MADARA news

Put some fennel into your Midsummer crown... and have no worries at the table

Dill essential oils improve one's appetite, stimulates digestion, helps get rid of the gases, so you must not worry, even if you have eaten a little too much. Fennel also helps against insomnia and respiratory problems.

Cut some sweet flag roots and scater along the floor... and enjoy peace and harmony into your home

Sweet flag smell during Midsummer not only brings a special festive feeling into your house, but also scares away the insects, improves the guests appetite and gives energy. You can also put a small piece of sweet flag into your pocket - for a pleasant scent and great mood!

Rub your skin with peppermint leaves... Insects will leave you alone

If you'll rub your skin with peppermint, basil, wormwood or melissa leafs, you will keep your soft skin safe from mosquitos. These plants contain essential oils, which scare the insects away. Nevertheless, it is recommended to repeat this rubbing from time to time, for a longer-lasting effect.

Wash your mouth in the morning dew... and be beautiful till autumn

Dew is the only naturally available water on the earths surface which doesn't contain any salts or minerals. In it's softness it is similar to distilled water! Together with the ozone formed by the plants during the process of photosynthesis, dew also obtains a bleaching effect, therefore when washing your mouth in the dew, the skin becomes whiter, fresher, cleaner and softer. You can also prepare a dew mask for your hair - early in the morning pull a towel around a damp meadow, then take all the ticks and mosquitos off the towel and put it around the head.

Dandelion leaves for tired eyes

If your eyes are tired or a little irritated from the Midsummer bonfire's smoke, place some chopped and crushed dandelion leaves on them. Dandelion leaf juice is used externally to treat eye diseases, as well as a facial skin treatment for acne and freckles. The small leaves you can also put on cheese slices. Not only it'll improve the taste, but also complement your body with iron and make you less tired after the fest.

Rinse your hair in birch juices... and make your hair shining and smooth

If you have some birch juices left over from spring, rinse your hair with them. Birch juice, as well as birch bud and leaf decoction has a reinforcing effect of hair roots. You can also flush wounds with it.

Hops for a sweet sleep in summer's shortest night

Collect hop fruits, put them into a cloth bag and place near the bed or below the cushion - you will have good sleep. Hop has a calming and pain-reducing effect.

If bruised a knee, put some comfrey leaf on it

Comfrey juice has antibacterial, styptic and curing effect. It will also help against mosquito bites and various skin irritations.

Rinse your hair with nettle broth

Pick some nettle, cooke a broth and rinse your hair with it - they'll grow bushy and strong. Also, you can try other brewages for strengthening your hair roots - take equal doses of sweet flag roots, burdock roots, hops and camomile flowers, cook, then leave to brew, filter and wash hair.

Cornflower, cornflower

Decorate the refreshments table with cornflowers - you can eat them too! Before a bath drink cornflower tea - it'll let you sweat more and make you slimmer. Cornflower has an excess water-wasting effect, it also reduces irritations. Also you can prepare an eye-wash out of cornflower tincture - it'll remove swelling!

Wild strawberries for rosy cheeks

Collect a handful of wild strawberries - eat a half yourself, the other half squash in fingers and apply on the face. Taste for the stomache, beauty for the face! For external use, the wild strawberry cures various skin irritations and improves facial color. If eaten, forest strawberries regulate the metabolic process and have a positive effect on intestinal activity.

Before kissing - St John's Wort and oak leaves

Collect St. John's wort and prepare a tincture. Wash your mouth with it before leaving in search of a fern flower. St. John's Wort has antibacterial and astringent effect. It cures gums and oral mucosal. For the same effect you can use oak leaf infusions, which will help against an unpleasant smell from your mouth.

For many years I'm trying to remember that song, that funny melody with childish lyrics which i was always singing as a kid a day or two before summer solstice, when I was walking at hand with my parents through a forest and searching for flowers. The lyrics were something about meadow clover, dandelions and sun... It was so long time ago but every year at the same day this past memory bothers me and brings back such powerful emotions that I just can't keep them inside.

I don't want to loose it. Just as I never want to loose this one night. When everything around you becomes a bit magical, spooky, when people loose their masks and disguises, turn to nature and all of a sudden unveil that not so long ago exactly here was their real and only home.

