Beauty Obsessed

10 years ago today, the beauty world suffered a great loss: iconic makeup artist Kevyn Aucoin, who touched so many people with his legendary skill, as well as his innate kindness, passed away.  Before this tragedy, I was an avid fan, having purchased both his ‘Making Faces’ and ‘Face Forward’ books and poring over his makeup mastery regularly.  I had forgotten how much he had influenced my passion for makeup, turning it from just a fun little hobby into something much more.  His artistry amazed me; how he could transform people into their very best selves, or into someone else entirely (hello, Martha Stewart into Veronica Lake?!).  When I realized the 10th anniversary of his death was approaching, I pulled out the two books and had a lovely trip down memory lane.  I wanted to do some sort of tribute in his honor, as he certainly helped set me on the path I’m on today, which in turn brought me to blogging!

One picture in the ‘Making Faces’ book that always caught my eye when I was younger, was the colorful one he did on Kate Moss (someone I’ve always idolized for her seemingly eternal beauty).  I thought I’d try and replicate it, as it also seems well-suited for the season.  Please forgive me for the less-than-ideal quality of the photos; I’m trying so hard to learn my camera’s abilities but I’m still coming up short for my tastes.  Hopefully you get the idea!

These are all the products I used to create the look – it was quite simple, really!

For the eyes, it was turquoise liner on the upper and lower water lines (I used Milani’s Liquif-EYE in Aqua) and a wash of metallic green shadow on lid and underneath the eye – Lise Watier’s Couleur Folle in Folie Pomme (a shimmering golden green) seemed to match the photo perfectly.

I added a metallic gold shade (MAC’s Pigment in Melon) to the centre of the lid, and also used any excess to buff out the edges of the green shadow.

A good dose of black mascara (Laura Mercier’s Full Blown Volume in this case) on the top lashes defined the eye.  Kevyn  used turquoise mascara on the bottom lashes, but since I don’t own any I used my MUFE liquid liner in #5 (a bright aqua) by holding the wand vertically and moving back and forth across my lower lashes.

Lips were lined and filled in with a flesh-toned lip pencil (here it’s Joan Rivers Beauty in Nude!) and then topped with a sheer red gloss (I used NARS Wonder, which got quite toned down with the nude pencil).

Bringing everything together, cheeks were warmed up with a touch of cream blush used on the temples and brought down toward the cheekbones.  I used one of my faves, MUFE HD Microfinish Blush in #12, a bright apricot.

Obviously, I’m no Kate Moss, so even if you could see my handy-work in person (and it does look better in person), I wouldn’t be doing it justice   But, I had a lot of fun playing and remembering what it was like when I first started to really fall in love with makeup.  I find lately I take less risks with my looks, going to soft and subtle over more colorful, daring makeup, so this was a great throwback to the days when I used to wear blue mascara regularly, or green eyeliner with purple shadow, and rocked it out HARD.  I still love looking at the colors, but find my ‘sensible’ side kicks in a lot more than it used to.  THIS is what I’ve always taken away from Kevyn – to exercise that creative muscle and really enjoy makeup and it’s artistic qualities, and use it as a true form of expression.  And you can express yourself throughother people, too – I like to think that’s what Kevyn did; it was through his skillful touch and the way he could make every man and woman look absolutely stunning that showed the truly beautiful nature of his soul.  I felt a deep regret at his passing, and in taking this trip down memory lane I feel that sorrow anew, but also feel thankful that he graced us at all with his being and all his talent.  He will always be remembered in this beauty-lover’s heart!

Did Kevyn Aucoin influence you at all?  What was your beauty catalyst?  What do you think of my FOTD?