Goldenrod.

Very common and plentiful in our environment yet new to @womandivineskincare apothecary.
I’m very excited to welcome Goldenrod into my circle of plant friends 🧡

Goldenrod grows all around me and I love how it sprinkles its beautiful golden colour over the fields and forest. Finally this year I feel ready to explore the healing powers of this beautiful plant and to work towards including it in my formulations.

Goldenrod is warming and drying and has a special affinity for the urinary system. However it is also wonderful as inflammation modulator when applied topically. It helps with muscular and arthritic joint pain, infections, swelling, wounds, painful bruises and bumps and fungal infections.
It’s anti microbial, astringent, antioxidant and has a tonic action on the skin strengthening its protective physical barrier.

Goldenrod is often used in formulations treating chronic conditions like eczema, psoriasis or acne… And it’s high saponin content may be beneficial in skin cleansing formulas.

I’m wilting my Goldenrod harvest as we speak and I’ll be starting a Goldenrod infused oil in a bit:) Feeling very excited🧡

Solidago, the Goldenrod’s Latin name means “To Make Whole”
I love that🧡

Magdalena xo

When the outside world is throwing crazy at you.

When the outside world is throwing crazy at you, put your feet strong on the ground and take a deep breath!

Sometimes, I look at the current beauty models and I feel, oh boy! What a sad state of affairs!
Confusion is the game and it is all around us. But we need not to succumb to it.

The fact is that you were born a perfect being and nothing and no one can take this away from you unless you’re willing to surrender your greatness.

Being an expression of life (which you are) is in itself sacred and beautiful. There’s no need to augment anything.

‘Perfect’ features (whatever the trend is at the moment), don’t ensure happiness. I have met plenty of women who by societal standards are very attractive yet believe themselves to be ugly.
I have also met many who are thought of as ‘average looking’, who own their beauty like a boss and feel fantastic about themselves.

Connect to what’s real and true!

Finding ways to ground and re-connect with self and nature is fundamental to thriving in a confused world.
For me it is plants! I love working with plants not only because I do what I do but also because they keep me grounded, connected to life and they bring real beauty into my life experience.

Designating time and energy to take care of yourself helps you to be present with your body, strengthens confidence in your own choices, and ups your self-worth.

Choosing local food which comes directly from the earth is not only healthy but also ensures that you stay connected to your environment and your food growing community.

Choosing skin and body care products like Woman Divine allows you to bring healing plants into your everyday life in an effortless and beautiful way.

Meditate, contemplate and/or journal regularly on what are your values and what has real meaning for you, so you never forget it and can live without confusion!

And talk to your friends!!! Many women feel disturbed by what’s going on. Share your insecurities, have a laugh (there is lots to lough about) and give each other a big hug!

And most of all remember who you really are!

With love,
Magdalena

Calendula - my plant ally

When we study herbs, we’ll often choose one herb to work very closely with and study for the given year. We call it our plant ally.

We consciously commit to spending time with our plant ally. We sit with it, taste it, make various forms of medicine with it, grow it if possible, observe it in its habitat, meditate on it…, and keep detailed notes. I even put mine under my pillow when I go to sleep. Hoping for some extra info coming through while I sleep:)

This year long process allows us to develop a deep relationship with our chosen plant and if we are truly present with our plant ally, the knowledge we gather will go far beyond our intellect.

This year, I have chosen Calendula officinalis 🌼 as my plant ally.
I love this happy sunshine filled flower so so much! It is the very first plant I explored in skin care creation. And over the years, it has proven its healing magic over and over again; nourishing, soothing, calming, repairing and protecting our clients skin.
Calendula is a very powerful skin healing plant yet it is gentle enough for a baby skin too.

Besides using Woman Divine formulas which contain calendula, I personally love using calendula infusion in warm facial compressing and in my bath. It is amazing at moving stagnant lymph and who doesn’t want help with that!

I drink copious amounts of calendula decoction daily and I’m now growing it in my garden. I’m looking forward to the summer salads graced with my edible plant ally and to visits from bees and butterflies who love it very much.

