Category: Reviews

Reviews on all the best beauty products for makeup, skincare and hair.

2021-06-28 Makeup, Reviews

Eva Garden Makeup Review: Italian Pro Makeup + 3 Looks

Green Eva Garden eye makeup look with glossy lips

Ad: Neo Hiushuone & Eva Garden makeup

I’m always excited when I find a professional brand that lives up to its expectations. Eva Garden is an Italian professional makeup brand sold by salons and beauty professionals. The products are packed with pigment, they’re easy to use, and on my skin the formulas lasted well through the day.

Here’s my Eva Garden makeup review with favorite products and three makeup looks done with the products.

Eva Garden CC Primer, concealer, blush and lip gloss products

Eva Garden makeup review: quick verdict

Sophisticated and easy to use. That’s how I would describe this Italian brand. The quality is what I would expect from a professional makeup line, and so is the packaging: sleek black compacts, useful mirrors in the bigger pans, and textures that feel smooth instead of chalky.

The products are dermatologically tested and are mostly unscented. The powders were the clearest standout for me, because they had strong pigment but still blended easily.

Close-up of taupe Eva Garden eyeshadow and glossy lips

Favorite Eva Garden products

The CC Primer in 104 Caramel is the perfect summer product for my skin. It evens out my color, smooths out my skin and absorbs excess oil. I can use it alone or under foundation, but I love the thin cream just by itself. This is honestly all I need for a light base, because I use a concealer for my dark circles or any spots.

The Perfector Concealer in 334 Warm Cookie surprised me with its creamy, mousse-like consistency and its ability to hide my dark circles. I finally found a concealer shade that both neutralizes and brightens my under-eye area well.

Before and after Eva Garden CC Primer 104 and Perfector Concealer 334
Before and after Eva Garden CC Primer 104 and Perfector Concealer 334.

All the powder products within this brand really seem to have something in common: a dreamy consistency. The powders are packed with pigment, yet effortless to blend. When I first swatched the products, I smiled to myself, because this is exactly what I want from my color products.

The Superpearly Bronzer Powder in 905 and Fusion Blush in 348 Sugar Coral are great summer shades for me. The bronzer is quite dark on my skin, so I need to be careful with it, but the formula blends well. The coral blush was an easy choice for me, because it compliments a tan beautifully.

Product prices and shade ranges may have changed since this review was first published.

Three Eva Garden makeup looks

Green eye makeup

Finished green smokey eye makeup with Eva Garden eyeshadow

For eyeshadows, I chose three colors: matte brown 120, forest green 272 and sparkly taupe 244. Besides these, I got the All In One Twist Up Eyeshadow in Turquoise 361.

The shimmery and sparkly eyeshadows apply really nicely with a finger. When I did a green smokey eye look, I felt like I could have gotten away with just using my fingers and that one shadow. I saved the tutorial to my Instagram @charlottaeve highlights.

Soft taupe eye makeup

Smokey taupe Eva Garden eye makeup close-up
Another smokey eye done with the glittery taupe color, which is reflective and pretty.

Winged liner with All In One Eyeshadow

Four-step blue winged liner with Eva Garden Twist Up Eyeshadow

The Twist Up Eyeshadow is the perfect product for creating a cat eye or winged liner. I like the triangular tip, because I can use it to stamp on my wing. It’s especially handy for deep set eyes, which need a slightly different technique for winged liner.

The Twist Up Eyeshadow comes in different colors and can also be used to draw a thinner line.

Eva Garden Diamond Lip Gloss 851 on lips

The final product I want to mention is the Diamond Lip Gloss in 851 Innocente. The shade is a warm red with both warm and cool glitters. The gloss looks multidimensional on the lips, feels moisturizing and did not dry out my lips even though it is very glittery.

Eva Garden CC Primer, concealer and bronzer beside a finished green makeup look

Where to try and buy Eva Garden in Helsinki

All in all, I’m happy with the Eva Garden products and can warmly recommend them if you like polished, professional textures and strong pigment.

If you want to try the products in person, start with Neo Hiushuone's Eva Garden makeup services and product sales. Neo has moved from the old Kamppi address to Museokatu 44, 00100 Helsinki. You can also check Evagarden's Finnish importer New Life Cosmetics for current importer information in Finland.

More makeup tutorials and reviews

If you try an Eva Garden look, tag or message me on Instagram @charlottaeve.

