Skin first

I'm Tomon. I grew up in Japan and moved to Canada in 2005.

People here ask what I use, and they are always disappointed, because it is four things and none of them are exciting.

I wash properly, morning and night — not the thirty-second version. I treat what needs treating and skip the rest. I wear sunscreen every day of the year, including the grey ones. And I look after my skin from the inside, in small daily ways I never thought of as a routine.

That last part I simply grew up with. Herbs, mostly — things that were steeped and drunk at home without anyone explaining why. I assumed they were Japanese. They weren't, or not only. What we call kampo in Japan means “the Han method.” It came from China more than a thousand years ago and we have been adapting it ever since. Korea did the same. The same plants turn up in all three, under three different names.

You can see it in what we sell. The heartleaf in our best-selling Korean toner is dokudami in Japan, and a Chinese herb long before that. Same plant, three countries. Nobody in Asia finds this remarkable.

What I found strange was arriving in Canada and watching it all show up separately. The Japanese products turned up on marketplaces months late, in packaging I did not recognise. The Korean skincare arrived as a trend. The Chinese herbs sat in a different shop in a different neighbourhood, as though they had nothing to do with each other.

They have everything to do with each other. That is what I wanted to bring over — not one country's products, but the way the whole thing fits together.

You can come and get it

We are in Markham, at 3601 Highway 7 East, Suite 1005, and that was deliberate. I did not want to build another website that ships from somewhere far away and asks you to wait three weeks and hope.

Order in the morning and you can collect it within the hour, inside our opening times. No shipping fee, no tracking number, no wondering whether it is the real thing — you can look at the box in your hand. If you are further afield we ship across Canada in Canadian dollars, with no customs to settle at the door.

What goes on your skin

Japanese and Korean products I choose myself. Most are not sold in Canadian stores. If I would not use it, we do not carry it.

What you do

The routines themselves, explained properly. In order, with the reasons.

I am not promising you a transformation. My skin is the result of doing small, boring things consistently for a very long time. What I can do is get you the right things, hand them to you the same day if you are nearby, and tell you the truth about what they do.

Skin first. You shouldn't need to cover it.