Aromacosmetics ”Klementina” was founded in 2012. as one of the pioneers in aromacosmetics manufacturing in our country. Natural cosmetics based on plant and essential oils has a holistic approach to soul and body care.
Apart from incredible products for skin, body, and hair care, it’s well known for its natural cosmetics workshops that share knowledge in aromatherapy, appropriate use of essential oils, and making aromacosmetics. Many national brands of natural hand-made cosmetics took up education courses within our Association and we were an inspiration in the beginning when natural cosmetics wasn’t so famous.
The collection of face, body, and hair care products is made with carefully chosen ingredients. One part of raw materials such as oils, or a butter made of exotic herbs and active components, arrive from (originate) France that is our infinite source of knowledge and inspiration. We tend to invest in our development by visiting and staying in beautiful Paris that always gives new insights into the field of aromatherapy and new ideas about high-quality sustainable packaging. The unpolluted area surrounding the magical Rtanj mountain provides us with all the raw materials and plants that we harvest ourselves and process on our own.
As true nature lovers and followers of a healthy lifestyle, we made a final decision, after many years of city life, to buy land, leave Belgrade and move closer to nature. We bought the land in the village of Vrmdza, near Rrtanj, and we dedicate it to fulfilling our new dream of building and cultivating THE FIRST Aroma Park in Serbia.
It would be a place surrounded by a beautiful forest, medicinal herbs, the gurgling of a crystal-clear brook, and astonishing rocks. Staying in Aroma Park offers such a unique experience and the possibility to get to know better the nature of plants and how to use them in making natural cosmetics, cooking, and aromatherapy, as well as in phytotherapy. Every time you buy any of Klementina’s products you help grow our small company which products are made with a lot of love, skills, and attention, and in this way, you support our dream and expanding the well-being of everyone.
The year 2011 marked the beginning of my job in a shop that sells aromatherapy products made in London.
The assortment consisted of essential oils, bath bombs, candles, big bars of soaps and my job was to cut the amount of soap requested by a customer. The moment I cut my first soap, I truly felt love at first sight and the joy I felt back then still lasts. My story of cutting the bar of soap and finding inspiration through the process made many enthusiasts follow the same path of creating natural cosmetics. Cutting the bars of soap felt like cutting the food for the body and soul.
While you cut the soap the scent gets stronger and you get surprised by the mixtures you find out. My first encounter with essential oils and aromatherapy has opened the door to the infinite world where every breath you take is a single dance between you and the herbs. As I understood the purpose and the use of essential oils, I was encouraged to learn about methods of application, indications, and safety precautions of every essential oil to assist and present them to my customers.
Since I didn’t have any training for the job, my research had to start on the internet. Shortly after, I used every salary to buy essential oils so that I could experiment with different combinations of oils such as shea butter which, by the way, was almost impossible to be found as a natural person. To get all the raw materials needed, I had to go through a particular adventure, which I could conclude with the help of many different and heart-warming supporters – friends I met along the way. I made face creams and body lotions along with mixtures of oils that people recognized as something diverse and better than the standard offer that created more damage than good.
At that time, natural cosmetics didn’t play such a significant role, so I had to educate people on why it is important to use natural skin care products. The kitchen alchemy I created and the positive feedback I got from people that tried some of my products brought me to a realization. The fact that my life doesn’t need to have a fixed schedule, that I don’t need to travel to work, have a supervisor, or go through all the traumas as a member of a working team, came almost as enlightenment to me. Back then, it took a lot of courage to get something started since social media didn’t present great marketing and sales possibilities as nowadays. Facing the environment that lives and believes in the system as the right and the only way was to live was difficult to explain. My free spirit longed for something different, and its rejection to participate in this created reality was loud and clear.The first step was quitting my job and packing my aromatherapy case, which was supposed to be my source of income during my stay in the beautiful city of Pula where I was camping on the beach all summer long. Croatia is more advanced when it comes to aromatherapy, related literature, and practical knowledge.
I arrived at the right place and made connections with people who guided me towards the place I could get to know more about essential oil therapy. I will never forget when I first encountered the golden plant Helichrysum (Immortelle) that grows amongst rocks and does not wither even after its picked. At that time, I learned the proper way to harvest herbs and make macerated oils. My first macerated oils were made of Helichrysum and St. John’s Wort plants while I waited for the dolphins when the sun was setting down. The life I wanted I lived without feeling guilty. Why do I mention the sense of guilt? Because my choice was unconventional back then and therefore not acceptable by the system designed for making us slaves instead of leaders of our life. My parents thought it should stay a hobby, and that I should find a ”real job” while my friends were suspicious in terms of whether I know what I’m doing and how long will I keep up like this. As in the first year I only gave products away, I started receiving feedbacks from customers very soon after they received them. I felt so powerful every time I heard from people that had a severe skin condition and couldn’t fix it by using regular cosmetics.
I admit I found it incredible that a simple recipe as a couple of drops of essential oils such as sage and lavender put in a shea butter could fix the skin that was very difficult to treat for years. That’s how Klementina cosmetics was born. I would always give away body and face soaps made with so much love, and hence my friends named me Generous Klementina. Also, there was a song about Klementina that I used to sing to my grandmother. Songs like these are deeply etched into our memory and we still remember them today. I have studied cosmetology, aromatherapy, and raindrop massage technique at Aroma Tea Aromatherapy Institute in Belgrade, Serbia. Having graduated, I have begun my research in France, where I have participated in various workshops, learning how to make soap, face and body care products, hair care products, perfumes and makeup. At present, I am studying aromatherapy at Aroma Vita Aromatherapy Institute in Zagreb, Croatia.
This fantastic year 2020 has marked the beginning of a new era and our relocation to a place where nature is breathtaking, among magical mountains and healing waters. A new chapter begins in Sokobanja, where now our beauty workshop, as well as cosmetics production, is located. I finally have the opportunity to pick and harvest plants myself and prepare macerated oils, powders, and herbs used in my cosmetic preparations. For a long time, life in the city hasn’t been any source of new chances for me. At present, my life is leading towards the right direction I have been dreaming of from the start. I have participated in training in wild plant harvesting at the event St. John the Herb Picker.
I got an award ”Master’s letter” from the Independent Craft Union of Serbia for manufacturing natural skin-care products based on medicinal plants. Never stop dreaming but your desire shouldn’t remain a dream, action is necessary to make a big part of our desires worth living for a reality. This is the story of how a wish, an idea, and action were born to design Klementina’s aroma park. I’ve found the place of my dreams located in the area of the mountain Rtanj.
It’s such happiness that I’ve become the owner of the property. We start growing different plants, the natural building of mountain cabins that will provide accommodation in our holistic center. The center will be hosting diverse educational programs aiming at medicinal herbs and the formulation of natural remedies. The idea of skin-care products that follow the growth of a plant, the blooming, picking, and preparations is something I’ve always dreamed about, and now I am more than sure that the path I’m walking on is the right one.