"I think when you’re first starting your own business, it’s about figuring out which of your skills can transfer into [business]. You have to take your experience and expertise, and be able to give that, with confidence, to your clients. Up until 3 years ago [Devon] was just me, and now there’re 4 of us. Figuring out how to grow organically and at a good pace has been a challenge because I’m a family person and a single mother, so it was always [about] making sure I had time for both—my children and my business. We represent a lot of brands now—Laura Mercier, Clé de Peau, Rodial, Fresh, Burt’s Bees. It’s been great. I used to work out of my home, now we have an office downtown. I go in twice a week.

HEALTH
I wake up early, around 5:30, because I love to have my Nespresso in the morning, maybe a bath. I do the Fresh Sake Bubble Bath because I love the smell. They totally nail it with their scents. While I'm having my coffee, I always put on a mask. Usually the Fresh Honey Mask and the Rodial Lip Mask, which are both amazing. Then I do my Headspace, get my kids meals, and I usually go work out—either boxing, ballet, tennis, or yoga. I always try to work out 4 or 5 times in a 7-day cycle. I don’t eat carbs or whatever—I try to keep healthy. The really important things are hydration and tons of sleep. I’m also not a big drinker. I’ve just never really had the time to party. And I take a lot of supplements—omegas, probiotics, and some tinctures that help promote health.

SKINCARE
After I work out, I wash my face with the Burt’s Bees Sensitive Facial Cleanser. It’s really milky and soft. Then I’ll use the Rose Toner from Fresh, or Shiseido Eudermine, which is a softener. My moisturizer is Fresh Crème Ancienne—it’s amazing, handmade by monks in the Czech Republic. At night I do a mask, sometimes an overnight one. I love the Shiseido Ibuki Sleeping Mask because it’s not sticky, but it feels like it’s working while I’m sleeping. Or I put on a really thick, almost like a cold cream from Fresh and add oil to it, usually from Tata Harper. It basically acts as a mask at night. I have dry skin, so I slather than on at night with some lip balm. My whole thing is masking and moisturizing. [Laughs] I also use the Fresh Soy Cleanser at night and sometimes exfoliate with the Rodial Super Acids. It’s a cocktail of fruit acids and hyaluronic. It’s strong—I think it’s something like 15%. I like it, but you do have to be careful with it.

MAKEUP
The CC Cream I use is Chanel. I think it looks really natural and it’s got SPF 50, so even though it’s really light I feel really protected. There are skincare benefits too, which I love. My mascara is Shiseido—but sometimes I use Maybelline Great Lash. I think it really does give you a “great lash,” [laughs] and I like that it’s not hard to get off—I hate scrubbing to remove my makeup. For blush I use a peachy pink one, like Nars Orgasm or Benefit Benetint. It’s so easy. I use Glossier Boy Brow in Blond—you feel like you’re combing while you’re grooming and it makes your brows fuller. I used to have thick brows, but since the thin-brow-trend of the mid-80's, they haven’t totally grown back. On my lips I use a lot of balms because lipstick feels too drying to me. So I love the Fresh Sugar Lip Treatments or Burt’s Bees tinted lip balms, or their lip crayons. I have yet to find a lipstick I can wear all day without it clumping or feeling messy—with balms or stains I don’t have that problem.

HAIR
I never wash my own hair! I get it blow-dried twice a week, and I can go like 9 days in between if I need to. Blow dry bars just started popping up, and I have really curly hair—about 4 years ago I just thought, forget it, it’s worth it to me. This place called Philosophy in Toronto is where I go, Andrés is my guy. If I’m going out, he’ll also do my makeup. And he’s also the one who does my color. He’s awesome. To keep my blowout throughout the week, I use a combination of dry shampoo and hairspray. That’s all I use in my hair. Simple.

BODY
For fragrance, I love Prada Infusion D’Iris. It’s really light and feels like I’m not wearing fragrance—like it could just be my body lotion, you know? When my son was 11 or 12 he found this fragrance for me that he loved, it’s Miller Harris Poirier D’un Soir, so I use that too. I just put a tiny bit on or walk into the mist so the smell isn’t overpowering. I love the Fresh Seaberry body lotion. A good body lotion needs to be thick, and an hour or two after you put it on, you don’t want it to feel greasy, but still moisturized. I get it at this small beauty boutique in Toronto called Gee Beauty. They have all the niche brands you could want, and they actually just opened one in South Beach. But we have a lot of good Canada-specific brands—Bite Beauty, Ilia, RMS and Consonant. We don’t have Blue Mercury or Space NK, unfortunately. But I don’t shop online. I like niche and hard-to-find."

–as told to ITG.

Katherine Hamilton photographed by Tom Newton in Toronto on June 6, 2017.