toby tannas, liv lifestyle, kelowna, okanagan, bc, helen siwak, portfolioyvr

Toby Tannas: Cultivating Confidence, Ritual, and Everyday Glow Through LIV Lifestyle

Toby Tannas is a longtime media personality, creative entrepreneur, and the founder of LIV Lifestyle, a modern Okanagan brand focused on glow for both your face and your space. With more than 30 years in radio, television, and print, Toby has built her career on connection, storytelling, and an authentic presence that has made her one of Kelowna’s most trusted voices.

Her evolution into entrepreneurship began with a simple passion for helping people feel good. Through LIV Skin, Toby develops precision-based skincare designed to prep and enhance natural beauty. Her products focus on real results, real routines, and the belief that confidence comes from feeling good in your own skin, not chasing perfection.

With LIV at Home, she extends that same philosophy into home fragrance. Her signature candles and reed diffusers are created to bring calm, comfort, and a touch of luxury to everyday spaces, adding warmth and glow to the routines that shape our days.

Toby’s work blends creativity, community, and an intuitive understanding of what makes people feel grounded and uplifted. Through LIV Lifestyle, she continues to build a brand that celebrates simple rituals, sensory comfort, and the glow that comes from living well.

toby tannas, liv lifestyle, kelowna, okanagan, bc, helen siwak, portfolioyvr

THE BUSINESS.

LIV Lifestyle is an Okanagan-born brand built around one simple idea: when you feel good in your skin and in your space, everything in life glows a little brighter. Rooted in Kelowna, LIV Lifestyle blends skincare, home fragrance, and simple luxury into a modern, approachable brand designed to elevate everyday rituals.

At the centre of LIV Lifestyle is LIV Skin, a precision-focused skincare line crafted to prep, nourish, and support real, lived-in beauty. From targeted primers to glow-boosting formulas and self-care essentials, each product is developed with intention and designed to integrate seamlessly into your daily routine.

Complementing LIV Skin is LIV at Home, a collection of signature candles and reed diffusers created to bring warmth, ease, and sensory glow to every room. Each scent is thoughtfully composed to feel elevated yet comforting, echoing the effortless beauty of the Okanagan.

Proudly local and rooted in community, LIV Lifestyle celebrates the small rituals that make a meaningful difference. These are skincare steps that build confidence and home scents that set the tone for your day. It is simple luxury with heart, created to help you glow in every way.

toby tannas, liv lifestyle, kelowna, okanagan, bc, helen siwak, portfolioyvr

IN HER WORDS.

“I grew up surrounded by entrepreneurs, and I think that is where the first spark of my own ambition was formed. My parents and grandfather all built businesses from the ground up, and I witnessed the long hours, the thoughtful problem-solving, and the steady conviction required to keep something alive. Even as a child, I understood that entrepreneurship was not just about ideas. It was about resilience, adaptability, and the willingness to take ownership of both successes and mistakes. That early exposure shaped my understanding of work and possibility. When I eventually found myself in a career where I told other people’s stories, I noticed how naturally I gravitated toward entrepreneurs who were building something of their own. Their journeys fascinated me, not because they were glamorous, but because they required courage. Over time, that fascination became a quiet but persistent invitation for me to follow my own ambition.

FIRST BUSINESS LESSONS

My first significant leap into business ownership came with a clothing store, a venture that began as a franchise but quickly revealed itself as unviable. Instead of treating that as defeat, we pivoted within months and created our own brand: Influence Clothing. The shift was energizing. It felt like equal parts chaos and clarity, and it was in that space that I learned some of the most defining lessons of my life. Influence operated for ten years, and those years shaped me profoundly. They taught me the truth of my instincts, the depth of my work ethic, and the nature of my creative strengths. I discovered that I thrived in buying, customer service, marketing, and anything requiring intuition and connection. These were the areas where I felt alive and confident.

HARD-EARNED INSIGHT

At the same time, I learned the importance of having a partner with strong financial leadership. I could see trends, understand customers, and build a brand voice, but the financial side of the business required a different kind of strength. I also learned a memorable lesson about the role of friends in entrepreneurship. In the early days, I assumed my large circle of friends would help fuel the business. Instead, I found myself offering discounts more often than I should have, slowly realizing that sustainability required boundaries. It was a slightly painful wake-up call, but one I have carried with me ever since.

A RETURN TO MEDIA

When Influence closed, I returned to media. It was a steady and reliable landing place during a personally challenging period, and I felt grateful for the stability, the rhythm, and the familiarity of storytelling. Yet even during those years, a part of me felt the absence of entrepreneurship. I missed the creativity, the autonomy, and the sense of possibility. I missed the feeling of building something from nothing. I promised myself that if I ever stepped back into business, it would be with a sense of purpose. It would need to be something I felt deeply connected to, something that made life better for the women I understood most intimately, and something that aligned with my values.