 

Titanium dioxide is a physical barrier of the sun, which blocks UVA and UVB rays, as well as UVC rays. It is a natural inorganic pigment that, when in a cream, coats the skin with a reflective and protective layer. Anyone that wants to protect the skin entirely from the sun should look for titanium dioxide in the ingredients labels of sun blocks. Moreover, thanks to its inorganic origin, titanium dioxide is one of the most inert and antiallergenic sun filters. This is an important aspect, taking into account that many synthetic, organic substances can irritate the skin and cause allergic reactions. In comparison with other filters, the allowed maximum amount of titanium dioxide in a product is 25%, while the larger part of chemical substances are limited to 2-10%.

Another popular substance, equal to titan dioxide, is zinc oxide. Check the labels of sun blocks - if Titanium Dioxide or Zinc Oxide is mentioned, you can be certain that this cream protects you from both UVA and UVB rays.
Alongside inorganic pigments, other great UV filters can be found in nature. Carotenoids (red and yellow pigments) found in plants have a dual effect: they block the sun's rays and also, as an antioxidant, lessen the damage already done. For example, sea buckthorn, which is one of nature's more powerful antioxidants and contains all forms of vitamin E, was lauded in ancient Greece as a wonderful agent to keep skin looking young. The extract from the yellow berry not only protects the skin, but also facilitates the renewal processes of cells and eliminates free radicals created by the rays of the sun. Other plants that are well known to contain carotenoids are calendula, sweet briar, and tomatoes. A popular antioxidant from far-away lands is green tea. Combining these and other plants together with inorganic pigments, a powerful sun-protection and anti-aging cream is made. And all the better - it's completely natural.

 

"Opening the first ever MÁDARA store is the fulfilment of a long held dream. This is a place where we can finally meet our clients in person and get a better insight into what people actually want," explains SIA MADARA Cosmetics Chairman of the Board, Lotte Tisenkopfa. "We're delighted that MÁDARA is continuing to grow in this difficult climate. MÁDARA is one of the companies whose export results and future prospects strengthen the Latvian economy. We hope that our growth will also inspire other entrepreneurs to look to the future with optimism!"

The store's opening ceremony was attended by a number of guests including Latvia's 'first lady', Lilita Zatlere and other well known public figures including musicians, celebrities and media representatives in a show of support for products produced in Latvia and the natural lifestyle.

"Being here today is an emotional experience for me. I've always supported natural and economically clean things. In this industrial era, people are far removed from that which is natural and real. And yet here, we see a return to these basic values which it is clear that people do appreciate. True values don't disappear. They're our future," said Lilita Zatlere commenting upon MÁDARA'S achievements.

The layout of the MÁDARA store has been created using environmentally friendly paints and economic light bulbs. The store's furniture, wallpaper and décor have all been produced in Latvia. MÁDARA is particularly proud of its ceiling lamps which were produced by the new Latvian lighting designer, "mammalampa". In an attempt to persuade the public to care for nature more actively, the MADARA store also contains a collection point where old MÁDARA cosmetics packaging units are collected from customers for recycling. For every item of packaging they bring along, customers will have the chance to acquire the same product for a significant discount.

 

It is a misconception that only the most advanced technologies can produce ingredients for cosmetics that ensure the best results. In fact, the opposite is true: natural ingredients carefully selected and included in the formulas of cosmetics, produce great results in skin care. Large companies promise amazing transformations - to smooth out wrinkles in the span of just a few weeks, to have perfect skin without the aid of plastic surgery, and other believable and not so believable claims. Certain synthetic substances in skin care products may create a fantastic illusion of smoother skin and a youthful glow, but it's all only an artificial effect. Does anyone ever stop to think that this is achieved with irritating chemicals, which cause micro-infections and oedema, causing the skin to swell with water, but not actually smoothing out wrinkles? This effect lasts only as long as the use of the product that causes it, and there has not been enough research about the long-term effects on the health of consumers that use such products.

On the contrary, plant extracts used in creams do not create illusions, but actually nourish the skin with biologically active substances and facilitate the skin's natural protection and renewal processes. "Metabolic processes at the cellular level are similar in plants and humans," says Vija Eniņa, Associate Professor and Dean of Riga's Paula Stradiņa University Pharmacy faculty. "Just like a human being, the plant's life processes are maintained by chemical reactions, in which enzymes, vitamins, and minerals are involved. When they come in contact with the human body, many active substances work in the same way as they do in plants. For example, antioxidants improve the well-being of a person's cells and give them energy. The human body accepts the plant cells as similar to its own, rather than as foreign bodies. The plant cells are therefore biologically able to engage in the life processes of the person's cells."