The Brooklyn Papers / Jori Klein

'Beautiful' day: Karen Tappin Saunderson in her Clinton Hill boutique, Karen's Body Beautiful, where she makes and sells her lines of bath and body products.

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When a desperate mother brought her eczema-ridden infant into Karen’s Body Beautiful, a natural body-care products store in Clinton Hill, owner Karen Tappin Saunderson knew just what to do.

"I tell people that I’m not an herbalist or a doctor," she told GO Brooklyn. "I just read a lot of books." In this case, she custom-made a soothing lotion from a blend of non-irritating ingredients such as ginger and rosemary to relieve the baby’s symptoms.

"I feel good making something for someone specially," said Saunderson.

She may only be 29 years old, but Saunderson possesses a Trump-like business savvy - of a more feminine sort. Her 520-square-foot store, opened last February with her husband and business partner, Damani Saunderson, 46, is both a joint labor of love and the realization of a personal lifelong dream. Growing up in impoverished East Flatbush to Guyanese immigrants, Saunderson, like many first-generation Americans, dreamed of one day being able to support her parents.

"My mother was my inspiration," she said. "I wanted to be able to take care of my family."

While still a junior at the University of Virginia, Saunderson’s entrepreneurial spirit kicked in, and she began packaging and selling care packages, gourmet gift baskets and birthday cakes. After a brief stint as a Wall Street research analyst with "long and unhappy hours," she became a high school history and economics teacher as a way to pay the bills until she could start her own business. She had no idea she’d end up loving to teach, nor that she would meet her future husband, who also taught in the history department.

During the summer of 2003, Saunderson and her husband began studying the therapeutic properties of natural oils, butters and herbs.

"My husband makes everything - mayonnaise, butter, bread - from scratch, so it wasn’t difficult to learn how to make lotions and soaps," she said. Consulting books purchased from the local Barnes and Noble, they quickly taught themselves how to formulate their own products from basic recipes.

"There was a learning curve," Saunderson said with a laugh. "We made lots of watery lotion and soaps that didn’t solidify in the beginning." But by Christmas of that year, the two had perfected their product line and signed the lease for their store.

Karen’s Body Beautiful takes up a double storefront on Clinton Avenue just off of bustling Myrtle Avenue. Lavender curtains drape the windows, and the invigorating scents of eucalyptus and bergamot waft out onto the sidewalk.

"People often mistake us for a spa," said Saunderson, which has inspired her to create a line of spa products, such as masks and muds, due out this spring. Inside the store, a medley of earthy and fruity scents rises from large silver pots in the exposed stainless steel kitchen, where Saunderson stands stirring a vat of a bubbling, creamy substance.

"We use olive oil as the base for most of our lotions," she said, pointing to an enormous bottle on the counter. Other ingredients include avocado and jojoba, oils such as calendula, grapeseed and apricot, and a variety of herbs like thyme and sage.

Saunderson’s basic philosophy is "if you wouldn’t cook with it, don’t use it on your skin." And indeed, her products - such as Fig Tea Herbal Shower Gel, Honey Oatmeal Body Butter and Strawberry Smoothie Body Splash - sound delicious enough to eat. She wasn’t always so careful, but her husband, a devout vegetarian ("I’m trying!" said Saunderson sheepishly), influenced her to live a healthier lifestyle.

"We’re joining a very small rank of manufacturers who only use natural ingredients," she said.

With its soft lighting and faint music, the store encourages relaxed browsing. Products are beautifully packaged in exquisite beribboned bottles, and are displayed on elegant oak bookcases handcrafted and stained in mahogany and ebony by - of course - Saunderson’s husband.

Saunderson’s current lines are Karen’s Body Beautiful (women’s products), KBB for Men and KBB Essentials Aromatherapy. Of all her products, she’s most proud of her best-selling Face Moisturizing Lotion made from organic virgin coconut oil. As for Damani, he’s a fan of the shea sugar body scrubs he formulated himself. "Men love them," Saunderson confirms.

She can usually be found whipping up lotion on the stove or advising customers on which products to use. She manages the store herself with only part-time assistance from one other employee and occasionally Damani, who still teaches during the day.

"I do everything from cleaning the toilet to handling the accounting," she says proudly. "But the kitchen is my lab; it’s where I spend more time than anywhere else in my day."

It’s this personal devotion to taking the best care possible of her customers that makes Karen’s Body Beautiful so unique among bath and body boutiques.

"I hate being away from the store," says Saunderson. "I want to meet all the customers who come in, because I like the feedback. It makes all the hard work worth it."

Karen’s Body Beautiful is located at 150 Clinton Ave. at Myrtle Avenue in Clinton Hill. Products range from $4-$20. Open daily from noon to 8 pm. For more information, visit the Web site at www.karensbodybeautiful.com or call (718) 797-4808.

©2005 Community Newspaper Group