Making Faces (Hardcover)

by Kevyn Aucoin (Author)
Key Phrases: brown powder eyeshadow, eyeshadow eyelash curler, applicator eyelash curler, Chandra North, Stella Tennant, Lisa Marie Presley (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
The faces that Kevyn Aucoin has made are stellar and luminous: Cher, Tina Turner, Vanessa Williams, and Julia Roberts are but a few of the stars in Aucoin's galaxy of clientele. More than making do, making up is the art of achieving your own special look, and Aucoin insists that there are no hard and fast rules--except for the obvious ones, such as "Don't put lipstick in your eye."

The first section offers, in his own words, Aucoin's favorite ideas, tricks, and techniques for enhancing, defining, and altering facial features with makeup. You'll learn how to care for your skin, what foundation to use with your skin type, and transformational magic for that central player in the drama of beauty: eyes. Through his gallery of noncelebrity before-and-afters, Aucoin shows clearly how to use his fundamentals to achieve dozens of different looks.

The gorgeous final chapter reads like a list of exotic characters in a play--the Vamp, the Siren, the Diva.... In fact, such celebrities as Isabella Rosselini, Demi Moore, and Nicole Kidman pose as these dramatic, splendidly made-up characters. These sumptuous photographs are accompanied by full-page illustrations listing the "ingredients" required to create these looks as well as simple directions for achieving them. The introduction by the author, at once amusing and endearing ("...trying to conceal the fact that I was a gay, effeminate, hyperactive, adopted child with a serious lisp in southern Louisiana would have been like trying to hide Dolly Parton in a string bikini!"), and Aucoin's commentary throughout, makes Making Faces a unique reference book--beautiful, informative, and personal.

Product Description
In a book that features 60 instructional watercolor sketches and step-by-step recipes for dozens of different looks, the world's most renowned makeup artist shares his makeup secrets with women everywhere. 240 color photos.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 159 pages
• Publisher: Little Brown and Company; 1st edition (October 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316286869
• ISBN-13: 978-0316286862
• Product Dimensions: 12.1 x 9.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (233 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #92,387 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

169 of 174 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's a MUST HAVE for anyone who loves the art of makeup!, October 18, 1999

By A Customer

I bought this book skeptically after hearing from a friend how helpful it was in describing techniques. The georgeous photos would have sold it for me anyhow, but Aucoin's 'Making Faces' actually taught me how to do makeup. I've always done the same thing...which was basically go natural or play with makeup till I looked like a clown then scrub it all off. It's a simple approach that is easily accessible. The book makes doing eyebrow shaping look easy...and it not only looks easy- by following a few steps it turns out it IS easy. If you want to learn the basics- buy this book. If you want to do a home makeover- go glamorous, sensual, then fun later on - buy this book. If you want to tune your look a bit- get it! I guess I don't have to go on, but if you are like me and need a bit of instruction and cant afford a makeup artist to be at your beckon call- buy this book. At least borrow it from a friend. It's one of the books you'll consistently turn to for tips and tricks. It's an excellent resource and a whole lot of fun. The photos and styles cover all ages, from young and cute teenage to mature sophisticated and sexy women to a really hot guy in drag (double take is an understatement). Aucoin not only uses "Stars" but also 'real' people (meaning their looks aren't a direct part of their job) in showing the techniques and how they cause such transformations.

66 of 67 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not just a makeup tip recipe book, ITS A GLAMOUR BIBLE!!!, July 5, 1999

By	[e-mail] (Fullerton,CA) - See all my reviews

Kevin Acoin's book Making Faces is exquisite! As a makeup artist familiar with Kevin's work, I thought this book was going to be just a book filled with trade secrets and inside tips.Once I opened to the 3rd or 4th page, I realised how wrong I was.Not only did I find information that was useful beyond anything I learned in Beauty school, it was full of probably the most beautiful collection of photographs I have ever seen.It really takes a true genious to transform so many gorgeous women into other gorgeous women who look nothing like them.I really liked how he chose to use traditional movie roles as inspiration for some of the pictures.I think this allows the reader to recreate the role of the inginue or heroine!! There is also a really wonderful lesson on facial bone structure that really helps to understand how contouring and highlighting certain areas is really important to bring out a womans (or in a few cases..a mans)features.I photocopied it and stuck it to my bathroom mirror as a guide for applying eyeshadow. The only thing that I didnt like about the book is that he didn't mention the products used.Some women will find it a little difficult to find liquid eyeshadow and gold fleck dust!! I think had he given the brand names it would be a lot easier to find the products. This book is definitely a must for any makeup artist, cosmetic consumer, and any woman who wants to feel beautiful!

54 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Practical, beautifully illustrated and photographed., December 22, 2003

By	M. E. Volmar (Santo Domingo, Distrito Nacional Dominican Republic) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Making Faces (Paperback)

I love playing with new looks and colors and this book is the perfect tool on how to make it easy and fun while getting professional looking results. It will help you discover exciting new looks you never dreamed of and the full potential of every makeup tool you own. The instructions on how to accomplish every look in the book are clearly illustrated step-by-step, making them extremely easy to follow. The advice given by the author comes alive with his own funny anecdotes on discovering and experimenting with makeup.
This book is extremely well organized into three sections. The first one covers the basics of what you need to know about each part of your face, how to apply makeup to each, which tools to use and how to enhance and get the most benefit from your strongest features. The second one shows you makeovers done on ordinary people that look like you and me. It includes before and after pictures that show the impact of well-applied makeup on every kind of skin and color combination. The third section is the most impressive part of the book. It shows known celebrities made up like other celebrities that have established iconic looks over the years. (Look for Lisa Marie-Presley as Marilyn Monroe and Isabella Rosellini as Barbra Streisand).
This book also includes a few male makeup techniques, from the conservative (using concealer and powder) to the adventurous (using eyeliner and eyeshadow) to the extremist (using everything from powder and blush to lipstick and a wig).
Although there are three or four extreme looks in this book that I don't think I will ever try, all of the rest can be applied just as they are or with slight modifications. The great advice, easy to follow instructions, funny anecdotes, if not the great photographs alone, make this book a must buy for anyone who uses makeup regularly or sporadically. It's so rewarding that you won't be disappointed.
I recommend buying Beauty: The New Basics by Rona Berg along with this book to complement the makeup knowledge with the best advice on skin care, hair care and beauty products that's available on a printed format.
--Reviewed by Maritza Volmar