THE SPARK OF LIV

That sense of alignment eventually illuminated the path to LIV Lifestyle. During the years when I was not running a business, I became more aware of what made my daily life feel meaningful. I paid attention to the products I reached for, the routines that grounded me, and the subtle ways a small ritual could shift an entire day. I noticed how a nourishing skincare step could make me feel brighter before I even left the house. I noticed how the warm glow of a beautiful candle could reset the energy in a room or calm my mind at the end of a long day. Over time, these observations began to feel like pieces of a larger idea. Eventually, the concept for LIV Lifestyle arrived fully formed: glow for your face, and glow for your space.

toby tannas, liv lifestyle, kelowna, okanagan, bc, helen siwak, portfolioyvr

REIGNITED PURPOSE

Launching LIV Lifestyle three months ago has not felt like a sacrifice. It has felt like a return to myself. My afternoons, which once included naps, indulgent television, and leisurely workouts, are now dedicated to formulation, product development, research, and exploring what women in mid-life truly want. I feel re-engaged in a way that is invigorating. My social time has become research, and conversations with friends often spark new ideas. I feel more curious, more aware, and more aligned with who I am becoming.

EARLY AFFIRMATION

Because LIV Lifestyle is still in its early stages, the moments that have mattered most have not been dramatic milestones but rather a steady accumulation of assurance. I know I am the perfect customer for this brand. I understand the desire for simple, elevated rituals. I understand the need for products that work without overcomplication. I understand the longing women feel to be seen and appreciated. This clarity gives me confidence in every decision I make. Our small-batch, locally made approach allows me to refine, respond, and pivot quickly, which is a luxury that many brands do not have. I can listen closely, adjust instantly, and grow intentionally.

SUPPORT AND MENTORSHIP

Mentorship has also played a transformative role in this chapter. A lunch with a longtime friend, someone who had successfully launched, expanded, and reinvented businesses more than once, reignited something in me. Her confidence and decisiveness reminded me of the entrepreneur I once was. That conversation lit the match. I went home, sketched out a loose roadmap for what would eventually become LIV Lifestyle, and shared it with my husband. His support and enthusiasm gave me the confidence to take the first step. Since launching, I have become more aware of the “doers” in my life — the people who take action and move quickly. Their energy has influenced my own, reinforcing the importance of surrounding myself with momentum.

EVOLVING LEADERSHIP

As LIV grows, I know my leadership will evolve. I am hands-on with everything right now, from product creation to brand voice, because authenticity matters to me. But I can already sense the shift that will eventually come — the moment when I will need to trust others to carry parts of the vision so that I can focus on the future of the brand. That moment will arrive, and I welcome it as part of building something lasting.

ADVICE TO BUILDERS

My advice to new entrepreneurs remains consistent: begin. Do not wait for perfect circumstances or polished plans. Begin with the feeling you want your business to create, and trust that the details will follow. Know your customer intimately. Believe in your product wholeheartedly. Celebrate the small wins, because they are early signs that something meaningful is forming. I carry one guiding phrase with me every day: “How you do anything is how you do everything.” It has shaped the way I approach every step of this journey.

THE HEART OF LIV

Today, the heart of my business is beautifully simple: glow for your face, and glow for your space. LIV Lifestyle delivers skincare that prepares and supports real, lived-in beauty, and home fragrances that bring warmth, ease, and sensory joy to everyday moments. We are built around women in mid-life — a group that deserves to feel seen and celebrated — and our products are designed to elevate the everyday in a way that feels luxurious yet accessible.

THE NEXT STEPS

As we grow, I am seeking aligned retail partnerships, media and PR support to amplify our story, and brand collaborations with companies that share our values of simplicity, quality, and understated luxury. LIV Lifestyle is ready for thoughtful expansion, and I am ready to lead it with intention.

LOOKING AHEAD

Looking toward the end of 2026, my vision is for LIV Lifestyle to become a nationally recognized brand known for elevating the everyday through small, deeply meaningful rituals. I want our products to become the little luxuries women reach for, gift, and share. More than anything, I want to help shift the narrative around mid-life. Women deserve to feel visible, celebrated, and connected to their own glow. If LIV Lifestyle can help even a fraction of them experience that, then I will have created something that genuinely matters.”

Follow Toby Tannas on IG: @livelifestyle.ltd

All images by Ava Redpath Photography.

Author Profile

Helen Siwak, Collaborator: This story is created in collaboration between Helen Siwak and the featured subject. As the founder and publisher of Portfolio.YVR Business & Entrepreneurs Magazine, Helen works closely with entrepreneurs to share their paths of innovation, resilience, and growth. Each story in this series is co-developed through interviews and first-person insights, blending authentic voices with Helen’s editorial expertise to highlight the remarkable individuals shaping British Columbia’s business landscape.