LARGER THAN LIFE: THE KEVYN AUCOIN STORY: The Man Who Expanded The Definition Of Beauty, One Face At A Time

If you have even the scantest knowledge of the fashion world, you know the name Kevyn Aucoin. As a makeup artist, he was responsible for preparing the most famous supermodels of the 1990s — Cindy, Linda, Christy, Naomi — for the runway shows and photo shoots that made them into superstars. Before Aucoin, makeup was almost an afterthought; after Aucoin, it was truly an art form.

Despite his tragic early death, his work has had more of an impact on the fashion world than many who lived and worked twice as long. In Larger Than Life: The Kevyn Aucoin Story, filmmaker Tiffany Bartok (a makeup artist herself) uses archival footage of Aucoin and interviews with family, friends, models and more to paint an intimate portrait of a man who sought to expand the definition of beauty through every face he touched.

Putting the Art in Makeup Artist

Kevyn Aucoin grew up the eldest of four adopted siblings in Lafayette, Louisiana, obsessed with listening to Barbara Streisand records and applying makeup to his mother and sisters’ faces. By the time he was 11, he knew he wanted to be a makeup artist; at the time, this was barely a viable profession in the big city, let alone small-town Louisiana.

Nonetheless, Aucoin set out for New York, where his fearlessness and friendliness — not to mention his incredible talent — quickly resulted in high-profile gigs with Vogue and others. As supermodel Paulina Porizkova tells us in The Kevyn Aucoin Story, there was once a time when models typically had to do their own makeup during photo shoots; it just wasn’t deemed important enough to hire an extra person. But once Aucoin came onto the scene in the 1980s, everything changed.

Aucoin’s ability to bring out the unique beauty and character of every woman he worked with — from Liza Minnelli to Kate Moss — elevated makeup to an art form. It also elevated Aucoin to superstar status in the fashion world, someone who was just as famous and whose demands on set were just as much of a priority as those of the models and celebrities who repeatedly requested him as their makeup artist. Many of these people are interviewed in The Kevyn Aucoin Story; needless to say, seeing some of the most iconic supermodels in the world speak glowingly of Aucoin as both an artist and a man only adds to his legendary status.

An Untimely End

A notorious perfectionist, Aucoin would take control of every element on a set just to ensure that his work was seen in the best light — and because he was so talented, no one bothered to argue with him. He took major risks that went on to become era-defining trends, such as his use of false eyelashes and hyper-plucked thin eyebrows during Isaac Mizrahi runway shows in the 1990s. Aucoin saw makeup not as a way to cover up oneself, but as a way to express oneself — just like any other art form. Above all, he set out to bring out the inner confidence in every woman whose makeup he did. Yet inside this bubbly and brilliant artist was a man who felt almost continuously tortured, both emotionally and physically.

Aucoin attempted to elevate the self-esteem of everyone around him, including channeling his memories of being bullied as a child for his effeminate behavior into work as an LGBTQ activist, but he also suffered from horrifyingly low self-esteem himself. And his lanky frame, which seemed to never stop growing, was in constant pain. Thanks to an intervention from none other than Cher, who recognized his symptoms and booked him an appointment with a specialist, Aucoin was diagnosed with acromegaly, a disorder resulting from excess growth hormone thanks to a tumor on his pituitary gland. Despite surgery to deal with the tumor, an addiction to painkillers ended up killing Aucoin at the age of only 40.

While Larger Than Life is, for the most part, a loving and reverential tribute, Bartok doesn’t shy away from portraying the dark side of Aucoin’s glamorous life. The film doesn’t gloss over how Aucoin’s once-cheerful and friendly personality grew angry and unpleasant under the influence of these painkillers, alienating many of those who loved him, including his husband. Nor does the film let Aucoin’s intimates off scot-free; as Tori Amos wryly notes, once Aucoin was no longer able to make them beautiful as a result of his suffering, too many of them forgot about him. But while Aucoin’s death and the events surrounding it are indeed tragic, Bartok doesn’t let us forget how much he was able to accomplish in the short time he was on earth

Conclusion: The Kevin Aucoin Story

Through Aucoin’s own words and his work, Larger Than Life: The Kevyn Aucoin Story presents a colorful and complex man whose impact on the fashion world can still be felt today. Because of this, one comes away from the film not depressed, but inspired. Too often, makeup today is sold as a way to make you not look like yourself, as though there is something terrible about your individual quirks and flaws. But as Larger Than Life reminds us, what makes you unique deserves to be celebrated.

Larger Than Life: The Kevyn Aucoin Story was released in theaters in Los Angeles on July 20, 2018 and on VOD on July 31, 2018.