Kevyn Aucoin- Glam Days and Candle-Lit Nights

It's equal parts the season and the fact that I've been testing a couple of full coverage foundations that made my face all one level and weird looking, but I've been gravitating towards these high glam Kevyn Aucoin items that shape, highlight, and create pretty focal points even on the most flattened face. Besides, they're genuinely pretty, as well as versatile (as long as you're willing to rock deep dark red lips during the day, which I've been doing lately). None of these are new, seasonal, or limited, which is another reason to show Kevyn Aucoin the love. I appreciate a reliable brand that doesn't pull the proverbial rug from under me.

I told you it was very subtle on its own.

Kevyn Aucoin The Celestial Skin Liquid Lighting is a light cream-gel illuminator that can be worn in several ways: underneath, over, or blended with one's foundation. Compared to a classic such as Becca SSP, this one is very subtle and far less effective underneath foundation. Dabbed on the high points of the face it is elegant and flattering. Celestial Skin will not be detected from space and is under no danger of being Instagram's new thing, and that's nice. It's simply a lovely product. Longevity, though, can be questionable if used on its own. You can either top it with the Celestial powder, or go for this product's biggest strength: mix it with a good liquid foundation. That's where it performs best and truly shines (no pun intended. Mostly). My bottle of of The Celestial Skin Liquid Lighting is from an early batch, before the two other shades, Sunlight and Starlight were added. I think the latter have more pigment in them and might look better on darker skin tones.Candlelight is completely neutral and subtle, so take that into account when you're planning to shine.

Kevyn Aucoin The Celestial Bronzing Veil was launched earlier this year. I actually chose the darker one of the two, Tropical Nights, which i felt was less orange and more in tune with my coloring. It's an ombre bronzer with a satin finish (decidedly not matte) that adds glow as well as color, which is what my face desperately needs these days (being this green and deathly so early in the season doesn't bode well for February). The width of the bronzer's compact allows you to place a brush on either the light or the dark side of its face, bt my preference is to swirl them together, unless I'm placing them on the eyelids. Again it gives a healthy internal glow that looks more natural than painted-on. I was surprised to see that this Kevyn Aucoin product was made in China. It's the only one in my collection so far, and will require future investigation.

The Expert Lip Color in Bloodroses is a Kevyn Aucoin classic. It's a deep blood red  if there ever was one, in a true lipsticky formula: satin finish, cream texture, average longevity that will transfer onto teacups, men, and pets, and will require a touchup after a meal. I'm perfectly fine with that, as I'm feeling too old for walking around with a puckered prune for a mouth. Instead, this smooth and rich lipstick has an old Hollywood charm (the packaging doesn't hurt), and since Bloodroses is such an intense color there's also a staining effect that when coupled with a good lip liner (I do need to by the matching Bloodroses pencil) keeps one looking reasonably pulled together for hours at a time, even with natural fading. The ingredient list shows aroma/flavor, but it's faint enough not to be a deciding factor for me (then again I'm normally not sensitive to that, and am usually perfumed to high heaven anyway).

My original intention was to use all of these plus more for my birthday look or any of last week's outings, but I was severly Not In The Mood, and have barely taken pictures or notes of my daily makeup and experiments. I'll try to make up for it in a holiday look or something. In any case, the bottom line is that these are all elegant and beautiful makeup items with a very classic feel.

Kevyn Aucoin The Celestial Skin Liquid Lighting ($52, made in the USA), Kevyn Aucoin The Celestial Bronzing Veil Tropical Nights  ($48, made in China), and The Expert Lip Color in Bloodroses ($35, made in Italy) are available at Select department stores, and Sephora (the lipsticks are online only at the latter).