Mariana Quintero opened a single workbench in Sayulita the year she left her Mexico City lab. A decade later, that bench has grown into a coastal atelier of twenty-seven makers, one ethnobotanist, and a quietly deliberate way of bottling the plants of Jalisco, Oaxaca, and Nayarit.
Mariana Quintero spent seven years as a cosmetic chemist in a white-walled laboratory in Colonia Roma. The formulas were precise. The shelves were full. Something was missing.
"I wanted to know what a plant smelled like in the field before I asked it to do anything in a bottle," she writes in the atelier's small blue notebook. So in the spring of 2014, she rented a one-room studio four blocks from the beach in Sayulita, packed two crates of glassware on a bus from the capital, and began blending bath soaks by hand for the boutique hotels up the coast.
That decision — slow, coastal, plant-first — is the only reason Chivitchiva Spa exists today. Everything else, from the apothecary glass to the refill program, follows from a single intent: make bath rituals the way a grandmother would, with a chemist's respect for the raw material.
Ten years on, Mariana still signs off on every production batch. The notebook still sits on the cedar bench, next to the brass scale.
Dr. Itzel Vargas — ethnobotanist, Sayulita field station
In 2021, Mariana partnered with ethnobotanist Dr. Itzel Vargas to develop ten signature plant complexes — the backbone of every formula in the 38-SKU catalog. The flagship, a Blue Agave & Copal resin infusion, was patented that same year.
Itzel does not work in the atelier. She works in the thornscrub, on foot, with a field journal that is older than the brand. Her brief to Mariana has never changed: if the plant cannot teach us something we did not already know, we do not bottle it.
No vague "our journey" paragraph — only the years, the work, and the recognition that followed.
Mariana Quintero opens a one-room studio four blocks from the beach in Sayulita, Nayarit, blending the first bath soaks by hand for boutique hotels up the coast.
Wins Best New Bath Brand at the Indie Beauty Expo. The catalog expands to 22 SKUs and the atelier hires its fifth full-time maker.
Partners with ethnobotanist Dr. Itzel Vargas to develop the patented Blue Agave & Copal resin infusion. The 10-plant complex system is finalized.
Featured in Vogue Mexico's "10 Mexican Brands to Know" list. Stocked in 140+ boutique hotels and wellness retreats across North America.
Voted Best Indie Bath Brand at the Beauty Independent Awards. The refill program hits 4,200 active members, diverting an estimated 18,000 glass bottles from landfill.
Shipped to 41 countries with 11,800+ verified Trustpilot reviews averaging 4.9/5. The atelier team reaches 27 full-time makers, botanists, and client concierge staff.
A working studio is a roster — not a logo. Three of the twenty-seven makers who keep Chivitchiva running, in their own words.
Eight years at the atelier. Camila runs the morning batch and signs off on every Blue Agave & Copal infusion that leaves the bench. Trained under Mariana in Mexico City, moved to Sayulita in 2017.
"The plant tells you when it is ready. You just have to be at the bench early enough to hear it."
Joined Chivitchiva in 2019. Coordinates the harvest calendar with 22 small farms across Jalisco, Oaxaca, and Nayarit.
"The damiana only opens on the third dry morning. We never pick before then."
Answers every order note and refill request personally. Sofía joined the atelier in 2021 after eight years at a boutique hotel in Punta Mita.
"If your bottle arrived warm, I want to know about it before you do."
Every plant in every formula is harvested by hand from one of twenty-two small farms we know by name. We pay an average 38% above fair-trade benchmarks, and we visit each farm at least once a year.
