A little while ago I hinted that I had met with the CEO of ~h2O+ skincare / cosmetics – I’m finally unveiling the story that I was privy to learning about early March. Cindy Melk is an incredible entrepreneur and amongst the most spirited businesswomen that I have ever met. The ~h2O+ brand was always present in my realm of beauty knowledge, but I had never gained any first hand experience with their products until recently. I have to say, my entire experience was one of being spoiled – from an abundance of great products to the gorgeous crisp white set up at the store, I was ecstatic to take part in their Toronto influencer product unveilings (mouthful there).

So who is Cindy Melk, and how did she get her start?

Raising from a highly entrepreneurial (buzzword) family, she was granted the opportunity to carefully draft a strategic business plan to present to her father, who would consequently provide her with the capital she needed to fulfill her dream of bringing life to the world of beauty. Flashback to the ’80s – where creams and products lacked visual appeal and were widely homogeneous in delivery (white creams and standard bottles). Hailing from a product design background, Cindy brought her love for product aesthetics combined with the value-add of beauty from the sea, ~h2O+ was born in 1989, initially offering 80 products.

Lucking out with a talented and passionate chemist, Cindy forged ahead and created Face Oasis – an innovative moisturizer gel that was quick to absorb, effective, and cool. Keyword: innovative. Every product branded ~h2O+ prides itself in moving quickly with industry trends and seeks to break boundaries. And no, that’s not just me with my marketing spew – every item has been a treasure to try.

Colourful, feel-happy, and high quality are the best ways to describe each item perched within the ~h2O+ concept store at the Eaton Centre. Pictured in this post is the pioneering Face Oasis moisturizer, Sea Results Daily Defense Serum (a new product), and Spa Collection items.

Oh, and the products are unisex boys. Nothing’s too girly – be not afraid of me finding these in your bathrooms.

Thank you so much to Denise, Kerri, Elizabeth, and Cindy Melk for putting this all together – until next time ~h2O+ girls!

> images from h2oplus.com, and the image of Cindy and I is courtesy of Elizabeth’s iPhone ;)