Bare Skin Bar is a Vancouver based skin care line, emphasizing self-care and authenticity. Not only are the products beautiful and heavenly scented, they are also created with raw ingredients (ie., clays and essential oils), keeping your skin feeling its best.
I had the opportunity to meet with and interview the oh-so-fabulous founder of the company, Cynthia Cyr. I loved her warm and bubbly energy, and creative spirit. It is truly a unique experience to meet an entrepreneur face-to-face and learn more about their passion.
I found it very interesting that although Bare Skin Bar products are vegan and gluten-free, Cynthia opts away from the over-used term “natural”. She described how almost everything can be considered “natural” as at some point in the production process it technically came from nature. There are no requirements in place to use such a term. Instead, she prides herself on being a leaping bunny certified company. 
Learn more about this wonderful local company and Cynthia through my interview:
A: What inspired you to create Bare Skin Bar?
C: My background is in advertising, and I love working in a creative environment. However, my role as a producer focuses more on the project management of creative, rather than getting right into the development and direction. I would find fun creative side projects, like writing online articles and attending weekend art classes, until I took a few soap and skincare-making classes (at my current studio, Octopus Studios) and fell in love producing beautiful things that were also so functional. From there, I started making small gifts for family and friends for fun, and it kind of snowballed from there.
A: What makes the products unique?
C: I found particularly with bath products, and even more specifically – bath bombs, there is a market for really glittery, fun-scented neon bath art type products, and then on the flip side, very minimalistic, all-natural products that solely focus on being good for you. I personally feel like I fit in somewhere in between the two (#notagirlnotyetawoman), where I still want something that looks fun to use and that I feel good about sharing with my friends, but the focus is on beneficial ingredients.
A: What does leaping bunny certified mean?
C: Great question. A lot of brands claim to be cruelty-free, but without the backing of an animal protection group, you’re really left to the definition of someone trying to sell you a product. The term cruelty-free could just mean something as simple as someone’s handmade products aren’t tested on animals, but I think that most of us realize that small, local businesses don’t have animal testing labs in our facilities. The LP certification is an anti-animal testing standard, backed by 8 animal protection groups, that ensures that not only is the final product not tested on animals, but that certified participants only purchase raw ingredients and manufactured products from companies that do not participate in animal testing.
A: What challenges have you faced while starting this business?
C: The toughest part of being a sole proprietor is that there’s no one to bounce ideas off of! It’s definitely been a challenge to be the only person making financial, creative, and marketing decisions. There are definitely days I wish I could just produce in studio and have someone else tell me what to do!
A: What has been the most rewarding aspect of creating Bare Skin Bar?
C: 100% it is becoming immersed in the small business community: makers, influencers, creatives, shop owners – I’ve met so many awesome people over the last year or so! Vancouver in particular has so much support for local, and I’ve found very few barriers to communicating with like-minded people in the city. This community is so supportive!
I would highly recommend treating yourself and/or any of the lovely people in your life to Bare Skin Bar products. The branding is beautiful and the fact that the all products (from bath bars to face masks) are created in Vancouver is an added bonus! The products are incredibly relaxing. They have a soothing ( not overpowering or fake) scent that will really put you at ease and leave you feeling amazing! Learn more at www.bareskinbar.com. 
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