Essence of Life Organics

I randomly was looking for rosemary oil because I saw a trending video by a dermatologist that rosemary oil is effective for hair growth?! (do your own research). A natural way to promote more hair growth? I'm down to try. I am amazed this little store in Kensington has so many essential to trendy natural products at such reasonable prices.

You'll find anything from natural deodorant to vegan nail polish, essential oils, natural beauty products, cleaning supplies, and a grocery at the back. Wow! I can see why they are so busy. It can be tricky to find things you need through all the aisles of products, but the staff knows where everything is when you ask.

Purchased
Neem oil 100ml (Unbranded) $5.99
Rosemary oil organic 30ml (Now brand) $17.99

Their Dr. Bronner's Castile soap is a great price compared to buying online through Amazon. It's always a great bonus to save money while supporting local.

This place is pretty cool! A lot of products they have are organic and healthy! Plus They are opened from Taiwanese owner. You can find yourself being satisfied if you are a healthy-eater.
All the nuts and seeds are really nice and good quality. Always happy to go there for shopping for quite a mount of time now! Want to continually supporting them and supporting ppl to start eating healthier and better food!

Love coming to this store. It has so many things for groceries and household items. Makeup and snacks. Prices are very reasonable as well.

I love Essence of Life. It is not only relatively inexpensive compared to other health food stores, it is also filled with endless product selections.

If you are seeking organic groceries, Essence of Life is the place to be. It tends to be busier around 5:00 PM during weekdays. You have have say "excuse me" politely repeatedly as you maneuver your way through the narrow isles. Regardless, it's almost 10-30% cheaper than health food stores in other neighborhoods.

I would recommend checking Tutti Frutti down the street or Sugar & Spice first for supplements. They tend to be slightly cheaper than its counterpart. If the product is not available at either stores, purchase it from Essence of Life!

After sucking back many hours of Greyhound and then VIA Rail recycled air, along with the additional co-travellers virus rich sneeze and cough contributions yesterday, woke up with a gnarly respiratory system this morning.

Intuition said 'take the oregano oil' while I was packing, but I let it slide in favour of going ultra-streamline lite, knowing I could buy more if needs be. And 'lo and behold' needs be, and I discover a great hood and biz.

I fired up the Yelp search engines, found this place, and called ahead to make sure it would be a successful venture. (Jeez, I am always awestruck by the intel /communication power in my pocket) The woman who promptly answered the phone was friendly, and the cashier was above-and-beyond-duty helpful! Actually, everyone working there was just plain and simple: cool. In fact, even the other customers were chillaxed. As you'd hope.
=D Though I did spot a toddler working there, ;) helping his dad... not sure what the labour laws in TO are= looks like a family run biz? Very sweet.)

This place is an everything nutri-wonderful treasure trove and the hood is fab. From fresh produce to scented candles, from vitamins to essential oils to dry foods and potent elixirs_its all there.

And the prices are good.

From there, caught one of those really sweet streetcars on Spadina and then a subway train to meet a friend for Ramen on Yonge. That review coming soon.

I shopped here for years until one afternoon. A woman with a child on a stroller was shopping and blocked the exit with the stroller. When I politely asked if she could move the stroller so I could leave after my purchase, the woman flew into a fit, started calling me names and accusing me of hating children. How did all this come from a simple request?!!

As if this wasn't bad enough that I was being attacked by some random stranger, the staff was nodding in agreement with the woman as she hurled insults at me. Are you serious?!!! How does this even happen? Is that customer's money somehow better because she is white? Mind you, she was still blocking the exit while throwing this tantrum and instead of the staff doing something about it, she joined in with the woman. If I had pulled the stroller away myself, I would have been accused of something else and she would have gotten physical. This was a lose lose situation for me and I feel like this woman used her child as an excuse to be abusive which is never acceptable. To anyone reading this, feel free to PM me what you would have truthfully done in this situation because I really want to know. I was/am so stunned by the whole situation. It was so out of the blue and so hurtful.

TLDR: I was ganged up on by another customer and an EMPLOYEE!

Essence of Life, I tried to love you. But I'm sorry, I just... can't.

I feel like this place is well loved by vegans and hippies+hipsters... But you want to know a secret? You can 9/10 times find special vegan/gf/dietary-restriction products sold here at chain stores, and occasionally for much better deals (i.e. sales). Or if you're really into defying those big bad chain stores, why not go all out and shop at farmers' markets/St Lawrence Market?

Produce can be found fresher and cheaper in both K-Market and Chinatown. Bulk foods and other products can be found cheaper (usually) at Tutti Frutti. I admit I haven't gone through their supplements much, but I avoid them in an attempt to gather my nutrients from food instead. And for those whose focus is health, that is really the way to a balanced and healthy lifestyle, not supplements (unless you're a vegan, in which case stock up on that VitB,D + minerals).

Finally, I cannot deny that EOL is adorably indie, but that's just not enough to make me love it. I'm sorry. I really tried.

Every once in awhile, I shock myself. Sitting in my room, it is hard to argue the awesomeness of this place despite its incredibly cheesy, hippy tree hugger name.

Never in my life would I have thought I would give an organic health store five stars. The only point I have against it, isn't enough to drop it from 5 stars.

Now', folks, I am definitely no hippy tree hugger. A meat eating, hearty meal loving, non vegetarian, eat everything but the veggies kind of girl. I am proud of that.LOL.

It has become one of my favourite places to shop and wander about in Kensington. It is bright, clean and friendly. Selling top notch fresh,dry, frozen and shelved products.

On top of that, if you have gluten allergies, so many options are available!!! And you know what? They taste great! I have tried so many things from them that I cannot wait to see what more they bring! Yeah, folks! They have that much variety when in a usual grocery store you get a few or none at all. Its a little peace of heaven for those with celiac disease.

Prices are great here! For items that have a generic compatible in a big box store - of course, that would be cheaper but give this place a visit and you will see why it may be worth it to add to your grocery shopping routine.

Essentially a great store that sells anything and everything healthy and organic, plus a whole lot of miscellaneous food products at reasonable prices.

The store is very overwhelming upon entering with narrow aisles and shelves after shelves of products that are placed very closely to one another. I usually feel uneasy when I shop here because it's so claustrophobic, plus the smell that emits throughout the store just makes me a little nauseous. I have a sensitivity to scents, so maybe it's just me being overly sensitive.

Perhaps the place should be called "Incense of Organics", because I'm sure they're burning/lighting up something or brewing some herbal concoction.

Therefore, on most of my visits here, I'm usually in and out very quickly to grab my items. Plus, there's not much space at checkout, so the cashier would usually ring in purchases quickly and move to the next person.

This Friday afternoon, I just needed a few things and lucky for me it wasn't too busy because being in an aisle with another person is definitely not a pleasant feeling at all especially for a claustrophobic person like me. Yes, I admit....I have claustrophobia!

Essence of Life Organics is a good store for your health food needs. They have an excellent selection of products, and I can usually find what I am looking for.

Whether you are looking for ingredients for healthy recipes, health foods, or supplements, they have them.

The place is always well-stocked and the staff are helpful.

The only quibble here is that they have varying purchase limits on using credit cards (like 25$) and debit cards (8$). If you want something small, be sure to have cash.