We’re All Beautiful Thanks to Kevyn Aucoin Beauty
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Kevyn Aucoin Beauty – Lip Gloss and Flesh Tone Lip Pencil – Swatches and Review
As much as I love Kevyn Aucoin Beauty‘s new lip products – be patient, I’ll be raving about them in a minute – I love the story of the man himself even more. At the age of 20, he fled his oppressive hometown of Lafayette, Louisiana in a cloud of Greyhound Bus smoke, moving to New York City without a single credit on his resume.
By volunteering to do makeup at models’ test shoots, he was discovered by Vogue’s beauty editor, who booked him on a job with iconic photographer Steven Meisel. Overnight, he became a regular fixture at Vogue, his trademark natural look dominating the next two decades of beauty. Kevyn’s contributions were consistently groundbreaking (for instance, he pioneered the use of yellow-toned foundations).
His death at 40 was a terrible loss. But the legacy he left – his techniques, his how-to books, and his Kevyn Aucoin Beauty brand – live on to inspire any woman to be her most beautiful self.
And what makes us feel more beautiful than naturally lush, glossy lips? Kevyn Aucoin Beauty makes it easy with the two products I tested: The Lip Gloss and The Flesh Tone Lip Pencil.
The Kevyn Aucoin Lip Gloss ($30) offers a patented oversized doe foot applicator that replicates the makeup artist’s fingertip!
The rich formula, full of vitamins extracted from sunflower seed oil, castor oil, and lanolin oil, is rich and not too sticky. The Kevyn Aucoin Lip Gloss comes in 19 colors; four of which are new for spring 2014, and I tested two.
Neottiana – This is a goes-with-everything neutral warm shimmer that will not be phased out of my makeup bag until every drop is gone. Every time I put it on, I think about the way Kevyn aimed to bring out the beauty in every woman.
Bloodroses – A gloss version of Kevyn’s trademark blackened red (think “vamp”) lipstick. While the lipstick has a serious cult following, its color is very intense and dramatic. This see-thru gloss is lighter and more wearable – I would have called it Bloodroses Lite. Worn alone, it gives depth and dimension, as well as a subtle creamy flush of color. But add the matching pencil and you can turn the drama way up.
Which brings me to…
The Kevyn Aucoin Flesh Tone Lip Pencil ($25), which comes in 7 colors. The pencil contains vitamin E and jojoba seed oil, and is soft and blendable, with full coverage and a precise tip that doesn’t drag or pull. The company recommends using the sharp tip for highest definition, or going for a softer look by applying lip color first, then finishing with the pencil.
I tested two colors:
Bloodroses – Deep Blood Red. No wallflower, this full-strength color is a triumph of creamy pigment that glides on in whatever intensity you desire. I feared a pencil this rich and long-lasting would be drying to the lips, but it wasn’t at all.
Hyacinth – Rose Plum. This subtle dusty rose neutral would look good on anyone, and does double duty as all-over lip color. Again, the formula is creamy and long-lasting.
Kevyn Aucoin Flesh Tone Lip Pencil in Hyacinth, Bloodroses; Kevyn Aucoin Lip Gloss in Neottiana, Bloodroses; and Lip Gloss Applied over the Flesh Tone Pencils
Pros: The Lip Gloss
- • Best applicator ever!
• Vitamins, sunflower seed oil, castor oil and lanolin oil make the formula nourishing and moisturizing
• Formula makes lips look plump and full
Pros: The Flesh Tone Lip Pencil
- • Glides on without pull
• Stays put to prevent feathering
• Creamy, non-drying formula in a range of colors flattering to any skintone
Cons: (both)
- • The company’s stance on animal testing is unclear
Timeless, natural colors. Solid formulas. Classic packaging. All the things that, together, bring out our lips’ natural beauty. I think Kevyn would approve.
we heartsters – Are you a Kevyn Aucoin fan? What is your favorite product?
photos: we heart this, swatches shown on NC25/30 skin tone
I’m pretty sure Bloodroses will be in my handbag come fall!
Bloodroses looks absolutely vampirific!
OMG…I need Blood Roses for fall–that is just a magical shade. I have the lipstick, but I am intrigued by the gloss. I heart Kevyn Aucoin products. Great post, @turboterp :)
I am thoroughly ashamed to admit I don’t have any Kevyn Aucoin products, but I have always loved his back-story and general philosophy. And these pencils and glosses are so lovely; I may have drooled, ever so slightly, upon seeing the BloodRoses swatch.
I’m in love with the oversized doe foot applicator! The colors are all amazing! I’m eyeing Neottiana and Blood Roses!
Those colors are fabulous and I want every one of them!