2021-06-04 Reviews

Vita Liberata Heavenly Elixir Tanning Lotion – worth the hype

Vita Liberata Heavenly Elixir self tan bottle and box

pr-gift

 

Vita Liberata Heavenly Elixir is a tinted self tan I first reviewed in 2021. The promises for the product were quite high and I saw it hyped up in social media. But is it worth the hype?

Quick verdict: yes. Heavenly Elixir gave me an even, deep tan overnight, felt moisturizing on the skin and covered the usual self-tan smell with a cocoa scent.

To be perfectly honest, I expected not to like the product at all. At the very least I was sure it couldn’t beat my all time favorite product: the invisi mousse. But it just so happens that the self tan product is indeed quite heavenly. The Heavenly Elixir cream is moisturizing, the color makes it easy to blend evenly and best of all, the delicious scent totally covers the self tan odour.

Vita Liberata Heavenly Elixir self tan review product photo

Vita Liberata Heavenly Elixir review

This new product is advertised to develop over three days, through encapsulated DHA technology. You do get the color in 8 hours, but it should deepen and continue to develop after that. The cream itself has a wash-off color, which makes the application easier (because you see where you applied it).

So I apply it in the evening, sleep with it and shower in the morning. And even after shower it should somehow stay on my skin and keep working its magic. I’m not quite sure about that. I have now used it two times and I didn’t notice it changing throughout the three days. What I did notice was the beautiful deep tan it gave me in just one night. And I love it.

I have the shade Medium and my tan usually lasts nice for about a week, after which it starts to fade. I never have problems of it fading blotchy or looking bad – maybe because I never go for an over the top tan. That said, I exercise daily and shower usually two times per day. So I don’t expect miracles from self tanners. I usually keep my tan on for 1-2 weeks after, which I exfoliate my skin and redo it.

Vita Liberata Heavenly Elixir before and after self tan result

Tips for the best self tan result

  • Exfoliate your skin one day prior to applying your product
  • Apply the product with a mitt in circular motions, one area at a time:
    shins, thighs, stomach, back, decollete & hands
  • Take your time in application:
    after the product is absorbed on to your skin, go over the area one more time in circular motions
  • Don’t overdo your tan – that way it looks natural, even when it starts to wear off

Vita Liberata Heavenly Elixir tinted self tan lotion

Delicious scent, no self tan smell at all & lovely, moisturizing consistency

The cream has a sweet cocoa scent that first felt quite strong. Especially, since the invisi mousse is totally unscented. However, after a while I got used to it and now I love it. Even more so, because it really hides all the self tan odour. Usually my man can smell my self tan at some point in the night, even though it’s really mild with Vita Liberata’s products. This time – actually both times I used it – he didn’t have a clue. (He said that I fooled him, in the morning when I woke up all tanned and revealed I had put on self tan in the evening, but that’s just him being silly.)

Another thing I love about the new product is the consistency. The cream is moisturizing and feels lovely on the skin. Yet it doesn’t leave my skin sticky. That was another fear I had about this product. At this point you probably get why I had to blog about this product, and why it’s so good. I honestly had low expectations, but after trying it I knew the world (heh, or my blog readers) needed to hear about it.

Vita Liberata Heavenly Elixir tinted tanning lotion color swatch

My favorite self tans from Vita Liberata

Vita Liberata is my number one self tan brand, so I’ve written about their products before. Read more about Vita Liberata Invisi Mousse and body products, or see my post on Vita Liberata glow products and Fabulous Self Tanning Mist.

Vita Liberata Heavenly Elixir self tan and application mitt

All in all, Vita Liberata’s Heavenly Elixir is definitely in my top list of best self tanners. It gives a beautiful even tan in just one night. However, I still also love the Invisi Mousse and recommend that style of product if you don’t like scented self tanners.

For my face I use the Fabulous Self Tanning Mist, because it’s easy to mix in with my skincare products. It’s also a great product for the decollete area, if I feel like my tan starts to fade.

To conclude this post: if you’re looking for a self tan with a delicious scent and very little self-tan odour, this might just be your match.

Update: Vita Liberata has since refreshed its packaging and product range. The current Heavenly product is sold as Tinted Heavenly Tanning Elixir, so check the exact version and shade before buying.

I have listed other brands and favorite self tanners for face and body in a separate guide.

Current product link:
Vita Liberata Tinted Heavenly Tanning Elixir Medium (official Vita Liberata)

Natural self tan tips with Vita Liberata Heavenly Elixir

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