Style news: Toronto’s Proprlifestyle is expanding how skin-care buffs think about K-Beauty

Proprlifestyle Korean Skincare and Accessories in Toronto specializes in Korean skin care and cosmetics.Vai Yu Law/Handout

At Proprlifestyle Korean Skincare and Accessories in Toronto, the specialty is K-Beauty. Shorthand for Korean skin care and cosmetics, K-Beauty has exploded in popularity around the world thanks to a reputation for advanced technology, natural ingredients and an elaborate 10-step skin-care routine. According to the store’s owner, Althea Johnson, however, such an extensive regimen is not required. “In fact, the new trend in Korea is doing three to five steps to simplify.”

Sitting at about 200 square feet, Proprlifestyle’s first storefront in Toronto is a petite paradise for skin care buffs.Vai Yu Law/Handout

Johnson was introduced to Korean skin care in 2017 through sheet masks, a K-Beauty staple, and was impressed by the immediate results. “I had eczema on my neck and jawline. By the next morning, there was improvement where the eczema was.” By coincidence, Johnson already had a holiday booked to Seoul that morphed into a K-Beauty research trip. “What I loved is that they would have a Black, a Caucasian and an Asian woman in all of their advertisements. It’s inclusive.” That year, Johnson launched Proprlifestyle as an online K-Beauty destination for Canadians and expanded to a brick-and-mortar space this past March.

Sitting at about 200 square feet, Proprlifestyle’s first storefront is a petite paradise for the skin care curious. “I have a few products that Canadians would be familiar with but I’m also trying to introduce them to products that they may not have heard of.” She caters to all skin types and tones, a direction celebrated by “Sisters,” a colourful mural on the side of her building by Leslie Phelan and commissioned through curator and founder Elizaveta Zhurkovskaya of Kefi Art Gallery.

Proprlifestyle Korean Skincare and Accessories, 458 Ossington Ave., Toronto, 416-827-7961, shop.proprlifestyle.com.

Huxley Cleansing Oil, $45.

COSRX Propolis Light Ampoule, $32.

D’Alba White Truffle Prestige Watery Oil, $65.

STYLE NEWS

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