Kevyn Aucoin: The Sensual Skin Enhancer

Hii beauty’s!

Today I’m going to talk about The Sensual Skin Enhancer by Kevyn Aucoin. This is a cult beauty item, everyone needs it or has it! I’ve read multiple reviews and saw many pictures coming by on Instagram before I purchased this item. I was so curious if it was worth the hype and if it works for my oily skin. My skin can really ruin my whole day because it gets oily within an hour if I don’t use the right products. Besides that, I didn’t own anything from Kevyn Aucoin (shame on me!) so it was about time to get something. Let’s get started!

Kevyn Aucoin believes beauty is always in fashion; trends come and go, but true beauty transcends time. Their products are created to bring out the true beauty in every woman. Using the highest quality ingredients, innovative new formulas, and exciting seasonal twists on timeless staples, Kevyn Aucoin is a must-have for the modern woman.

The Sensual Skin Enhancer

What it is:
A waterproof makeup enhancer for the face that provides sheer and complete coverage and hydrates the skin.

What it does:
Cover all your bases with The Sensual Skin Enhancer. This all-in-one, waterproof formula delivers complete coverage when used as a concealer, highlighter, an allover foundation, or to contour your features. Infused with jojoba and honey, it works to hydrate the skin, and it is formulated with minerals that support the skin and is sweat proof and transfer resistant for full coverage and long-lasting wear.

Shades available:

• SX1 – A light ivory shade perfect for fair skin.
• SX2 – A warm ivory shade ideal for fair skin tones.
• SX3 – Ideal for fairly light skin with neutral undertones.
• SX4 – A light shade, ideal for light to fairly light skin tones.
• SX5 – Ideal for fairly light skin with neutral undertones.
• SX6 – A medium shade with warm undertones.
• SX7 – A medium shade with golden undertones.
• SX8 – Ideal for medium skin tones.
• SX9 – Ideal for rich medium skin tones.
• SX10 – Perfect for medium/olive skin with a neutral to yellow undertones.
• SX11 – Tanned skin with golden to warm undertones.
• SX12 – Medium dark skin with golden to yellow undertones.
• SX13 – Perfect for dark skin with cool peach undertones.
• SX14 – For dark skin with warm undertones.
• SX15 – For dark skin with neutral undertones.
• SX16 – For deep dark skin with warm undertones.

Okay let me tell you first that the jar is really small (18g/0,63 oz)! I knew that it was small because I’ve read many reviews before buying this, but not this small. I felt kind of betrayed to be honest, how can you work with such a small amount as a foundation or contour product? Even my little sister told me I was crazy, luckily I purchased it during a special deal at BeautyBay.com (normal price is £38). So I got it. That’s how you find out if it is worth it. So I did. The jar has a luxurious finish, like all the other items made by Kevyn Aucoin. The dark brown tones make this product look exclusive.

This is the product! The jar is not even totally filled with the product, what a shame like seriously. It is not really visible here on the picture but they left a whole space of the little jar empty. This product better works for me otherwise I will be pissed off (okay, I’m overreacting right now ;p). The moment I opened the jar it kind of had a chemical, artificial smell. I can’t blame them because I bet they have to put a lot of ingredients in this small jar to make it work for every part of your face, and even body.

After doing research I found out that most of the Asians who tried this got the shade SX6 (usually I’m a NC20 during the winter and NC30 in the summertime). It is described as a medium warm toned color but it looks pretty yellow to me in the jar. That was also a real struggle for me to find the perfect color match because they offer so many shades! So there must be at least one that match your skintone.

The Sensual Skin Enhancer is well-known as a versatile product which can be used for everything on your face and body, used in different techniques. See the list below.

Suggested Usage:
-Apply the Sensual Skin Enhancer in small amounts.

As a concealer:
-Begin with a small amount of product on the heel of the hand for added control.
-Blend into desired area, adding more product until you have achieved the cove rage you need.

As an all-over foundation:
-Begin with a small amount of product on the heel of the hand for added control.
-Blend product into the skin with your fingers or The Foundation Brush until you have achieved your desired coverage.
-For a more medium or sheer look we recommend mixing with The Primed Skin Developer.

