SUPPORT SMALL BIZ: Bergamot Beauty

This is a full-circle "Support Small Biz" post!  A few weeks ago, I entered Honey Kennedy's contest to win $150 in credit to Bergamot Beauty.  Honey Kennedy is a blog written by Jen McCabe out of Portland.  She features indie businesses and designers, shops from Portland and beyond, and always shares dreamy photos that put me in a good mood.  I hadn't heard of Bergamot Beauty before, but she described them as a "natural and organic beauty haven" so I entered.  AND I WON!

I'm a one-person business, and I'm grateful that my art pays my bills, but I don't always have enough money left over for luxuries like new skin care products.  I'm a devotee of natural serums and organic beauty products and I do my best to eliminate chemicals from all aspects of my life.  Plus, the products work!  They feed and enhance my hair and skin, rather than strip it, correct it and pummel it.  Natural beauty products are worth every penny, but let's just say I haven't had extra pennies for them lately.  I was SO EXCITED to win the contest.

I spent a couple days looking through every item on Bergamot's website and researching all the lines I hadn't heard about.  Bergamot's owner Salwa was in touch via email, ready to answer any questions I had.  My package arrived today!

Everything arrived safe & sound. This tape is so cute.

Everything arrived safe & sound. This tape is so cute.

Here's what I selected:

Salwa threw in several bonus samples for me to check out - so generous!

All of these brands and products are new to me.  It is such a treat to get to try these out and I'm so grateful to Jen at Honey Kennedy and Salwa at Bergamot Beauty for running this contest.  Thank you, ladies!  

If anyone reading this would like me to follow up with my thoughts on any of these products, let me know.

Support Small Biz: Matcha Bar NYC

For the past few months, I've been starting most mornings with a cup of matcha tea with honey and coconut milk.  It tastes so great and it gives me a kick without giving me the jitters.

I adore the taste of coffee, but because I'm so sensitive it's very easy for me to OD on it.  And it's hard to tell when I've overserved myself.  One minute I'm in the coffee-clarity zone and the next minute I'm untethered, scattered & having caffeine tremors.  

Needing a more gentle and reliable way to start my morning, and I chose to try matcha because:

  • it's a source of dietary fiber & chlorophyll
  • it contains Vitamin A, B-complex, C, E & K
  • it's rich in antioxidants including EGCg
  • it provides chromium, selenium, zinc & magnesium

I watched this video to learn how to prepare it:

The video above might make the preparation seem a bit complicated, but it's really not. It's quicker than making coffee and you don't have to wait for it to steep like other teas.

Now that I'm a few months into drinking it, I was curious about trying some other makers and varieties of matcha.  Much to my surprise, my local shops only carry one variety. Yes, Peet's and Starbucks offer it, but that's not where I go for high-quality ingredients.  If I only have one coffee, cocktail or tea, I like to make it a fancy one.  

I searched online and found MatchaBar NYC.  They sell just the powder, as well as starter kits. I contacted them asking if they'd put a special package together for me, and they were game. Here's what I got in the mail yesterday:

Matcha, bamboo scoop + sticker from MatchaBar NYC

Matcha, bamboo scoop + sticker from MatchaBar NYC

Great customer service & fun packaging.  I made my matcha this morning with the MatchaBar powder, and it was the best I've tried so far. Matcha is so easy, tasty and rich in nutrients, it's bound to keep increasing in popularity.

Are you a matcha drinker?  If there are other brands I should try, let me know!