Curly for Christmas!

Our guest stylist from New York City is headed to town and booking appointments from Dec 6th -9th. Let us know as soon as you can if you want an appointment!
 Let us help you have perfect curls for your holiday season! Here's a little before and after action for you to ponder....
get in touch at 905 627 9379 or by email ellenoire@ellenoire.com
Cheers, Noelle

Special Guests coming to ellënoire!

Over the years many of you have become acquainted with ellënoire by seeing us on local television shows. Most of the time you see us doing silly things on CHTV's "CH Morning Live" with Lori DeAngelis and Lesley Stewart. We've shaved my head, we made Tim shave his face to show our shaving oil, we've done Lori D's hair from straight to curly, and adorned all manner of goofy hats. It's been awhile since you've seen us on the show, although I'm lucky enough to see our Lori, as she comes to our pop-up-salon to get her curly hair cut when our Celeb curly stylist is here from New York.

 Speaking of Celebs. This coming week on November 2nd we have some crazy fun on the way! Lori D is coming to do a show at our new little pop-up-store in Dundas and we'll be talking about all kinds of fun things. Early Holiday Shopping ideas, our new ellënoire everyday line and tons of other stuff...

I know, I know... you're wondering why it's taking me sooooo long to tell you who these celebrities are that are coming. I'm hesitant to tell you... really, our interim shop is so tiny and it can't possibly hold all of you and I'm afraid the front window won't be able to handle the pressure of the nose prints you'll be making on the glass as you try to catch a glimpse of Colin and Justin inside while we shoot the TV show!

Yup, you read that right! Colin and Justin......Our own HGTV Canada makeover mavens. Our scintillating Toronto Star columnists our fab Zeller's bedding designers and the best thing Scotland has sent us in years are popping by Dundas to see us at the ellënoire boutique!

So, flip on your TV's, set your PVR's because I can guarantee you this one will be worth dragging your ass out of bed for! Tuesday, November 2nd from 6am-9am LIVE from our store. Who knows what we'll get into!

Until then make sure you go for a click around the boy's website  ,it's completely fabulous and you can link to their twitter and facebook pages from here or there! 
While you are poking around be sure to enter their Glade room makeover contest! a lucky person will win a $15,000 room makeover with Colin and Justin.

  Trust me, we're as excited as you are but can you do me one favour? CH Morning Live is, as the name says a Live TV show... so, if you do decide to pop by the store for a little star gazing then be the lovely Canadians you are and be a tiny bit quiet. Please? We will do our best to see if the boys have time to stick their heads out to say hello. They are always very gracious to their many fans.
But loyal fans don't you worry,  if you have to work all morning or you've forgotten to pay the cable bill this definitely won't be our last visit from them... we called Glasgow and told them they can keep their tinned Haggis if we can have Colin, but we knew they only come as a boxed set so we traded Edinburgh Rock for Justin. As I type their silk velvet lined shackles are being installed in my basement so they won't be going anywhere!  ;)
... as the boys would say.. See you on the Telly!

I posted on my cancer blog today.....

Click here for the link...

This Blogger needs to be fired

Today, I won't bore you with why I haven't blogged in forever.... but the news you need to know now is that a) we have moved the store to 53 King Street west, Dundas... just up the street from the old place. This wee spot is only temporary, until we find te right place to house both our store and new curly hair salon. b) in the meantime, we are cutting curly (and any other kind) hair in my house weekly. Let me know if you need a haircut... more later. I PROMISE!!!!

One word

As you all know I am leaving our location at 41 King Street west in September due to the lease being up and the landlord choosing not to renew. Today after almost 2 months of back and forth negotiations and waiting our possible new landlord is coming with the lease for me to sign. 40 days until we have to leave here and when I see her today I still have to change one word in the lease she wants me to sign. The lease negotiations have been nerve wracking at best. ONE WORD. That's all I need changed to go ahead with this location and I can relax a little. Cross your fingers, toes and everything else you can for today to go well. If we do not get this location then we will have 40 days to find a new one(which will be almost impossible in that time frame) and we'll have to close the store for an undetermined amount of time... which in about 1000 ways will make life very difficult. ONE WORD!

Badgers are the best!

Check out the Badger Balm page! Lots of new products, lots of lower prices. As far as I can tell we have the best prices in town and onlne in Canada for all Badger products but especially the Outstanding Badger Sunscreen products! Check it out here. New Unscented SPF 30 in stock! http://www.ellenoire.com/scripts/prodLi...st.asp?idCategory=15

Have you ordered from ellenoire.com lately?

