Organic beauty spa brings best of French and African culture to Squamish

When she was nine years old, Rose Laure Agbazan decided she wanted to be an aesthetician after watching a movie with a character who was one. 

“I didn’t know what an aesthetician was. I asked my mother to explain and I did some research, then decided that’s what I wanted to be when I grew up,” Agbazan says. 

“Every single year, I said that’s what I wanted to be. Even my mother didn’t believe me, but here I am now.”

Agbazan’s mother is French, and her father is from the Ivory Coast. She grew up in France and trained as an aesthetician for six years before getting her first job in Paris, where she worked for ten years.

She eventually had an opportunity to open her first spa in Angola before moving to Canada, where she decided to settle in Squamish.

“I really like Squamish, especially the lakes, the endless outdoor adventures, and the vibrant community,” Agbazan says.

“I wanted something quiet. I didn’t want to live in a busy city as I used to in Paris. I decided this is where I wanted to settle down.”

Agbazan worked at the Whistler Fairmont for a period before opening her own organic spa in Squamish, the Sugaring Beauty Boudoir, which offers facials, sugaring, manicures, pedicures, and massages, among other services.

Sugaring Beauty Boudoir combines Agbazan’s intensive French aesthetics training with her African heritage, featuring decor and colours that evoke North Africa, and highlighting music from across the continent.

“People really seem to like the music and all the colours,” Agbazan says.

“They’re getting a unique experience here that they can’t find anywhere else.”

All the products used at and sold by Sugaring Beauty Boudoir are all-natural. Some are also vegan.

“I don’t like toxic ingredients and I don’t want to put so many toxins on my skin. I wanted to create a spa featuring what I would use for myself. Even the nail polish we use is non-toxic,” Agbazan says. 

In an effort to continue providing the best possible natural products and treatments to her clients, Agbazan recently completed a one-year program in herbal medicine.

“In Squamish, people are very into natural products. They are health-conscious, paying attention to what they eat and what they put on their skin. I want to provide them with a natural beauty experience that exceeds their expectations.”

Agbazan is thankful to the loyal clients that have helped her grow her business in Squamish and for giving her the Best Esthetician title in the Squamish Chief’s 2020 Reader’s Choice Awards.