Quote Of The Day By Kevyn Aucoin: 'Beauty Is About Perception, Not...'

It's not hard to find someone with thoughts on the meaning of beauty. From ancient poets and philosophers to today's social media influencers, we're bombarded with opinions. But if anyone has the credentials to weigh in, it has to be the OG MUA Kevyn Aucoin. One of the most iconic makeup artists of all time, Kevyn Aucoin made his name glamming up numerous models and celebrities, from Cindy Crawford and Kate Moss to Tina Turner and Whitney Houston.

Though he was born and raised in Louisiana, Aucoin had a meteoric rise to fame: After moving to New York City, he regularly worked for Vogue, including on cover shoots, and eventually became such a sought-after and exclusive name that he could charge $6,000 per session. This renown also brought him plenty of work from cosmetics brands; not only did Aucoin collaborate with labels like MAC and Shiseido, but he was named creative director at Revlon at the tender age of 21.

Speaking to Jones Road, documentary filmmaker Tiffany Bartok — who directed a documentary about Aucoin's life and legacy — explained why his work was so impactful. "He found the unique and unusual thing about each person and showed us how beautiful that is," she said. "His eye for beauty was contagious, and he enhanced any individuality that he saw." While Aucoin sadly passed away in 2002, his legacy lives on. His eponymous cosmetics company, Kevyn Aucoin Beauty, is one of those rare makeup brands created by an actual makeup artist. And he also left behind many profound pearls of wisdom, which brings us to our quote of the day: an empowering gem from the makeup virtuoso himself.

Kevyn Aucoin once said, "Beauty is about perception, not about makeup. I think the beginning of all beauty is knowing and liking oneself. You can't put on makeup, or dress yourself, or do your hair with any sort of fun or joy if you're doing it from a position of correction" (via Glamour).

While it's not clear where this quote originates, it may be from one of Aucoin's published works — on top of being a world-class makeup artisan, he literally wrote the book(s) on beauty. His best-selling texts are the gold standard for beauty enthusiasts and aspiring MUAs, blending practical guidance and tutorials with personal anecdotes.

One might expect a makeup artist to be fixated on external aesthetics, but Kevyn Aucoin's quote flips this script, arguing that beauty begins with attitude. When he declared that "beauty is knowing and liking oneself," he was undoubtedly speaking from his own difficult journey to self acceptance — Aucoin was severely bullied throughout his childhood, even dropping out of high school to escape the torment. But he refused to compromise on authenticity, persisting in his love for cosmetics to follow his MUA dreams.

It's likely that Aucoin's experiences with adversity also influenced his makeup philosophy, as displayed at the end of today's quote. When he declared that you can't create joyous looks from "a position of correction," Aucoin was advocating for self-acceptance and self-love over self-recrimination. Just as he came to embrace his own individuality, Aucoin's beauty ethos was all about elevating and celebrating each person's unique features — not hiding flaws or homogenizing every face to look the same.

Ultimately, standardized beauty was anathema to his goal of expressing individual charm. And as we can see from other famous Aucoin quotes, he didn't place physical appearance on a pedestal. Despite the external focus of his day job, Aucoin deeply valued compassion, diversity, and strength of character.

• "Life is too short to spend hoping that the perfectly arched eyebrow or hottest new lip shade will mask an ugly heart."

• "Beauty might bring happiness, but happiness always brings beauty."

• "The fact is, there really is no such thing as 'normal' — everybody's different, and that is the essence of their beauty."

• "The future belongs to those with open minds and open hearts, who can appreciate beauty in all its forms."

• "Perfection is boring. If a face doesn't have mistakes, it's nothing."

• "Glamour is not self-conscious; it's not trying really hard. It's just expressing your own truth. I think that's what the essence of glamour really is — expressing your uniqueness."

• "Today I see beauty everywhere I go, in every face I see, in every single soul, and sometimes even in myself."

• "That's why I began doing makeup in the first place: I was hoping that through helping people see the beauty in themselves, I could try and find it in me."