Here's a review from a recent new customer: First time to mail order through your company recently.....service was prompt and well followed up....it is great to have such a positive experience....love my Deva products and will be a continued customer.....special thanks to John...appreciate your follow up. A Happy Girl with great CURLS!!! Allison ...what other website offers curly hair product support long distance? Cheers, Noelle

Great Blog about a first time DevaCurl user!

Read it here!

create more, stir more, curl more... but wait!

So, things are complicated at this end of the ellënoire universe. It looks like in September we will be moving our store to a new location. No, this is not by choice. We do not own our building, and so we do not have a choice if the landlord wants us to leave. There is more to it than that, but I won't bore you with the details. So, here is the plan. Somewhere, within 15 minutes of my existing store we will be opening a new ellënoire store that will also include a curly hair salon. The salon will focus primarily on curly hair cutting and curly hair management but our stylists will all be fully trained to cut any type of hair. The salon will also offer hair colour, pintura (a special DevaCurl invention)highlighting all tailored to your hair type. We also plan to offer a selection of other services that you do not normally see in a salon. Yes, this will all be announced in due time. For now, you can wait with bated breath. The store will remain your best local resource for handmade bath, body & skin care filled with gorgeous natural ingredients and your choice of fragrances, or not. As always we will continue to offer our oft quirky blend of personal care products that compliment what we do. I will continue to create custom blended natural perfumes from essential oils and hopefully soon, we will have a new section of ready to wear fragrances developed by me. In the next few weeks we are launching a new bath, body, skin product line under our label. I will give you full details by the middle of May at the latest. Here are the things you need to look forward to with this new line: Simple, Affordable, clean ingredients, available for custom scenting, or unscented... but wait? Don't we already do this? Yes, but this will be different, better.... a perfect add on to a great collection of products. I can't wait to tell you more, so hold that thought. I have work to do!! P.S. Guest Hair Stylist David Lopez will be coming to cut hair again on May 14 for a few days... book your spot now!

Curly Curly Curly!

I have some amazing DevaCurly news coming out for you this week! Keep your eye on this page! Meanwhile, this is a fab video for you to watch! Look at her gorgeous natural curls! http://www.facebook.com/pages/edit/?id=7160211190#!/video/video.php?v=331023996879&ref=mf

Nail polish

What would you think of ellenoire carrying a low chemical line of Nail polish?
Do you have a fave brand of nail polish?
Do you get manicures regularly?
If I told you you could come and get a manicure touch up service on a night that worked for your busy life would you consider "moving up" to better nail care?
I wanna know! Tell me!

Men, Men, Men.... lovely Men!

So, I bet you're wondering why I didn't even mention Valentine's Day products on the blog this past few weeks. Well it's funny. For 7 years in a store front we have never really sold much for Valentine's Day. I am thoroughly convinced that being in small town, without a big neon sign that says "MEN!!!! YOU'LL GET LAID EASIER, IF YOU BUY STUFF HERE,!" that the men who all buy things last minute will not think of us as a Valentine's Day shopping destination.
I don't think many men realise all the things we do here at ellenoire anyway. It's amazing how when men come in to the store, how shocked they are to see the hats we carry, or the shaving products and implements. Did you know we sell a whole line of men's skin care and shaving products?
I know, I know, it's not on the website, perhaps this week I can make that happen...
I think March should be Men's month... what do you think?
More on this later, I have some thinking to do, some coffee to drink, some coffe scrub to put in jars...call a potential curly hair salon location.. you know.. the usual stuff!
;)

There is a lot to celebrate on this Valentine's Day, Family Day weekend!
Our Store anniversary is February 14th (2003), my anniversary for Cancer surgery is February 14th (2008) Colin and Justin celebrated their 2nd wedding anniversary on the 15th! Happy Days all around!

NO Glove, NO Love!

Cuticles dry and cracked?
Finger tips splitting and sore?
Backs of your hands kinda alligatorish?

PUT ON YOUR GLOVES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Every single time you step outside this winter if you live anywhere north of... oh I dunno.. Georgia... you should be wearing gloves or your hands will dry out!
Hear me in your head over and over and over again... PUT ON YOUR GLOVES!

