I love a good drugstore haul as much as the next gal, but I also like to be environmentally conscious and buy local. These days, Brooklynites like me can buy excellent skincare products for face and body that are effective, adorably packaged, and made by locals. Here are some of my favorites, as along with some of the borough’s boutiques that I like to support.
One of my favorite Fort Greene boutiques for jewelry and fashion is Thistle and Clover. A recent discovery I made there is Goldies Natural Beauty, made in the Rockaways. I bought the Balsam Rose Geranium Face Cream ($36), Coco Rose Dream Cream ($26), and White Magic Soap ($8). The face cream is rich enough to keep me hydrated in dry weather, yet it doesn’t irritate my combination skin or give me zits. The dream cream has more of a salve consistency, hard and waxy, but melts when you warm it on your hands. Plus, it smells like a chocolate bar, is perfect for super dry spots, and is said to help with stretch marks. The White Magic soap also smells great and it deep cleans with clay. The packaging is what drew me to these products (life is too short to be surrounded by ugly bottles and jars!) and they look great on your dresser.
The Brooklyn Flea is another haunt of mine and is a marvelous place to shop and eat with the family or even solo. I’ve gotten my own mother totally hooked on the Australian Scents Balm of Gilead ($42), sold at the flea. The Balm is a great product for anyone who wants a more streamlined approach to their face routine. This product is deeply nourishing, smells fresh and calming, and can be used anywhere on your body. Apotheke is another vendor at the flea (also on Etsy) that makes gorgeous soaps, soy candles, and face and body products with beautiful, minimalist packaging.
Green in Brooklyn, a Fort Greene fave, is owned by the nicest woman who always has something to entertain my son while I try to grab some stuff. In addition to carrying beautiful home goods that are environmentally responsible, they also have face and body care and a standout line called Love Nature NYC, which makes excellent soaps, candles, bath soaks, and scrubs. The products are handmade, natural, smell clean and fresh, and are all wrapped up in pretty packaging. Green in Brooklyn also carries Priti NYC nail polish ($13.50), which makes trendy and seasonal nail polish colors that rival their more toxic counterparts.
By Brooklyn, is another one-stop shop located on Smith Street in Carroll Gardens. It carries great gifts and food items as well as bath and body products, all made in Brooklyn. One of my favorites, mentioned in my previous gift guide, is Meow Meow Tweet—they have some of the best packaging with their hand-illustrated cats, birds, etc. I’m already on my second bar of the Tangerine Basil soap ($9–and which says a lot because I love to change my products all the time). It smells so good and uplifting, like a shot of espresso in the shower. Piel’s Nasty Hands ($7) is another product that has me impressed. It’s incredibly rich and hydrating, and revitalizes my overworked hands.
Amity Spiegel is a total beauty junkie who lives in Brooklyn with husband Mike and son Cole. She is an esthetician with a holistic focus, a once and future triathlete/marathoner, a lover of trashy rock biographies and healthy eating and cooking.