There are many more months ahead that I will be spending with my plant ally. But I already feel like this golden flower is revealing itself to me in ways I never knew before…

At the end of the day, life is all about relationships! How much of ourselves, our attention, time and energy are we willing to invest in listening, sitting with and getting to know another being will determine how harmoniously we will flow through life with them. Plants, people, animals, it’s all the same! There are profound gifts to be found within all life and that maybe the most important lesson that I’m learning from my plant ally.

Magdalena xo

Vote for Woman Divine!

Maybe you already have heard that Woman Divine has been nominated for Faces Magazine 2024 Ottawa Awards - Best Natural Wellness Company! 

Thank you very much to the kind soul who has nominated us for this award and to everyone who has already voted. Also, thank you much for placing us within the Health & Wellness industry because at heart we feel that that's where we belong. 
As a small unassuming business that was built by word of mouth, we feel truly honoured.

We are grateful for initiatives like this one by Faces Magazine which provides a platform to celebrate Ottawa's most appreciated professionals and businesses. From personal experience we know that running a small business in the best of times is a hustle but the last three years have been exceptionally difficult. So a little bit of cheer feels extra good.
Please check out other nominees in various categories. You may find your fave people and business there. We are certain that your votes will be deeply appreciated ❤️
.
Saying all of that, if you like us:) and would like to vote, here is how to do it.
You can vote daily until March 7th/2024

1. Go to Faces Magazine
2. Scroll down to categories and choose Health & Wellness
3. Select Natural Wellness Companies and scroll down to find us
4. Vote for Woman Divine🙏

Thank you for your support and for celebrating local businesses and professionals. We are very proud to be part of this amazing community❤️

Magdalena and Julie xo
 

My formulating journey.

Here is my latest article for The School of Aromatic Studies and a little bit about my botanical skin care formulating journey.

‘We often hear from botanical skin care formulators that they decided to formulate because of their personal skin problems and because they couldn’t find products that worked. My story is a little different.

My holistic skin care practice began many years ago working with a commercial organic skin care brand in my treatment room. At the time, working with an organic brand and with a holistic approach was already radical enough never mind formulating a micro batch botanical line... ‘continue reading HERE

Love and Light,

Magdalena

Your love keeps me going!

It’s true, your love does keep me going! Whenever doubt creeps in, in some miraculous way loving words of encouragement arrive in my mailbox. And such was today when I opened the newsletter from Sonja Payette.

Sonja is a Real Estate Professional and a damn good one! She is in the top 1% in Canada! Here is her website She has been a client for many years and I’ve always enjoyed her visits and her vivacious energy and generous spirit! I was very humbled to read her kind words and find Woman Divine featured in her newsletter. Thank you very much Sonja! I can’t wait until we can have our facial again!

I will be honest, it hasn’t been easy to function as a small business for the past two years. Sometimes, I have moments when I feel discouraged and unsure how to move ahead. I miss my clients and I miss our meaningful interactions very very much! At the same time, it feels completely unsafe to invest in a new location as lockdowns and intense measures continue.

So, I am not sure how my work and my business will evolve over time but I can tell you that I will not give up! I will keep on making my products and I will keep on envisioning a beautiful future for all of us! I will hold a vision for in-person services and a perfect future setup for Woman Divine:)

Love and Light,

Magdalena xo

Plant intelligence.

There is intelligence present within each plant that we can not fully grasp. Science plays an important role in helping us understand the physical aspects of plant life and the plant’s healing properties from the physical point of view. But there is another layer to plant life, another dimension that can never be understood or explained through our intellect. Simply because it is not of the physical world. .

If we reduce a human being just to to their physical form and we don’t acknowledge the miracle of life which lives within, then we miss the most important part of our existence. The same applies to plants.

Woman Divine products are created with living plants. Nature’s intelligence is present within each formula.
When you use Woman Divine products to take care of yourself take a moment to acknowledge the miracle that lives within each plant and within you.

Photo by Rob Little