Comparison of Makeup Books #2

If you liked my review of the Bobbi Brown, Zoe Foster and Rae Morris makeup books, I believe you'll find this post of interest to you as well. I'll be reviewing the following books: Face-to-Face by Scott Barnes, Making Faces by Kevyn Aucoin, and Make-up Secrets by Jemma Kidd. 

I was never a big fan of Km Kardashian and I don't think I ever will be. However, having said that, I do like the look of the smokey eye she almost always wears and every once in a while I would watch a Youtube tutorial on "How-to do a Kim Kardashian smokey eye". I digress. Scott Barnes is an LA makeup artist, popular amongst celebrities like Kim herself and Paris Hilton. When I spotted this book at my local library, I borrowed it without hesitation; excited that I was going to be learning some big fat secret for mastering the Kim K smokey eye. 

To my disappointment, the book did not divulge any such secret. Sure, I picked up one tip or two (literally!) on makeup and that's about. Majority of the book was Before and After photos of models/small-time actresses/dancers Scott did makeup on. The photos would be accompanied by a blurbs of his friendship with this person and why he was inspired to do that particular makeup look on her. Bottom line is, I did not find it helpful in learning new makeup tricks and techniques. This is primarily an inspiration book. There are pages of "how-to's" but you would have learnt the techniques from watch makeup tutorials on Youtube anyway. 

I was gifted this book for my birthday last year. Although I have yet to finish reading it, I've enjoyed it so far. In this book, Kevyn teaches us techniques and reveals bits of his story along the way. I find it endearing. From his words, he sounds like a genuine guy and as I read, I feel like a friendly mentor is speaking to me. The only "complaint" I have is that the steps are illustrated through hand drawn pictures rather than photographs of the actual process. Don't get me wrong, the illustrations are good, created by Aucoin himself. However, I believe that, it would be easier to learn and understand the instructions with photographs. Having said that, I do like that Kevyn has really made his book his own, by making it different from others. The book is full of timeless  and classic makeup looks; and Kevyn provides valuable advice on how to achieve them. 

Last but not least, my favourite book of the lot! I fell in love with this book right from page one. I take my hat off to Jemma Kidd. She gives very good and practical tips in a concise way. It's full of beautiful photographs accompanied by easy-to-understand instructions. Jemma is very thorough. She breaks down all the different components to makeup and answers a lot of common (and important) beauty questions/issues. I love how she manages to be informative yet stay to-the-point. I borrowed this book from the library and I plan on buying a copy for myself. It is so pack full of information that I can never finish it before the due date. I recommend getting this book if you want to and enjoy learning more about makeup. Take a break from watching Youtube makeup videos. This book is a breath of fresh air and it is brilliant.