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The Skin Breathes
Evan Healy
By Tonie Minsal
This is the simple but effective philosophy behind
Evan Healy’s
line.
I have to say that Evan got points right up front for her
name; my name being Tonie, I have a fondness for girls with
boy names! I was lucky enough to try Evan’s hydrosols, body
butters, body lotion, and natural perfume.
As far as being
upscale, Evan is the clear winner in this
reviewer’s race for organic gold; her presentation and
attention to detail are truly impressive. Her products are
beautifully packaged and wrapped in handmade paper, and she
includes a sweet little rosebud in every package - I love that!
Evan’s line exudes an aura of extreme cleanliness, and every
last detail, down to the groovy little spiral paper clips that
she puts on her literature, is seen to. Evan’s line really
gives you the feeling that with this much care given to the
packaging - wow - the products inside must really be something
special!
I was going to give you bathers a little bio on Evan,
but the one on her site is so comprehensive that I encourage
you to read it; she has a truly interesting background. Evan
is her own best advertising - look at the pictures of her on
her site and try to guess her age. All I’m gonna say is you’re
wrong - way wrong!
My absolute favorite product of Evan’s is her organic
Patchouli Vanilla Shea Butter ($24.00 for a 1.6oz jar). Evan
blends Nilotica shea butter from Uganda, rosehip seed oil,
patchouli essential oil, and vanilla absolute from Madagascar.
The resulting fragrance is absolutely addicting, very mellow
and sexy.
It’s notable that Evan uses patchouli oil that has
been aged at least five years, like a fine wine. Another
unique aspect of this patchouli oil is that it’s
iron-free; this means that the oil has been distilled in
stainless steel casks, as opposed to iron, thus rendering a
cleaner, lighter oil. Interesting, huh?
Evan also makes a
yummy Orange Vanilla Shea Butter that smells kinda like a
Creamsicle - this one contains essential oil of sweet orange
and vanilla absolute. I’m just wild about a good shea butter
with only essential oils added - it’s such a pleasure to use -
very moisturizing without being greasy, and the texture of
Evan’s butters is fabu.
The Tropical Mango Shea Butter is
softer than the other two, owing to the mango, avocado, and
aloe butters it contains. This butter has a very unique scent
which I suspect comes from the mango butter. Evan is also
socially responsible in that she deals with shea producers who
support Fair Trade, which translates into children’s education
and food - really cool, huh?!
The Body Chai Lotion ($21.00 for a 4 oz. bottle, $37.50 for an 8 oz.
pump bottle) is really unique: essential oils of
cinnamon, clove, cardamon and ginger render it very hot and
spicy smelling, just like the Chai tea it’s named for.
Body Chai contains all kinds of organic goodies, including
safflower and wheat germ oils, marshmallow root, comfrey root,
sea algae and aloe vera gel. This lotion left my skin nicely
moisturized without being greasy.
Spray All Day
Evan also makes three delightful floral waters, or hydrosols,
and although they’re called facial tonics, you can use them
all over your body. I tried all three: the Rosa Damascena,
Lavender Honey, and Rose Geranium ($10 for a 2oz spray
bottle, $16.00 for 4oz), and they’re all dee-lightful!
 The
Rose Geranium is nice; it smells almost wine-like. I reeeally
liked the Lavender Honey and Rosa Damascena tonics; the
Lavender Honey actually smells like real honey! The Rosa
Damascena is a really beautiful fragrance- it smells
just like freshly cut roses.
Hydrosols are the byproduct of
the distillation process, so they’re just pure floral water,
and you can spritz them all over, even on your hair! Very
refreshing! Evan is fond of saying "spray all day!", and I
agree!
These tonics are a great way to hydrate your skin
naturally. Evan’s attention to detail is evidenced yet again
in her choice of spray bottles: glass, of course, and with a
great little sprayer that delivers a fine mist every time.
This bears mentioning as there have been countless times when
I’ve experienced a less than optimal spray bottle - you know,
the kind that delivers a needle-like spritz like a laser that
hits you right in the eye? If you haven’t had the pleasure of
that experience, let me tell you - it’s a treat!
Evan’s Mimosa Natural Perfume ($38.00 for a 1oz spray
bottle) is a treat. I have Mimosa trees in my backyard, so I’m
already familiar with their light, sweet fragrance. This
perfume, a blend of mimosa and grapefruit essential oils, is
light, citrus-y, sweet, and beautiful. It can also be used
to perfume the environment, as well as linens.
Evan recently started custom blending natural perfumes, and
she was sweet enough to surprise me with one. Just from our
e-mail correspondence, she concocted a custom fragrance that
was much to my liking - and that was without even having a
consultation with me!
You can call Evan to inquire about this
service.
Evan also gave me the inside scoop on some new all natural
bath milks that she’s formulating; I tried the prototypes and
they’re wonderful! Check her web site for availability.
I can tell you bathers, Evan Healy’s products will definitely
be a part of this reviewer’s beauty arsenal from here on out -
they rock! (Editor's note: although EvanHealy.com is visually appealing and includes good background
info, as an online store it is a little problematic.
Many of her products don't appear on the site; you may have to
contact her for a more complete list.
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