Enduring Notion Beauty Boutique
Port resident Maria McGee is the owner of the new store, Enduring Notion Beauty Boutique, located at 555 Port Washington Blvd. The store opened on Dec. 5.
Enduring Notion is a cozy little shop filled with handmade soaps made by McGee from all-natural ingredients. The products are not tested on animals. The soaps are shaped like cupcakes, bears, slices of cake and fruit, among other things.
McGee makes all the products sold in the store. “As a child in Spain I used to help my grandmother make soap the old-fashioned, natural way,” said McGee. “So with her as inspiration, I started making soap and other beauty products in an effort to give my kids a better alternative to the detergent and chemical-filled products available. People outside my family started to request my products and since 2013 we began to sell them at festivals and fairs, including Harborfest and Oysterfest.”
McGee first opened the business online, then decided to open a retail location. “Port was always our one and only choice for a location,” said McGee. “Port is perfect because it is so close to the city yet far enough away and secluded on our peninsula that it retains all the charm and perks of a small, close-knit town. It seems the perfect place for a retail location.”
So far business has been steady, said McGee. “We have already had a few repeat customers in our short time open. Family, friends and our neighboring businesses have all been very supportive.”
McGee grew up in Port Washington after emigrating from Spain as a child. “I have spent the majority of my life in Port Washington after coming to the United States as a child from Spain,” said Maria. “I attended Weber Middle School and Schreiber High School.” McGee and her husband, Brian, have two daughters who both attended Port schools. One is currently a sophomore at Schreiber. Her husband grew up in Massapequa. He is a Local 3 electrician who helps out with the business when he can. “We have owned a home in Port Washington for 20 years and my whole family lives throughout Port,” said McGee. “I have been a registered nurse for 20 plus years, but have put that career on hold to pursue my dream of owning a business.”
The vision of the company, according to McGee’s website, is to transform a dull, robotic experience into something invigorating and uplifting. When asked about the name of the company, McGee said “the name comes from the fact that I have had this ‘notion’ about doing something creative and being my own boss and soaping was a natural choice for me. The ‘enduring’ part comes from the fact that while I have been raising my kids and working as a registered nurse, I couldn’t shake this notion about my own business; so the thought has endured and I finally felt I had to take the leap.”
For more information about Enduring Notion Beauty Boutique, located at 555 Port Washington Blvd., call 516-439-4084 or visit www.facebook.com/enduring-notion-soap.
