Best of the Bronx: Eternile Skincare

One local mother has created a business that gave her the freedom to stay home with her son.
Laura Blackwood created a line of organic plant-based body products like soaps, deodorant, oils and candles.

“A lot of what I do is to target inflammation of the skins and muscle soreness and body aches so that you can sooth yourself internally, but also externally it’s important to care for your biggest organ on your body,” says Blackwood.

Her business has been a passion of hers for a while, but she started to take it seriously after her son was born.

"Starting this business and establishing this foundation is like leaving a legacy for him but also allows me to home-school him,” says Blackwood.

She says her business, “Eternile,” is named after her son.

“He helps me with labeling, he helps me stamp soaps and he knows how to cut the soaps, it’s incredible, it’s indescribable,” says Blackwood.

The products of Blackwood’s skincare line are grown in her own backyard.

“I’ve been studying plants probably for the last decade,” says Blackwood. “It’s a little obsession I have because once I healed my own condition. I had eczema, once I used plants I said, ‘Oh my goodness, I have to learn how to help others,’" says Blackwood.

She has an entire garden full of flowers and herbs that she carefully plants and picks to put into her products.

“It teaches you patience to start something from a small seed in the earth, and you’re every day, going to look at it and watering to nourish it and watching it grow into a plant that you can then harvest and you can incorporate it into something that can heal people. I feel like it’s my life's purpose, says Blackwood.