall's now carry
Real Techniques. Rexall also now offers the brands
Vasanti as well as
Sweet Lei Lani and
Emani which both sell vegan cosmetics.
LONDON DRUGS
London Drugs sells a bit of everything. I would compare it to Walmart. Similar to the drugstores above, London Drugs sells brands such as
NYX, Real Techniques, Prestige, E.L.F. and
Wet & Wild. But they also have a high end section that sells brands like
Elizabeth Arden, Lancome, Clarins, Lise Waiter and
Cargo.
REAL CANADIAN SUPERSTORE
Superstore focuses heavily on food, however it has a decent beauty section that carries all the popular drugstore brands as well as
Joe Fresh and
Milani.
WALMART
Obviously this is nothing special to Canada but I thought I would throw it in here last. Walmart carries
Flower, Wet & Wild, Milani, Real Techniques and
Hard Candy.
I hope this post can be of some help. If anyone is travelling to Canada this summer or hopes to one day travel here in the future let me know where you're planning on going! It's a great country in the summer. I promise it's not cold :)
