These modified celebrity photographs are a fantastic example of the fun you can have with makeup—that’s right, these were not created with photo manipulation programs!
Professional make-up artist Kevyn Aucoin did such an impressive job turning modern celebrities like Calista Flockhart into Old Hollywood celebrities like Audrey Hepburn, he was able to publish an entire book, Face Forward, filled with the images.
Other stars he modified with makeup include Gwyneth Paltrow as James Dean, Gina Gershon as Sophia Loren, Christina Ricci into Edith Piaf, Tori Amos into Mary Queen of Scots, Winona Ryder as Elizabeth Taylor, Celine Dion into Maria Callas, Liza Minnelli into Marilyn Monroe, Hilary Swank into Raquel Welch and Martha Stewart into Veronica Lake.
Kevyn Aucoin died in 2002 at age 40, so unfortunately we’ll never get a chance to see him turn Britney Spears into Brigitte Bardot, but we can enjoy the work he did do.
Why This Trend Is Growing
- Make-up Transformation
- The use of makeup to transform modern celebrities into iconic figures from the past opens up opportunities for innovative makeup techniques and products.
- Celebrity-inspired Makeup
- The popularity of celebrity-inspired makeup transformations creates a demand for makeup artists and brands to create products and tutorials to achieve similar looks.
- Makeup Artistry Books
- The success of Kevyn Aucoin's book, Face Forward, featuring modified celebrity images, highlights the potential for more makeup artistry books to inspire and educate professionals and enthusiasts alike.
Industries Being Reshaped
- Makeup Artistry
- The makeup artistry industry can explore new techniques and products to cater to the demand for transformative makeup.
- Celebrity Marketing
- Brands can collaborate with celebrities and makeup artists to promote products and tutorials that create celebrity-inspired looks.
- Publishing
- The success of Face Forward suggests opportunities for publishers to release more makeup artistry books featuring celebrity transformations.
