Vero's Apothecary

Veronica Amick-Becerra—mom, wife, indie movie production mogul, CEO, supreme goddess, and one of my best friends—had the same frustrations we all do. Why is it so hard to buy beauty products without harmful chemicals or additives? And when you can find them, why are they so ridiculously expensive?

But Veronica isn't one to let a few obstacles stand in her way, especially when those obstacles are standing between people and the kind of clean, honest self-care they deserve. So once she had a spare second (and by “spare second” I mean the tiniest sliver of time between producing films, raising three kids, and being a human hub of brilliance), she did what any ambitious, driven, overworked, exhausted woman would do—she created her own line of beauty and wellness products from scratch.

She didn’t cut corners. She didn’t white-label someone else’s formulas. She got in the lab—her actual kitchen-turned-apothecary—and started crafting small-batch products with food-grade ingredients she knew were safe, effective, and powerful. The counters were cluttered with mason jars, herbs drying over open windows, and labels scrawled in Sharpie. It smelled like rosemary, vinegar, and something ancient. Like medicine. Like memory.

Herbs like mullein leaf and hawthorn berry. Whole botanicals like elderberry, ginger, and turmeric. Soothing rosewater. Aloe vera. Witch hazel. The kinds of ingredients your great-grandmother would nod at in approval, with just enough edge to make modern skin, hair, and immune systems take notice.

And these products? They’re not eternal. They’re not meant to sit on a shelf for two years without changing. They come with expiration dates, because real ingredients spoil—and that’s the point. It means they're alive. Made with care, not chemicals. They change, evolve, and eventually expire-just like anything that's every been real.

Each item is made fresh by Veronica herself, in between family dinners with her husband, emerging Vocal writer Patrick O’Connor, and their three children. This is a woman who might be labeling hair oil with one hand while helping a kid glue macaroni onto cardboard with the other. She’s multitasking miracles.

It started at local farmers markets, where word of mouth spread faster than her mullein syrup could soothe a cough. People would show up for the smells alone-lavender, lemon balm, and something you couldn't quite name but needed.

The products work. The packaging is intentional. The energy behind them is loving, exhausted, rebellious, maternal, mystical. There’s a curl gel that actually honors curls. A toner that smells like the inside of a moonlit greenhouse. A root refresher that wakes up your scalp like peppermint tea on a too-early Monday. An elderberry elixir that’s strong, sweet, and full of the kind of goodness your immune system would probably high-five you for.

And now—drumroll—they’re available at Breakfast & Co.’s gift shop, located inside Phases Metaphysical Salon and Healing Center at 1300 Diamond Springs Road, Suite 105, Virginia Beach, VA 23455.

Vero’s Apothecary isn’t some mass-produced line with a clever name. It’s a heartbeat. A homegrown, deeply thoughtful answer to a question so many of us are tired of asking: “Why can’t I just take care of myself without putting something harmful on my body?” Now you can. Because Veronica made sure of it.

You can also find out more about Veronica's products on her website here: https://verosapothecary.com

Come see what she’s been brewing. Your skin will thank you. Your curls will thank you. And some small part of your soul that’s been craving something real—that part will exhale the second you open the jar. It's like your nervous system finally gets the memo-it's safe now.

The scent, the texture, the warmth-it's not just skincare. It's a small act of rebellion wrapped in glass.