Makeup Spotlight: Kevyn Aucoin

  

"That's why I began doing makeup in the first place: I was hoping that through helping people see the beauty in themselves, I could try and find it in me."

 Kevyn Aucoin (1962-2002) was notably one of the most influential make-up artists of the 1990's. He grew up in Lafayette, Louisiana with his adoptive parents and three other siblings. 
At a young age, Aucoin had been interested in makeup and frequently did his sisters and took pictures of her with a Polaroid camera. Kevyn was bullied a lot at school for being gay, which eventually led him to drop out of high school and pursue a career in makeup artistry. He then moved to New York City to begin expanding his makeup portfolio when he caught the eye of Vogue. He would continue on to collaborate with Vogue, Revlon and Cosmopolitan. At his peak, he was booked months in advance and could charge up to $6,000 per makeup session. 

In 1994, Kevyn launched The Nakeds, a groundbreaking makeup line that embraced a radically different aesthetic than the typical line at the time. The line featured foundation with yellow undertones (rather than pink) and eyeshadow and liner than were brown-based, instead of the typical bright and sparkly colors. He went against the popular trends at the time and created something more natural looking, made to enhance a woman's natural beauty, rather than covering up everything with layers of product. 

Kevyn became an incredibly successful and sought after makeup artist and charged around 10,000 per makeup session and worked with countless A-list celebs. He went on to publish his makeup art in his best selling books, The Art of Makeup, Making Faces and Face Forward. 

In September 2001, Kevyn was diagnosed with a rare pituitary tumor. He'd suffered from acromegaly most of his life, however the tumor went unnoticed. Aucoin died on May 7, 2002 at Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, New York of kidney and liver failure due to acetaminophen toxicity, caused by his addiction to prescription painkillers.





Very Inspiring!


Thanks for Reading!

 

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]