If your hands are cracked and painful then get on the scrubbing/ rich moisturizing habit. 2-3 times per week exfoliation, and rich moisture every night at bed time. Sleep in gloves if you can!

That's all! ;)

Soap and Mirrors!

Hi Everyone! Long time no blog, I know. One thing I want you to know? I think everyday of things to tell you about and have a bad habit of telling myself that my blogs are boring and then I don't write the piece.

The other night I was watching TV and saw an advertisment for soap that I have seen a few times. I have tried to supress my rage at it and refrained from throwing something at the TV. The ad talked all about soap scum (as this bird-brand has for many years) and then proceeds to wash a set of mirrors with soaps and their product. The upshot of the ad is that the bird-brand doesn't leave soap scum on the mirror, but the others do. Can one really compare the surface of a mirror to human skin??

If you read this blog you should know that we have been in business selling soap and bath stuff for 15 years and that we recently started making our own handmade soap. I am not a chemist, but I understand soap and how it works on the skin. Soap is basically 3 things. One of them only exists in the process of making the soap and then disappears, and the other two work together with the disappearing stuff to make the bubbling bars of stuff we use. Soap bars are essentially just made of fat that has been chemically changed to bubble and wash our skin. WAIT, don't freak out. Fat is good. FAT is really good! I'll explain why.

You've probably heard me talk about the relationship between good food and good bath products. Well, it's the same here. Some soap is made from Animal fat, this is how we believe soap was made originally(soap history is crazy old, no-one knows for sure) Some soap in the supermarket is still made from Animal Fat. Much of the larger chain companies still use Animal Fat (aka Tallow, or sometimes called Sodium Tallowate) in their soap.
Soap can be made from almost any type of Fat or Oil. Why? Cause some of them are great for your skin! Animal Fat, Petroleum based oils.. well those are not so good for your skin but vegetable ant plant oils? Veggie oils are amazing for your skin!

Are you keeping up? ... if soaps are fat/oil... then what do you think "soap scum" is? Soap Scum is a little bit of fat/oil, left behind on your skin and shower and tub and stuff after you use it. It's just some of the fatty ingredients that got left behind in the chemical reaction with those 3 original ingredients. So when the "soap scum" is left on your skin made with vegetable oils it is a good thing! Fat can moisturize your skin. Your lotion is made from fat, your bath oil is fat. Fat on a mirror? meh.. WHO CARES!?
Olive oil, Coconut oil, Grapeseed oil, Shea Butter, etc etc... all good for your body, inside and out!

So Noёlle, what are you saying?

I'm saying, the company with the mirror ad is playing a trick on you. Skin is not like glass because it's porous and needs moisture to function. I teach people everyday about how important the essential skin care trio is... clean gently, exfoliate often and moisturize ALL THE TIME! In the store we use plant and vegetable based ingredients for everything we make(remember! Animal Fat and Petroleum based oils are not very helpful for your skin). We suggest you avoid detergents on hair and skin as they can dehydrate by overstripping and we suggest you use a vegetable based fatty soap at least once a day( especially in winter).

The soap bar brand in the ad had (on their label and online) quite a number of detergents, animal fat and a pile of other unpronoucable ingredients(see above, "I am not a chemist")buuuuut. It washes off glass cleanly! Perhaps that's what we should use it for.

I wonder what Noah would have thought of all this....

Hey! What does that bird have in it's mouth??? Hmmmm!

4 things

ok, so the itch of the New Year and the scratch of the coming of Spring has me thinking. We are cleaning and creating, getting things ready to launch a curly haircutting service and ultimately a curly hair salon of sorts for late this year... buuut while working on this project I want to be sure not to neglect my non other client... my skin care, soap loving, and non curly clients.
As always I am working on new products, new fragrances and new lines to bring in to the store.
I wish, you.. my lovely clients would you please take a few minutes for me to answer me these 4 simple things? What do you looooove about ellenoire? What do you kinda not like/ hate about ellenoire? Is there anything that confuses you about what we do? Is there anything ( within the realm of natural, personal care) you would like to see us do, sell or teach in the future?
4 questions, that's all.
I would love to hear your short, long and detailed or whichever way you offer your answers... just. bring. it. on.
Love to you all this New Year. Later I will blog about why I have been out of bloggy touch for soooo long.
Cheers!!
N

A CurlyGirl Must see!

http://www.voyage.tv/new_york_video_devachan_hair_salon.html