As a highlighter:
-Choose a color one shade lighter than your actual skintone.
-Blend into the skin where light naturally hits the skin—the brow bone center of the eyelid, the center of the forehead, and down through the bridge of the nose, the cheekbone plane, under the eye, around the corners of the mouth, the center of the chin, up under the lip, the collarbone, and the inside curve of the breast.
-Apply sparingly with your fingertips or with The Sculpting Brush, The Foundation Brush or The Blender/Concealer Brush.
-While blending, concentrate on keeping the product in the general area where it was applied, but use enough to eliminate any obvious lines.

As a contour:
-Choose a color one shade darker than your actual skintone, and blend into the hollows of cheeks, under the chin, down the neck, sides, and under the tip of the nose, into the crease of the eye, the temples, the center of the cleavage, the hollows above and below your collarbone, and around the hairline.

As a body foundation:
-Mix with your favorite body moisturizer and apply where needed.

So it is about time to test it out! The texture of this product is really thick. I always start to stress out because I’m afraid that it won’t blend well on my skin. It looked like a really thick concealer consistency, I had to press to product on the back of my hand, when I made the first swatch. It was not easy because it didn’t glide smoothly on my hand.

The color looks also a bit different now compared when it was in the jar. First it looked yellow to me but when I swatch it on my skin the shade became 1/2 shades lighter. I think this would be just fine for my skintone because my face is usually lighter than other parts of my body, especially the back of my hand.

I’m going to use The Sensual Skin Enhancer as a foundation. My way to apply this product is to use the back of an eyeshadow brush, dip it in the jar and make dots with it on your face. I tried two things to blend it out: a flat foundation brush and a makeup sponge. The flat foundation brush by Zoeva is my all time favorite foundation brush, I never used another one after I found this one! Oh boy, it was really a hard job to blend this beautiful without making it look dry nor cakey or with visible strokes. So this is absolutely not a product that you can use with a foundation brush (if you have THE perfect brush for this product, let me know!).

Let’s start with the second method: the makeup sponge. I always and only use the Real Tecnhiques Miracle Sponge. I don’t need an expensive Beautyblender, only when someone will give me this as a gift. But I’m never going to spend that amount of money on a sponge. I wet my sponge with the Fix+ spray by MAC or make it damp with water. I started to tap the makeup sponge on my face where I made the dots. It works so much better than the flat foundation brush! I really have the feeling that I have more control to blend out the product on my face and by tapping my damp sponge it doesn’t look cakey. The strokes I made with the flat foundation brush are also gone by using the makeup sponge. I do find that my skin looks less natural even with a damp makeup sponge!

The Sensual Skin Enhancer is a longlasting product. It stayed the whole day on my face, it still became a little bit oily but it looked fresh in my opinion. After a while the cakey/dry texture will disappear, or you can use a hydrating spray to fix this (personally I avoid these sprays because they make my skin more oily). I’m still not really convinced about this product because my skin feels really heavy after applying this. I don’t know how to change this because I used only a small amount when using this as a foundation. Maybe it works better as a concealer, that would be perfect!

If you look at the total picture, this product is really overrated. It is not that I dislike it, it’s just that it’s not worth the small amount and price (18g and £38). I think I would love The Sensual Skin Enhancer more if the texture was less thick. It was almost impossible to blend out the product with my flat foundation brush, or even with a makeup sponge without making it look cakey. I used this as a foundation but I honestly think that it would work better as a concealer for hiding your spots. Not sure if it works as an eye concealer because the thick product may create your crease more visible after time. It is also probably worth the money if the product contained more amount for that price.

I don’t have really good words about this product, only that it will hide all your imperfections (which can cause a cakey look). I’m kind of sad right now because I wanted this product to work for me, but eventually it’s not my thing. Even with my super oily skin, this product makes my skin look dry. I do have to say that after a few hours my face looks less cakey because of the excess oil, but it still feels heavy on the skin. But this is just my experience with this product.

I can recommend this product when you are looking for something with high coverage. It is a versatile product which can be used in many ways. The only thing is that you have to find the right technique to apply this product. It can cause a cakey/dry effect on your skin, even when you have an oily skin like me. Besides the dry skin, is was hard to blend out the product on the skin. What I didn’t try was prepping my skin with a hydration mist, this might work so the product can glide over your face instead of being stuck at one place. This is something I won’t repurchase again. I think I might will give this to a friend because after testing this out. After my review I unfortunately never ever grabbed for it again.

You can get your own The Sensual Skin Enhancer at BeautyBay.com for £38,-.

Thanks a lot for reading <3

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