We are a nation whose standard of living definitely improves. And since, according to the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, we meet the basic ones, we begin to think of the higher tier. We have the means required to live, now the question is: how. We are looking for answers in bookstores, where shelves are full of guidebooks on how to make every day lucky and satisfying.

Over the past few years Poles have been in awe of the Scandinavian goods. We read crimes, buy furniture and sweaters from the north. With the increase in popularity of the region, which we have ignored so far as bland and gray, many guidebooks have emerged praising the lifestyle of the modern day descendants of the Vikings. First Norwegian „hygge„, then Swedish „lagom„.

Hygge can’t be translated into any language, it means roughly the sense of cosiness, closeness and sociability. It’s finding pleasure in small things: in burning candles, baking good cake to go with a cup of coffee, an outdoor stroll. „Hygge comes from the need for simplicity, the desire to return to the basics.” It favours the abandonment of consumerism. Exchanging fast food for slow life. Shutting down the computer, turning off your phone and going out. In Scandinavia there is a law that allows anyone to use any land as long as he doesn’t do any damage. (excluding private ownership, of course) It means that you can set up a tent, start a fire and spend time surrounded by nature. There are no closed national parks, designated camping zones.

Scandinavians spend a lot of time in nature, enjoying its beauty and beneficial, sometimes even therapeutic effect. And they enjoy it very much. Hygge means being close to nature, using its goods, respecting it and treating yourself as a part of it. In the book „Fortunately Hygge”, apart from advice on how to spend your days cosily, you will also find a whole lot of interesting recipes, perfect for autumn and winter.

The Swedish response to hygge is lagom that can be translated as „not too much, not too little, just enough”. Lagom means searching for balance in everything. We work just as much as we need, we eat moderately, but enough not to feel hungry, we spend appropriate amount of time with friends.

A significant part of Swedish style is the pursuit of a state when nothing goes to waste.

We use the remains of food, we make over old clothes, paint the furniture anew. We eat healthily, we dress up functionally, we get together to clean someone’s garage. We don’t waste time nor strength. But all that effort gets rewarded. Fredagsmys – it’s a holy time for the Swedes: on Fridays they get into sweatpants, they open crisps and chill out while watching their favorite show. This evening is about complete relaxation, there’s no place for high-heels. It has to be lazy and comfortable.

If you are interested in life, not just a happy one but also long, then look for your own ikigai. Ikigai is a goal leading people through life, motivating them to be active and to develop. The Japanese know what they are talking about, after all, they have a unique town with the highest longevity rate in the world. To safely pass the 100-year life limit, you should eat well, sleep well and take care of your mental health.

You can find guidelines for these activities in the book „Ikigai. The Japanese secret of a long and happy life”. For those who are struggling with autumn blues, it may be helpful to read the chapter on logotherapy and finding the reason to live. Those who find everyday life monotonous will discover exercises to stimulate the brain and small challenges to keep it active. What is more, there are whole yoga sequences for the body and introduction to meditation for the spirit.

And what if none of these life styles fits you?

If that’s the case, I recommend „It’s going to be fine, somehow. Happiness in Polish”. Every Pole should read that charming book at least once every six months. Even to remind ourselves that we are a nation not only of insurgents, patriots and martyrs, connected by decades of martyrology. Because there is cavalryman’s flair in all of us, which is a combination of hygge and lagom, and it also can’t be properly translated into any other language. We are creative, funny, we can have fun and laugh at ourselves. We live in a paradise full of colors, magic places, unique traditions and … contradictions. Only in Poland there’s countryside that blooms all year round. Only we can be the masters of sneer. Only here there’s a city with dwarfs running around. If you feel that you are complaining too much, calm down. First of all, it is our national feature, so, you know: „Sorry, it’s just the way it is”. And secondly, there is a cure for it – a funny book that makes everyone smile.

I’m just waiting impatiently untill the trend to write guidebooks reaches the south. I look forward to the La Dolce Vita guidebook!

Interview with Szymon Kaźmierczak, a man who proves that we can create fragrant cosmetics that furiously foam and shine like moon dust using only natural ingredients. This is a preface to introduce you to the Purite brand.

I browsed Purite’s website carefully, because natural cosmetics are something I have recently been choosing more and more willingly for myself. I only wonder if it is possible to create truly natural cosmetics when there is so much chemistry on shelves in drugstores.

