Martha Knows Everything...and You Should, Too

Kevyn Aucoin, genius makeup guy/political activist/general celebrator of women's beauty, is gone, dead, apparently, of a metabolic disorder that set in after an operation for a benign brain tumor.

My dad died of a brain tumor. Trust me, they're never benign.

I am a media junkie, but I hadn't even realized that Kevyn Aucoin had become a part of my personal database until he died. I was always captivated when I picked up one of his makeup books--Martha Stewart transformed into Veronica Lake, Hilary Swank as a Stone Age Raquel Welch--because they managed not to shame women while making makeup fun. A neat trick. I was too cool/too cheap to buy his books, but ever after scoping them out, I was always noticing his name, and how he managed to talk about politics in a featherweight business and sound smart.

Now he is gone, and the media is falling all over itself because, oddly enough, Kevyn Aucoin was a really, really nice guy. Which, given that he was gay, adopted, and very big, growing up in Louisiana and seemingly in flight from homophobes his entire childhood, is a big fat miracle. And an example to us all.

Rest in peace, Kevyn . Hope you're making up Barbara Stanwyck at this very minute.

posted by Martha @ 8:30 PM