Asian-American Owned Businesses!

This month of May which is AANHPI Heritage Month, I was honored to share fellow Asian-American owned businesses on NBC’s Today show!

Crystal Candy Treasure Box | $38, Silky Gem

Silky Gem Crystal Candy is the brainchild of Gia Huynh, who reimagines traditional candies from her youth in Vietnam as exquisite, handcrafted gems. When you bite into one, you’re in for a treat: there is a crisp outer layer and firm jelly center…so sweetly satisfying!

Each piece is handmade, vegan, gluten-free and nut-free with ingredients including water, sugar, fruit puree, and sea moss agar. They come in a variety of unique flavors over 60 (blue raspberry, lychee rose, watermelon citrus, peach moonstone, etc) that fall under three main flavor categories: sour, berry and fruit.

For Gia who survived domestic abuse and homelessness and the challenges of early entrepreneurship, each one of her crystal candies symbolizes a beacon of hope and inspiration.

This Treasure Box is $38 and comes with assorted crystal candies.

By the way as you are tasting and munching away here, the crunchiness of the crystal candies depends on the fruit used. Not all of the Silky Gem(s) are super crispy and will vary in color and texture.

Cocktail Bomb | $39.50 for 6-pack, My Drink Bomb

Perhaps you’ve heard of cocktail bombs? Well this is the original!

Owned by Chloe Tran Di Leo, this is the original My Drink Bomb, where she dehydrates the ingredients of a cocktail into a powder so that it can easily dissolve in alcohol and sparkling soda. The best part is? It uses natural flavors like cane sugar, dry fruit, bitters and edible flowers and has no artificial ingredients.

There are 50 flavors to choose from, so I love that for a party, where guests can serve up a cocktail for themselves, and not to mention how fun it is to pick a flavor! From margaritas to mojitos, bellinis, cosmos, moscow mule, sangaria and more…

Here’s how…it’s 2 steps for a mocktail, 3 steps for a cocktail:

Place your choice My Drink Bomb in glass
Add 4 oz seltzer
If you want a cocktail, add 2 oz of any paired alcohol. (Paired alcohol meaning vodka for a cosmo, tequila for a margarita, etc.)
(Optional) You can add ice, stir with a cockctail stirrer and enjoy!

Here’s a 6-pack for under $40, they also have single, 2-pack, 4-pack and 12-pack options.

Vanity Case | from $72, ETOILE

Owner Michelle Hu, formerly a banker, transformed her side hustle makeup organizers into ETOILE, a multi-million dollar business. Her beauty accessories are a sensation in social including her vanity cases for how easily they organize your makeup and look chic on the go.

One thing I love is that they tested the bags over-and-over to make sure they would always have that new look feeling…so even if your makeup spills inside the bag, it should be removable using a makeup remover!

Here we have the Mini Vanity case ($80) with a space for brushes and their signature divider system. The Vanity Case ($90) is slightly larger so you can stand your foundations upright, and has the divider system and pockets for pencils and brushes. They come in a ton of different colors and are made of vegan leather

For a limited time they are offering TODAY viewers 20% off sitewide…use code “TODAY20”.

Initial Lucky Ring | from $50, BONBONWHIMS

This AAPI-founded brand BONBONWHIMS is a whimsical jewelry brand founded by Clare Ngai. Her iconic choose-your-initial Lucky rings scream a 90s kawaii vibe. Fun and playful, they’re made from recycled acrylic rings and handcrafted, hand painted and embellished in New York City.

It’s fun because it’s personalized!

First, you choose the color of your lucky ring
then your initial and size
finally the color of the initial.

If you cannot make a decision? They’ll chose for you! They are great statement rings that pop! She also has a full lineup of jewelry on her site that includes other rings, necklaces, earrings, bracelets, and more.

Brow Gel | $26, Kulfi

This Free the Brow Brow Gel is from KULFI, founded by Priyanka Ganjoo, who after working for 5 years on the corporate side of beauty realized how underrepresented South Asians were in it. Consequentially, it’s the first South-Asian-inspired makeup brand to be in Sephora, which is really exciting!

This is her latest release and this brow gel is more about nourishing healthy brows—with Vitamin E and Sunflower oil– than taming them.

Whereas I can be intimidated by adding color to my brow via pencils or powder? This is a clear gel that works with your natural brow to give them that same, trending “groomed brows” look.

I have naked brows! Let’s give it a try. Once you apply it as I am here, it makes your brows look/appear thicker and fuller, and laminates them in place for 8 hours.

What I love? It’s inspired by the Sunday hair oiling ritutals she used to do with her mother and sister when growing up in India. Beautiful no? Lastly, Kulfi is the name of a delicious and colorful South Asian ice cream. These are beauty products made for women of color by a woman of color…and also for him and them.

Potted Plants | from $48, The Sill

The Sill is an online plant shop created by Eliza Blank.

I love how life stories lead to the birth of businesses, so it all started when Eliza was homesick, living in her first walk-up NYC apartment, and her Filipina mother suggested she buy some houseplants to cheer herself up. And that’s essentially how The Sill was born out of her family’s generational love for plants!

We have a host of plants here all from $48 and up, and you can feel how a dose of nature uplifts the spirits. You choose the style of planter you want it to come in, which will affect prices. (If you select the plastic “grow pot”, it will be cheaper.

Bird’s Nest Fern (pet friendly)

Philodendron Green (easy care: I have in my office!)

Pothos NJoy (white and green)

Foxtail Fern (new on the site)

Aglanomea Wishes (bestseller: pink & green)

Snake Plant Lorentii (stiff, pointy tall leaves)

Monsterra Adansonii

The act of caring for plants, watering them, repotting, even talking to them has scientific data that proves it’s healthy for the soul.

They offer free, nationwide shipping on any purchase, and they have a handy guide on each plant’s profile to let you know if it’s easy care, edible, evergreen, blooming, safe for pets, etc. Don’t worry, if you’re a beginner? There’s a whole host of plants you can choose from.

In addition to the e-commerce site, they now have physical stores in Bethesda, Maryland and NYC.)