Winter Respite
Winter Respite
Repose + Reflect
When the Light Goes at 4:30 & Nobody Wants to Leave the House
Winter in Maryland is gray sky, dry air, and radiators that make everything smell like dust. Your hands crack. Your lips crack. You want to be horizontal with something warm.
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The Winter Respite collection is Sea+Tea Body Cream for skin that hurts from the cold. Bath soak that actually helps when your whole body feels tight. Candles that smell like wood smoke and evergreen instead of sugar cookies. Tea you drink because it's warm, and honey that tastes dark because it came from buckwheat and late-fall flowers.
The lollipops come in cinnamon, ginger, and vanilla—the ones people want when their throat feels scratchy. Everything here is made for the months when you wear three layers and it's still not enough.
“Drawing inspiration from the bounty of nature and the honeybee, we create products that nurture your inner and outer beauty with Farm to Body® ingredients sourced from the earth. I hope you'll enjoy the expansive energy and beauty of our apiary in each Bee Inspired® product.”
Kara Brook Brown
Living Seasonally Mantras
-
Mind
Reflection
Quiet your mind and cultivate your innermost wisdom. -
Body
Repose
Conserve your energy and embrace restorative sleep and physical rest. -
Spirit
Illumination
Bring your inner light forward through the spirit of giving. -
Colony
Reciprocity
Like the bees, draw in close to those you love. And, buy local for reciprical nourishment and warmth.
Step 1
Set an intention
Light a Winter Forest Luxe Soy Candle and brew a cup of Good Night Tea. Add a spoonful of honey if you want—Buckwheat Honey if you like things strong and dark, Gallberry Honey if you want it milder. Sit with it before you do anything else.
Step 2
Exfoliate Your body
Sea+Tea Body Scrub uses organic cane sugar and ultra-fine pumice. The kelp and green tea extracts are what make it feel different from other scrubs. Gentler than the walnut shell scrub, more texture than the honey crystal ones.
Directions: Apply to damp skin in circular motions, working up from your feet. Let it sit for a minute. Rinse with warm water, towel dry.
Step 3
Purify Your Face & Body
Sea+Tea Dry Mask is a powder you mix yourself—green tea, seaweed, clay. The seaweed is what makes this one different. Works on faces and bodies, even on skin that's angry from the cold.
Directions: Mix 2 parts powder with 1 part liquid. Apply for 10-15 minutes or until dry. Rinse with warm water.
Step 4
Soak
Sea+Tea Bath Soak is salts, chamomile flowers, and herbs. The salt softens hard water. The herbs smell good without being flowery. People use this after shoveling snow or when their whole body feels cold from the inside out.
Directions: Add 4-6 tablespoons to warm bath water. Soak for 20 minutes. Rinse with cool water after—it helps your skin adjust.
Step 5
Hydrate
Sea+Tea Body Cream is the thickest one we make. Jojoba oil, which actually absorbs instead of sitting on top. Made for when your skin feels like paper and regular lotion does nothing.
Directions: Apply to clean, slightly damp skin—it goes on better that way. Reapply on hands every time you wash them because winter destroys hands.
Living with Winter
December through February in the Mid-Atlantic is cold, dark, and dry. The bees are clustered in the hive, barely moving. They're not making honey—just eating what they stored and trying to keep warm. The colony is as small as it gets.
This collection's for that—body care that's heavy enough for air that has no moisture in it. Candles you actually want to burn when it's dark at dinnertime. Tea that warms you up from the inside. Honey that tastes dark and strong because it came from the end of the season.
Your skin needs more in winter. Not because the products are better, but because the air is taking more out.
Winter honey is whatever was left over from fall—buckwheat, gallberry, late wildflower. Buckwheat tastes almost like molasses. Gallberry is milder, from holly blossoms in the South. Both are darker than spring or summer honey. Some people love the strong flavor. Some people can't stand it.
Yes. It's the richest formula we make. Place in the Sun is for humidity. Rose Garden and Autumn Harvest are medium. Sea + Tea is for when your skin feels like it might crack open. If you don't need that level of moisture, it'll feel too heavy.
The Body Cream is formulated for neck-down—it's too rich for most faces. The Body Scrub can be used on your face if you're gentle. The Dry Mask is made for faces and bodies.
The air has no moisture when it's cold. Then you turn the heat on and it gets even drier. Your skin can't keep up. That's why summer body butter doesn't work in January—the air is taking moisture out faster than light lotion can put it back in.
The Ultimate Winter Respite Gift Set includes the full ritual plus extras. The Petite Winter Respite Set has four products in smaller sizes. The King Bee Body Care Gift Kit and Sea+Tea Body Care Duo are also winter options. All come ready to gift.
We ship year-round. Winter's easy—nothing melts, nothing freezes in transit. If there's a blizzard and the post office closes, your order waits until they reopen. Otherwise it goes out every weekday.
Sea+Tea smells like coastal herbs and green tea—not flowery, not sweet. If you want something warmer, try Autumn Harvest (pumpkin and spice) or Haute Cocoa (chocolate and vanilla). Peace of Mind is straight lavender if you want simple.
