BC Living
How to Support BC Wineries Now
Embark on Culinary Adventures: 5 Must-Try Solo Dining Experiences Around BC
You Gotta Try this in April 2024
4 Tips on Balancing a Nutritious Diet with a Side of Indulgence
Choosing Connection: A BC Family Day Pledge to Prioritize Presence Over Plans
Embracing Plant-Based Living this Veganuary and Beyond
Inviting the Steller’s Jay to Your Garden
6 Budget-friendly Holiday Decor Pieces
Dream Home: $8 Million for a Modern Surprise
Protected: Spring into Fun in Kamloops: The Best Events in the City
Travel Light, Travel Right: Minimalist Packing Tips for Solo Explorers
A Solo Traveller’s Guide to Cozy Accommodations
Arts Club Theatre Company Celebrates 60 Years
Films and TV Series that Inspire Solo Travel
B.C. Adventures: Our picks for April
8 Gadgets and Gear for Your Solo Adventures
A Solo Traveller’s Guide to Souvenir Hunting in BC
Sḵwálwen Botanicals – Changing the Face of Skincare
The 7 Virtues expands with a new line of peace perfumes at Canadian Sephora stores
As a female-founded, Canadian company aiming to aid farmers and growers in countries impacted by war and unrest, The 7 Virtues was already a positive force in motion before it even approached the corporate honchos of CBC’s Dragon’s Den. “The company did already have solid roots in the book I had written, The 7 Virtues of a Philosopher Queen: A Woman’s Guide to Living and Leading in an Illogical World, and I had literally launched out of my garage three months before I auditioned,” founder Barb Stegemann says.
After netting a hefty venture capital investment on the show, Stegemann’s vision boomed. “Even though I broke even in the first four weeks, the banks still would not invest in a new company that did not fit the cookie-cutter profile of a business,” she says. “We were a social enterprise—helping others—it was not the norm back then. It really took W. Brett Wilson, my philanthropic investor from the Den, to take a risk and invest in me,” explains Stegemann.
The philanthropic line has since formed partnerships with providers of essential oils in countries rebuilding from innumerable forms of struggle. Haiti, Rwanda, Afghanistan and other lands provide the basis for the acclaimed scents, offering consumers a cosmetics solutions that is proudly “good for the world and good for the skin.” Scents have gained a number of supporters–including actress Lisa Ray and, of course, BCLiving’s Simply Beautiful curators who chose the Jasmine of India as a recent scent to savour.
In February, beauty consumers will discover a new line of seven scents introduced exclusively at Canadian outlets of retailer Sephora, including…
“This new contemporary peace perfume collection is made with the same natural, organic and fair trade essential oils from nations including Haiti, Afghanistan, Rwanda, the Middle East and India, but each fragrance is completely brand new,” says Stegemann explains. “It’s all new branding and packaging as well. Now consumers can read right on the bottle the healing properties of the essential oils, the nations they support and the programs they provide as well as the fact that they are cruelty free, vegan and made with organic sugar cane alcohol.”
The seven fresh scents will be available in three sizes, including a full-size eau de parfum, a smaller rollerball perfect for travel and a smaller option that can be grouped as a sampler pack. “The new rollerballs are incredibly popular for the on-the-go lifestyle of our Sephora customer base and the peace scent sampler kit allows people to try our new fragrances at a minimal investment,” explains Stegemann. Additional items in the popular line—including both vegan lipsticks and lip tints—are available online.