The ultimate beauty bookboth gorgeous and practical. Face Forward showcases Kevyn Aucoins incredible transformations of famous and ordinary people alike, and reveals through its step-by-step instructions how makeup can give anyone a variety of different faces. Making Faces has sold 350,000 copies in hardcover and 200,000 copies in paperback to date. Face Forward has already sold more than 250,000 hardcover copies. Kevyn Aucoin is indisputably the best-known makeup artist in North America today.Cher, Calista Flockhart, Jodie Foster, Jewel, Gwyneth Paltrow, Michelle Pfeiffer, Julia Roberts, Diana Ross, Martha Stewart, Christy Turlington, and Vanessa Williams are among the celebrities featured in Face Forward.
"Makeup should be fun, not fascist," celebrity makeup artist Kevyn Aucoin avers in Face Forward, his third book. One of the most adored stylists among fashionistas, entertainment divas, and high-society jet setters, Southern-born Aucoin arrived on the New York fashion scene in the early '80s, a period he ridicules for its '50s-era conservatism and McCarthyist us-against-them values. His career since has been motivated by the feel-good ideals of acceptance, diversity, and self-love, and the vain world of beauty has eagerly participated in his vision. While one may puzzle on how it is he finds fulfillment in an industry known for its superficiality and elitism, Aucoin's words are nonetheless infectious and the touches of his brushes inspired.
Conceived as an exploration of the past, present, and future of beauty, Face Forward is an ingenious showcase of the transformative, creative possibilities of makeup, with portraits of everyone from Julia Roberts to Sharon Stone, Martha Stewart to his mother, Thelma. His crafted visages range from minimal-application makeovers of friends to elaborate re-creations of such Hollywood icons as Audrey Hepburn (Calista Flockhart), James Dean (Gwyneth Paltrow), and Veronica Lake (shockingly, Martha Stewart) and such pop-culture personalities as Cher (socialite Alexandra von Furstenberg) and Siouxsie Sioux (Winona Ryder). The final pages present his ideas for looks to come, such as "Explorer," Mary J. Blige covered in eggplant body makeup with a rainbow of metallic eye shadows over her eyes and thickly glossed red lips; "Floralia," a freckled Lucy Liu resembling a sprite from A Midsummer's Night Dream; and "Venusian de Milo," Sharon Stone as an orange-haired, one-breast-baring sci-fi femme fatale. Throughout, Aucoin augments an already colorful book with step-by-step instruction, chatty commentary on each look and model, and riffs on such topics as friendship, politics (he repeatedly applauds the Clinton Administration for embracing diversity in the '90s), and the environment.
"Appreciating (even highlighting) individuality is one of the great things about makeup," asserts Aucoin, and Face Forward is a dazzling testament to that belief. For those who see the fun of makeup and are eager to experiment with the virtually unlimited possibilities of it, this book is a boon. --Rebecca Wright
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
Too advance?:
I was so excited to receive this book but once I finally got it home and sat down and read this book I was like "...." call me a clown but this is too advanced for me. I really believe this book was entitled for make up artist who are more advance then someone who is beginning to apply their own make up and want to know some natural everyday going out looks. Unless I'm dressing up for Cleopatra for Halloween why do I want to know how to apply the make up for this character?
fast shipping, great condition:
I waited until the last minute to order this before Christmas. It arrived quickly and was in perfect condition. If only all of the Christmas shopping had been that easy?!
WOW! This book is incredible!:
I grew up with five brothers and never learned how to put makeup on correctly. I tried learning from Teen magazine and Vogue only to end up looking like The Bride of Dracula. I gave up until trying because I have really young looking skin and people always told me how nice my skin was. I turned 46 this year and read an article about aging skin and decided to try to figure out this make up stuff again. I went to Dillard's and asked one of the clinicians if she'd show me how to apply it to look natural. When... more info
So-so.:
I don't care for this book. The make up is really over the top, almost like for drug queens. I enjoyed Kevin Aucoin "Making faces" better, and Rae Morris "Makeup:The ultimate guide" is just awesome if you look for great make up for everyday and helpful tips.
