If washing our face was like being a contestant on The Wheel of Fortune, we’d ask to buy a consonant, not a vowel.

Winning words like “natural” and “organic” describe the foaming face wash ($18) from Canadian skin care line Consonant. Feather light and refreshing, it’s sans synthetics and loaded with the natural goodness of tea tree and grape seed oils. Have yours unscented or with an air of citrus bergamot.

Purchase the wash as a part of their three piece 30 Day Challenge Kit ($90) and they’ll give you back your cash if you’re anything but pleased with the products. That’s good game.

At BeautyMark, 103-1120 Hamilton St., Vancouver, 604-642-2294, www.beautymark.ca and www.consonantbody.com

We turn to Burberry when we want the nattiest of raingear.

And now the venerable British line has coverage for our faces as well.

Burberry’s new makeup line pays homage to the legacy with foundations named “Trench” and a storm-inspired range of greyed-out eyeshadows ($33).

The shimmery compacts feature the signature Burberry check, which reminds us, time to check our makeup!

Ah yes, still perfect.

Burberry Beauty, Holt Renfrew, 737 Dunsmuir St., Vancouver, 604-681-3121, www.holtrenfrew.com

And if you are a walking collection of aches and pains like us, we suggest slipping into this spa for a Herbal Compress Massage. 

With a recipe more than 1,000 years old, a fragrant bundle of Thai herbs (like lemongrass, ginger, turmeric, kaffir lime and cumin) is steamed to 100 degrees, then used as a hot compress from the back of your neck to the balls of your feet.

Muscles melt, essential oils heal the skin, and everything from circulation to congestion is addressed.

Hmmmmm…I think we are overdue for a teeth cleaning.

Herbal Compress Massage, $104/60minutes, Sabai Thai Spa (downtown Vancouver and North Vancouver), www.thaispa.ca

In the early '90s grunge era “dirty beauty” meant nonchalance about hair care. In today’s green era, it means caring about toxins in our beauty products.

If 'ignorance is bliss' isn’t your motto, pick up No More Dirty Looks by Siobhan O’Connor and Alexandra Spunt. The former Montrealers and journalists dig into the dirtiest ingredients and their risk factors, recommend less toxic products they’ve tested and provide home recipes for hair, face and bod. They also offer up a slew of sidebar beauty tips, like doing your hair wash routine backwards for better results.

We appreciate that the authors don’t hold back on the bad stuff, but remain even keeled. For instance, while hair dye holds many horrors, they won’t forsake all honey-blonde highlights.

$14.40 at www.amazon.ca
www.nomoredirtylooks.com

With the camel coats and chubby knits of the fall collections arriving in stores, visions of soft smoky eyes and flushed cheeks are beginning to dance in our heads.

On the latter we’ve fallen for the new Nars eye and cheek palette Only You ($75). Packed inside a sleek and secure zip-up compact, the palette is armed with four fab shadows, including a metallic neutral, matte black, golden espresso and aubergine, and loaded with its Hungry Heart highlighter and Orgasm blush.

Perfect for popping in your purse, it’ll take you from Donna Karan by day to Alexander Wang after dark.

At The Bay, 674 Granville St., Vancouver, 604-681-6211, www.thebay.com

A mayjah event + a group of girlfriends + one bathroom mirror=sharp elbows.

Avoid the drama and book your girlfriends in for a session at Rouge Make-up Lounge. The sophisticated space has seven stations and carries primo products (like Becca and Paul & Joe Beauté) that in-house make-up artists will expertly apply to your specifications.

Smoky eyes and red lips? That’s drama we can live with.

From $45 per person, Rouge Make-up Lounge, 1038 Hamilton St., Vancouver, 604-681-1118, www.rougemakeuplounge.com

If Coco Chanel was right when she declared, “a woman who doesn’t wear perfume has no future,” then perhaps it’s time we talked No. 5 year plans.

At Holt Renfrew’s new Chanel Olfactive Bar, trade fortune tellers for fragrance experts and sit in a tweed chair surrounded by black and white photographs of Mademoiselle. Instead of crystal balls, there are ceramic blotters so you can smell the fullness of each fragrance as the perfumer would, without the successive sprays.

The bar is also the exclusive carrier of Les Exclusifs de Chanel collection, from which we found our next scent (we’d tell you what it is, but some things in life should remain a mystery).

Chanel Olfactive Bar at Holt Renfrew, 737 Dunsmuir St., Vancouver, 604-681-3121 (call to book an appointment), www.holtrenfrew.com

If the eyes are the window to the soul, then the soles must be the doorway to everything else.

But between flimsy flats and killer heels our feet never rest, so we hauled our tired tootsies up to the new Sole Spa. The soothing reflexology foot massages are low-maintenance (no time-consuming spa day required), pocket-friendly ($40/50 mins) and a perfect spot for a pre-stagette gathering or girlfriend catch-up session. After a warm soak, a thorough massage and a soothing application of cream from the light and delectable house line Shui, you’re out the door with your best foot forward.

We think we’ve developed a foot fetish.

The Sole Room, 3086 Cambie St., Vancouver, 604-876-6808, www.thesolespa.com

The evening is a quiet one, so you finally make face time for that goopy green clay mask. Five minutes into your DIY facial, there’s a knock on your door. You spy through the peephole your cute neighbour.

Sheet facial masks from myfaceworks would have saved you from this sticky situation. The Vancouver-based beauty brand’s line of paper-like masks are no mess and lay gently on your face, so they can be pulled off in a pinch. There’s 12 masks for every need, with names like “I need a clear day” and “I need to be firm” (6 for $60).

We tried “I need a quickie” and it left our skin feeling soft and touchable in just 10 minutes.

Hello, neighbour.

At BeautyMark, 103-1120 Hamilton St., Vancouver, 604-642-2294, www.beautymark.ca

Coconut water is all the rage for its super, natural hydration (Madonna and Demi drink it) and coconut oil has long been praised as an antioxidant-rich moisturizer.

Vida Spa goes nuts with both in their new 30-minute Coconut Refresh Massage ($55) for summer. The treatment starts with a refreshing glass of coconut water to replace lost electrolytes and follows with a fragrant coconut oil massage to relieve tired muscles and protect the skin against sun damage.

In and out in under an hour, it’s the perfect afternoon delight.

Available until August 31 at Vida Spa Sutton Place, Sheraton Wall Centre and The Westin Bayshore locations, 604-682-VIDA, www.vidaspas.com