Kevyn Aucoin was the first makeup artist that I had ever heard of when I was a teenager that was really famous and I bought all of his books when they came out and copied his makeup looks on myself and my patient friends endlessly and then we would trot around London, mostly hanging around tube stations, looking like teenage tranny’s with a full on all over shaded and contoured face, tons of powder, nude lip & a perfect liquid flicked out liner eye and always a slouchy sweater and leggings with black suede high heel knee high boots from Shellys, nice! He was obsessed with beauty, glamour and transformation and worked with his idols who became his friends. I remember reading somewhere that he was so tall that he got people to lie down in studios so that he could physically do their makeup on the floor. I think that was a titbit from an old Allure magazine. In my head he was the BFG of makeup. I love his aesthetic and I am still inspired by it and referencing it for shows, shoots and even red carpet jobs. He worked on some of my favourite fashion images of all time (Kate/Biba above) and also music videos (Janet Jackson/ Scream!!!). His legacy continues to sell posthumously and his products have just arrived in the UK at long last and are available at Space NK I particularly have loved using the brushes and they make me feel a brush stroke closer to the beauty legend that was Mr Kevyn Aucoin.
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