Think you\u2019re a beauty buff? Well we do too, which is why we\u2019re paying homage to Elizabeth Grant\u2019s 96th birthday, which is today… January 26! The woman behind the 65-plus-years-and-counting eponymous brand is a big part of Canada\u2019s beauty history.<\/p>\n
More than six decades ago, Grant, then a makeup artist born and raised in England, was injured during World War II. She\u2019d been walking down the street when a bomb exploded nearby and her face was imbedded with shrapnel. Cosmetic plastic surgery wasn\u2019t an option then and Grant\u2019s face suffered multiple tiny lacerations that would all leave a scar. Not good news for any woman.<\/p>\n
One day, while waiting to see the doctor, Grant picked up a medical journal and read an article about Torricelumn, a kelp-derived chemical compound that was used to treat wounded soldiers. Thinking it could possibly help heal her face, Grant asked her doctor for the product. When he wouldn\u2019t prescribe it to her, she met with a chemist and after a lot of convincing had a bottle of the serum-like formula. For several months, Grant religiously applied it to her face and little by little it began to heal her skin. The results caught the attention of an actress Grant was working with who wanted to use the serum on her skin. Grant obliged, the actress applied and the rest is history.<\/p>\n