Review| Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer

While there isn't a mass market hype for the Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer ($48), I've been meaning to get my hands on it for the longest time. Its portable size, ultra-pigmented formula, and a color range that caters to yellow-toned skin meant that it could be a holy grail for me as it is for other bloggers. 

I've heard that this little pot of wonders is the most pigmented concealer you could ever use and a great medium to mix with your daily face lotion to become a tinted moisturizer. Seeing it online I couldn't help but wonder if the texture and consistency was on the thicker side, making it harder to use as a regular foundation. 

The first ingredient is mineral oil which can freak a lot of people out but does no harm to my skin.

While SX06 looked to be the perfect match for my winter complexion (NC25-30, neutral yellow) I chose SX08 in order to match the rest of the seasons. It looks to be NC30-35 with very strong yellow tones. 

The product itself was surprisingly creamy to the touch but harder to spread as expected. Many others have suggested mixing with a lotion or blending the foundation out right after you apply your mositurizer, which I whole-heartedly agree with for sanity purposes. If you use a stippling brush to apply you will have an insanely hard time blending it thoroughly unless you put it on right after lotion. 

Spot concealing is a whole lot easier. You just need to dip your finger in and take as little product as you can (maybe "dip" is the wrong word.) If you think it's too little product, it's too much. Because of the nature of this product you will definitely feel it on the skin if you don't take the time to blend well. 

It's ultra opaque and can easily looked caked on if done wrong. Because it is so opaque I would suggest getting color matched or going online and stalking swatches before placing an order. I don't have a Kevyn Aucoin counter anywhere close by so I had to fervently look for swatches to see which color would work best.

Again, this product is not a slap-n-go for the laziest of people. I think that if you are truly blessed with great skin all you need is a little dab for a few blemishes or red spots. I also think it makes a great under-eye concealer for those struggling with severe darkness and discoloration. 

In my excitement I smooshed my finger into the pot to get a feel for the texture. If you're paranoid of germs go ahead and use a product spatula to pick up the right amount. The pot is so adorable and tiny but with how little you need at one time I foresee this lasting me a few years. Seriously, some people use it every single day and it still lasts them a year at a time.

This picture is more true to life for the color of the product. 

Now, though all claims of multipurpose hold true, I really wanted to test out the product for how it wears on the skin. The finish of the Sensual Skin Enhancer is satin, almost matte which makes it ideal for drier to normal skin types to exfoliate and prep well. I found that it did slightly cling to a dry patch but didn't make any textural issues seem obvious and unsightly. However, my skin certainly felt tighter than with a traditional liquid foundation.

It also wears like iron. By the time I went to take it off at night (after 8 solid hours) my makeup towelette seemingly took off five pounds of base products even though I used an eighth of a pea sized amount. There's no transferring or sliding of the product once it's set on the skin. If you want to set it with powder I advise you do so lightly to maintain a natural look. Products easily cake on the sides of my nose but I noticed no bunching or caking with this product when used with a cautious hand.

Here is how SSE looks when used as an all over foundation. The overall effect is natural and pretty but you can still see the darkness under my eyes along with some minor spots and flaws on the skin. For every day I don't mind this finish at all. The color match is excellent and my face doesn't look like it's carrying a bunch of product.

Now to take things up a notch. I went back in with a Real Techniques Detail Brush and a pin-sized amount of product for several spots of the face. I concentrated on taking out the redness around my nose and the few dark spots on my face. I also put a sizable amount under my eyes to completely knock out the darkness. I looked almost airbrushed!

In honesty, it reminds me of my MUFE Full Cover but looks much more natural when used alone as a concealer. There's a huge learning curve involved when it comes to picking up the right amount of product. 

For normal/combo to oily skin, this stuff is a dream. I wouldn't brave it alone for dried skin gals. With my skin, I get the best results when I mix with Hourglass No. 28 Serum (thanks to a rec on MakeupAlley!) Here is how it looks mixed (one pump hydrating primer and one rice grain of SSE. The result is so seamless and blends in perfectly with the rest of my chest and body.

Once you overcome this it becomes the most skin-like base you can ever have. It feels relatively light, covers every hyper-pigmentation (yup, even dark purple spots), and doesn't cake or transfer in the process. All of that for years to come.

In my book, winning!

xo Be