It’s nothing new, it’s all about the money. Most cosmetics available in drugstores contain petroleum derivatives and water, i.e. the two cheapest raw materials. The combination of water and oil ensures long shelf life of products, because there is no way something will happen to them. The product is stable, i.e. regardless of the time and manner of storage it doesn’t change its consistency or fragrance, and the individual batches don’t differ from each other. The product has to be safe, predictable and durable due to the content of countless chemical additives. Meanwhile, these ubiquitous chemicals in cosmetics, food and clothes kill us.

However, I, for example, don’t think about this durability. The fact that something can stand on the shelf for a long time doesn’t influence my purchase decision. I just wonder if I should choose the one available online, the one that looks like a pharmacy product or a plastic jar from beauty supply store.

But the customer’s opinion isn’t the most important for producers, the distributor’s opinion is also significant. When cosmetics are created with expiration date of several years, no additional costs arise for both the manufacturer or the distributor. The required storage method is also important. The cosmetic which has the longest shelf life in Purite is soap, which retains its best properties for two years. All other cosmetics that are based on oil have an expiration date which is the same as the oil’s expiration date. Most often it’s one year. Cosmetics based on plant water, very sensitive to the influence of external factors, have a validity period of only six months. In addition, we use special packaging to ensure the best possible durability of our products.

For example, I’ve been using hazelnut oil for some time now and I love the immediate effect it gives – the skin is soft and smells nice. And I don’t think about what will happen with my skin in a while, I like what I feel at the moment.

Our clients are already thinking about how to make the effect they want to achieve last longer than one hour. Apart from anointment and this instant “wow” effect, they want to supply the skin with substances that will ensure that in 10 years they can enjoy young and fresh looking skin. Often, the ingredients responsible for a great start effect for prolonged use have a bad effect on the appearance of the skin. A lot of cosmetics are specially composed in order to provide customers with immediate desirable effect, but in fact they hide a real problem that comes doubled back in time. Luckily, our users are gaining more and more knowledge on skincare, as they did in terms of organic food, for instance. Furthermore, a very popular argan oil, having great reputation, can make our skin dry when used daily. Only proper balancing of ingredients, composing them well, will give the right effect.
We focus on conscious people, who not only appreciate well-thought-out formulas of our cosmetics but also appreciate our recyclable packaging (glass, paper), our zero waste aspiration and therapeutic effects that our ingredients have. We want to start a long lasting relationship with such customers.

It seems to me that despite our awareness in making healthy choices, we’re in need of proper education in this area. We all reject chemicals, check the composition of products, focus on natural choices – that kind of restrictions calm our conscience and we do not delve further.

That’s why there are such long descriptions on our website. We try to explain to customers the mechanism behind every cosmetic. Why does combining one substance with another lead to selected result? Some people say that these descriptions are too long, but we believe they are necessary.

What else grabs your customers’ attention?

I have the impression that the fans of our brand are aware and well-educated. The first thing they do is read the composition of the cosmetics. Of course, they also pay attention to the way our cosmetics present themselves and that’s good, because we try to turn away from the typical economic image.

Your packaging is beautiful! We are a generation that pays a lot of attention to the way a product looks like. We buy with our eyes.

This is thanks to Sebastian Kubiak, who is responsible for the image of our products … Our customers appreciate our aesthetics and we are aware of this. Moreover, our packaging is environmentally friendly. This is very important to us.

Tell us about the therapeutic properties of your cosmetics. How to make a home spa and feel this therapeutic power even when you have only 15 minutes a day for yourself?

The therapeutic power of the ingredients we use, i.e. herbs and ethereal oils, accompanies you throughout the day, you wear them on your skin all day long. The fact, that we spend 3 minutes to put on a cosmetic, doesn’t mean that it works only for 3 minutes. If you apply a nettle to your face, its antibacterial effect won’t be perceptible for just a moment, but the entire therapeutic and nursing process will take much longer. Of course, our cosmetics are not medicinal, but we want them to improve the mood through aromatherapy and stimulation of the skin to counteract possible problems. Plants, herbs and oils we use have the effect of improving mood and condition of the skin.

Do your customers ask you questions like – I need something to give me energy boost every morning. Can you give a specific answer?

Now clients most often ask us what to do with dry skin or thread veins, what to do with irritated baby skin. We get a lot of ordinary questions and we try to find relevant answers. Because skin problems are affecting more and more people. Thoughtful treatment gives great results.
The subject of how to add energy in the morning, eliminate the autumn blues, or simply add yourself courage … that subject still needs exploring … it’s still a bit of a mystery. We hope that by the end of the year we will be able to present everything we’ve come up with.

That’s awesome, because people buy not only packaging, but they look for something specific as well and it’s great that they can find it here.

Our clients buy the knowledge, matter-of-factness and ingredients that actually work.