Elisenda Monté invited us over on a sunny spring day, to her beautiful showroom in Barcelona's Gràcia neighbourhood.

She met us at the door with a smile and a little helper nestled on her hip, and from that very first moment we felt right at home.

Together we talked about subjects close to our heart: the impact of everything we put on our skin, the central role of transparency in her project, and the importance of conscious consumption. All the while, life simply happened around us — Telmo nursed, played with the flowers, Eli changed his bodysuit...

Mamita Botanical is a natural cosmetics project born in 2016 out of a personal experience of Elisenda's: a bout of rosacea that led her to seek natural alternatives when conventional treatments didn't resonate with her way of understanding the body and health.

Today, together with her business partner Iris, she's building a 100% natural cosmetics brand with a philosophy that reaches far beyond the product itself: radical transparency, anti-ageism, conscious consumption, and a deep respect for medicinal plants.

Eli, tell us — how was Mamita Botanical born?

Mamita is a project that grew out of a need of my own. When I was very young, I had a serious skin condition and I looked for a natural alternative. My parents raised me in a very healthy, conscious way, so at the time, the corticosteroids I'd been prescribed to treat my skin weren't an option for me. I also wanted to understand, on an emotional level, what was happening to me — why my skin was reacting that way. Later on, I understood it: the skin is a reflection of the whole body — of your emotions, of what you eat, of whatever you're going through.

When did you know that Mamita Botanical would be your life's project?

I realised it when I went looking for that alternative solution for myself — to heal my skin beyond just putting a cream on top. I knew the problem would disappear for a moment, but that it would come back, because it was only a temporary fix. As I researched and treated myself, I discovered there were alternative ways to care for the skin, and the idea of being able to help others going through the same thing I was felt truly wonderful.

And the name? Where does "Mamita Botanical" come from?

The name Mamita comes from a journey I took through northern Argentina, Bolivia and Peru, where I met the mamitas: women of great strength who keep a little garden of medicinal plants at home. Completely naturally, and asking nothing in return, they taught me about medicinal plants and skincare. They were the first women to teach me all of that. For me, our project's name is an act of gratitude towards them, and towards all women.

What would you say are Mamita's values?

Transparency is vital to us. We reflect that in our packaging too: we place the product's ingredients right at the front, clearly visible. And then the logo sits all the way at the bottom, because we're not what matters — the product is. In the cosmetics industry, the ingredients, which we call INCI, are usually hidden, in tiny print, but we've always chosen to be transparent.

In the hyper-consumerist society we live in, one that's constantly trying to sell you things, our goal is to genuinely help you: to raise your awareness, to raise everyone's awareness.

We also steer clear of terms like "anti-wrinkle", "anti-sagging", "anti-ageing"… women are already worn down by aesthetic pressure, and our products don't go down that road.

How do you connect the project to conscious consumption, beyond cosmetics?

What we consume matters deeply to us — both visually and in the clothes we wear. That's why we're so mindful of the purchases we make, of what we eat and what we wear, because everything we put on our skin has an impact: it enters the bloodstream all the same. What we consume has an impact on a global scale.

Mamita was born in 2016. You became a mother a little later. What has motherhood brought to your project?

Motherhood has given me so much confidence. I've always been a shy person and, of course, an insecure one at times. Having my first child gave me the courage to gather my strength and see that we simply have to keep moving forward. I put myself in situations where I maybe wasn't comfortable, but that I had to face. And I also got much better at managing my time.

How do you balance motherhood and your professional life?

Being self-employed, bringing them together is inevitable. Luckily I have my business partner Iris, who supports me completely. I think doing it alone would be impossible. They come together, they blend, they're constantly living side by side. With my first pregnancy it was more overwhelming, because becoming a mother for the first time is an enormous shift. Now I have a sense of what's coming, even if it's always different from what you expect. But I more or less know the rhythms now, and I know what I'll be able to do and what I won't.

Our thanks to Elisenda for her warmth and generosity in opening the doors of her showroom and making us feel so at ease.

And thank you to videographer and photographer Montse Capdevila for capturing it all with such sensitivity.

Eli and Telmo are wearing pieces from the Raíces SS26 collection.