Kevyn Aucoin is most certainly in the luxury category when it comes to makeup, even the box is fancy, look at it! This ‘sensual skin enhancer’ is something I’ve had my eye on for a while, but the price tag always held me back. So last year during black friday when beautybay.com had a generous 20% off sale I grabbed my chance and ordered it in SX08, which as far as I could tell from the online swatches was the closest match. So the sensual skin enhancer is 18g of multi-use, high coverage awesomeness. It’s designed to be used as a foundation, concealer, tinted moisturiser or even a highlighter and with all of those options promised I justified the £35.50 price tag link (minus 20% ofc!).
The packaging is this little pot and it’s a similar size to the Anastasia Beverly Hills dipbrow - but taller. The pigmentation is rich and greater than that of any foundation - a little goes a long way! I have tried this as a foundation and achieved this by mixing it with a little moisturiser or a small drop of sweet almond oil (thanks Goss makeupartist for this tip!) and it provides amazing pretty much full coverage despite only using a small amount!
My two favourite ways to use this however are as a slightly more sheer base - medium coverage, or simply as a concealer. I dab my ring finger in the pot, warm up the product with both ring fingers and gently tap it in around my undereyes. This is the ONLY concealer I have ever tried that covers up dark circles 95% without a corrector! To get a totally flawless undereye however, I do like to use a small amount of my Benefit Erase Paste - shade 3, but I’m sure the majority of people would get away with just this.
As a concealer this shade doesn’t really BRIGHTEN my under-eyes as it’s a perfect match for NC35, so I am thinking about possibly buying SX06 at some point in the future, when I’ve used up all my current concealers and a nice healthy discount code heads my way of course! This shade works beautifully as a concealer/highlighter for skintones of NC40+ though, I used it on my mum and auntie for a wedding and they loved it!
As the consistency is thick and you have the option of sheering it out, the overall finish is semi-matte and it lasts a very very long time. Under my eyes it does crease if not set properly, so that is incredibly important to remember, and as SX08 is so orange/yellow toned I like to use a neutral coloured face powder and then a light dusting of Ben Nye banana powder (reviewed) for special occasions.
Anyone looking for a versatile, high coverage product should look into the SSE because this stuff is amazing! Although it is ridiculously expensive, it's the only base/concealer type of product that conceals and covers with very little effort, plus the value of it (how you need a small amount each time) makes up for the dent in the bank account!
Overall Rating
Rating: 9
Pros: Phenomenal coverage, multi-use, strong yellow tones available, a decent overall shade range, travel friendly, long lasting on the skin, a little goes a long way- it’ll last at least two years, super creamy and blends into the skin like a dream!
Cons: Expensive, as it has a mattish finish so skin needs to be thoroughly prepped when using it for foundation, as it is so creamy it does tend to crease under the eyes so setting is a must!
Repurchase? Yes I would as this is the most concentrated product I’ve used - but I want to add SX06 first as this for brightening and concealing at the same time would be amazing!
Thank-you for reading ♥
