Now that America has been thoroughly Sephora-ed, we’re on a first-name basis with product lines that used to be unfamiliar: Smashbox, Too Faced, Benefit, Jurlique, Tarte and on and on.

Enter PIR Cosmetics, a Toronto-based cosmetics shop that has an amazing Web site overflowing with “cult” and “upmarket” products that you could normally only get in hip boutiques or other countries (especially Europe). You probably didn’t even know all the fabulousness you were missing out on.

The shop was created by celebrity makeup artist Franchie Pir in 2002. They had a store in New York City until recently, but the economy scuttled that. It’s OK, though, because the PIR site is like a candy store for makeup, skin care and hair care junkies. They’re so trendy, when a product line becomes too mainstream and widely available, they stop selling it!

A recent trip around the site turned up some interesting items we’d like to try, such as:

• Diana B Beauty’s 60-second “instant miracle tanner” for $47 (top left). Oh, and all the prices on the site are in Canadian dollars — we’ve converted them to Amerian dollars here.)
• Paula Dorf (the makeup guru) products, such as her “lipsickle” for $19.40 (top right).
• The classic Fracas product line, such as the essential silkening body cream for $57.50 (above left)
• Aura Cosmetics’ Fruity Blush, which comes in three shades such as this Cherry Bomb, $20.21 (above right)
• Pricey but fabulous (we know, we’ve tried it) Eve Lom skin-care items, such as the day cream for $61.60 (below left)

• The exotic Sundari skin care line. Grab some Gotu Kala and Indian Asparagras mask for $68.42 (above right)
• Linda Cantello’s cute Lip Hits Palette for $22.50 (below left)
• Oh, and a must-see: The page where you can buy the Franchie best tweezers ($20.21, below right), which comes complete with a very detailed tutorial on how to maintain your brows. Founder Franchie is considered a bit of a brow guru. As a matter of fact, he’s been dubbed the “Picasso” of brows.