I have been a lover of Madara Cosmetics for a long time (I’ve previously blogged on their Regenerating Lip Treatment and their beautiful Moon Flower Tinted Moisturizer), but little did I know they were not alone in the beautiful country of Latvia. In fact, there are a host of natural beauty brands that you need to get your hands on. After testing and trying, I give you my favourites from some new brands you should put on your wish list, most of which can be found online including through the website Made in Latvia.

For the Luxury Loving Beauty

Kiro Cosmetics: Natural Algae Restoring Professional Mask

Kiro Cosmetics stole my heart with their commitment to natural ingredients and spa-minded products. But what really got me is there products contain ZERO WATER. This enables the brand to leave out all synthetic preservatives – even some natural products on the market contain  up to 5% synthetic preservatives to be able to provide water-containing product storage. Since Kiro Cosmetics’ products consist of virgin natural oils, extracts of plants and algae powder, they are pretty darn pure.

If you could feel my face after I took this mask off, you would have run out and bought your own box. I kid you not. I love what my face feels like after putting on a face mask, but this one left my skin feeling so moisturized and incredibly soft. Kiro’s Algae Restoring Mask was also fun as you get to mix it yourself with some water (as it comes completely powdered) – the Algae Mask comes with 8 individual pots so you can do it again and again. The mask is made of aloe vera and marine collagen which includes seaweeds such as kelp, fucus and diatomaceous earth (organic silicon) as well as corn starch. Because of the thickness and awesome ingredients, this one made the luxury list.

It is great for sun-damaged skin, but also just as deep moisturizer. Lucky for sensitive skin beauties it is suitable for all skin types. You can get yours for approximately €50 online here.

Attirance Natural Cosmetics: Cranberry Body Polish

Attirance is a unique player on the natural cosmetics field, as they combine luxury with natural ingredients. They specialize in exclusive natural skin care, hair care cosmetics and fragrances and focus on high quality ingredients like butters, flowers, plant extracts & essential oils. They’ve been inspired by eighteenth century France in both their products and their packaging, so needless to say I felt like a Queen from the moment I opened the box. From what I got my hands on, I was in love with Attirance’s Natural Cranberry Body Polish.

This body polish was luxury at its finest. Not only is the packaging lovely (I am a  self-proclaimed marketing aficionado), it is also a beautiful product. When I first opened it, I thought it looked like a beautiful jam that you would spread on toast. It smelled edible  and I’m sure it probably tasted edible… although I didn’t find out. Cranberry is known for its anti-aging properties and the salt sloughed off dead skin leaving my body feeling like I just had a salt rub down at the spa. The grape seed oil left everything smooth as a baby. Attirance body polish retails for around $23 USD / €17.50 and can be found online here. I’m thinking this would make a nice gift for Mother’s Day…

Anna Liepa: Warm Compress Eye Masks 

Anna Liepa is another great find from Latvia, focusing on extremely pure (and often organic) ingredients. Their products are based on age-old recipes passed down from generations – I love that.  As for their products, I was a huge fan of both the eye masks and the 100% Organic Peppermint Butter (shown later).

Eye masks made of leaves and flowers? Count me in! I love the eye masks from Anna Liepa – they are fantastic for getting rid of under eye bags and brightening the entire eye area. Based on a tried-and-true formula from the old days the peppermint eye mask was hugely brightening and was wonderful to use on a weekend morning, when I had a bit of extra time. The Linseed Eye Mask was one of my favourites, namely because Linseed is known for its anti-aging properties (apparently linseed was part of Cleopatras “youth elixir”, so how can you argue with that?). The ingredients for the eye masks are so pure you could probably drink them as tea (although I am not recommending that here ;-). Approximately four ingredients make up the list and include Calendula Officinalis Flowers, Linseed and Camelia Sinensis leaves.

To use, simply pour hot water on the mask and let it steep for 3-5 minutes, apply the warm (not burning hot) mask to your eyes and leave on for 5 minutes. Anna Liepa eye masks retail for approximately €11 for a pack of five and can be found here.

Kiro Restoring Body Oil with Silboil

I love love love oils, body oils, facial oils and hair oils alike. One of the reasons for this is because of oil’s tendency to be pure. Kiro’s Restoring Oil is no different – 100% organic made from cold pressed plants (cold pressing ensures all the valuable properties of the plant remain intact in the oil). The restoring oil is made of sesame, coconut and macadamia oils as well as silbiol (which has been extracted from pine needles). This oil is pure and lovely and is perfect for any lovelies suffering from skin issues such as rosacea, eczema and psoriasis. It is gentle enough for even the most sensitive of skins and perfect for daily use on the face and body.

Kiro’s oils come in handmade ceramic jars, meaning the purity of the oil stays intact. An all round wonderful product, you can grab a 350 ml bottle for about €42 and can be picked up here.

For the Everyday Natural Beauty

Kivvi Cosmetics Day & Night Creams

What is so cool about Kivvi Cosmetics (also known as Kiwi Cosmetics) is that all of their products contain kiwi fruit seed oil, the unusually rich content of which has been recently labelled as one of the most valuable and effective cosmetic ingredients for its antioxidant and anti-ageing effects (important for restoring skin cells and helping them to retain moisture). Like most products on my blog, Kivvi Organic does not use any artificial colouring, preservatives, fragrances, mineral substances, oil refinery products or toxic substances. I’m a fan already.

I really loved the night cream which was for dry and sensitive skin. While it is a night cream, it isn’t too thick, so I found it to be light enough for spring weather skin. The ingredient list gets me really excited as it is full with antioxidant rich fruits and extracts including:

• Pomegranate oil – revitalises ageing skin and restores skin elasticity
• Rosehip oil – reduces wrinkles and signs of premature ageing
• Cranberry seed oil –  improves collagen and the elastin fibers in the skin
• Blackcurrant seed oil – it acts as anti-oxidant and free radical scavenger, it softens and nourishes skin
• Kiwi seed oil – has collagen synthesis stimulating activity and cell regeneration stimulating activity
• Damask rose extract – has nourishing, soothing  and regenerating properties.

While my skin is on the drier side, this is a great product for those who have skin on the oilier side. If you have combination or oily skin, you will love this 2-in-1 Day & Night cream from Kivvi. It’s light and absorbs quickly, so it won’t be leaving your skin feeling like an oil slick. The Day & Night cream contains an organic complex of rosehip, blueberry, grape seed oil, burdock, pansy, bladderwrack, birch, passion flower and white dead nettle extract, all of which are known to moisturize and regenerate skin cells. You can grab a 50 ml bottle for €30 and can be found here for global readers, PureButik (for Scandinavian readers) and at Organic4U (for UK readers).  

Anna Liepa Meadow Peppermint Body Butter

 This was an amazing product for fresh out of the shower mornings. The peppermint was invigorating and the purity of the product (100% organic) was an A+ on my list. With Avocado Oil, Macadamia Integrifolia Seed Oil,  Calendula  Officinalis Flower Extract, Beeswax, Cacao  Seed Butter, Tocopherol, Elaeis Guineensis Oil and Mentha piperita Leaf Oil, I was in smooth skin heaven. This product also is great for digestion, as you can rub it on your belly after a large meal (peppermint is a muscle soother and helps relieve stomach upsets) and for tired feet (peppermint is hugely soothing). The Meadow Peppermint Butter retails for about €14 and can be found here.

Phewf. Well, on that note, I better start packing my bags and heading for Latvia. Word on the street is Riga has amazing spas…

Happy Weekend LPN’ers

X

K