Strobing seems to be the latest craze. The reality is far from it:
Pro Makeup Artists have been using this technique forever!
Just without anyone knowing. With the abundance of beauty youtubers, bloggers & instagrammers everyone seems to be in the know,
trying out and experimenting with professional makeup techniques.
What is Strobing?
It is a highlighting technique that can be used together with contouring or on it's own.
It's way more foolproof than contouring and the effect is also very suitable for day time makeup looks.
Strobing can be done quickly and is an easy technique, which is probably another reason why it's so popular.
How does it work?
You simply need to apply highlighting products to the highest points of your cheek bones and along the nose,
as well as in the corner of the eyes and on the cupids bow of your lips.
Highlight only what you really want to emphasize, because you will draw attention and light to the highlighted areas.
Cream and liquid highlighters usually work best and are most popular. However if you want more longevity or have
naturally oily skin you can also try to use powder highlight.
Mistakes To Avoid
You need to find a highlighter that works with your skin tone.
Avoid icy pink shades if your skin is medium or tan in colour or if you want to do for a bronzed look.
The cool and frosted shades work best on fair and light complexions.
Golden highlighters looks best on yellow toned skin with a light tan.
You want the shimmer to look believable.
Use a matte bronzer and blush to make sure you don't sparkle all over.
The effect only works if there is a difference between the highlighted and not highlighted areas.
Which products work best?
The RMS Living Luminizer is a professional makeup artist favourite.
This one is not too sparkly and leaves the skin slightly glossy, like all rms products, it comes as cream in a glass jar
It has a very soft champagne tone it is subtle and sheer and adapts to most skin tones.
A great one that comes with a little bit of colour and is suited for medium to tan yellow tones
is Jane Iredale In Touch Highlighter
It has a warm peach colour that works best as blush highlight combo for the cheeks or warmer skin tones.
A gorgeous golden and strong highlight is the Au Naturale Organic Creme Highlighter which comes in a stick.
A powerful powder highlight is Adore Loose Illuminiser that comes as a loose powder.
This one looks especially great on fair skins.
Gressa Skin has a wonderful liquid highlighter, the Minimalist Illuminating Face Serum which works great on all skin types, including oily skin or skin prone to breakouts, as it contains unique botanical oils and are balancing to the skin.
Photo by Stephanie Alcaino for White Magazine
Step By Step Guide:
Find a well lit mirror. Duh! ;)
Prep:
1.Exfoliate your skin, any bumps will stand out even more on highlighted skin, so make sure you prep your skin well.
2.Hydration is a must for any makeup look, especially for dewy and radiant looks.
3.You can also use a hydrating primer if you like. This will help to smooth open pores and make your skin look more flawless.
I like Smooth Affair Primer by Jane Iredale.
Conceal:
Apply your base, be it just a light tinted moisturizer or a full cover foundation according to your needs.
(Caution: If you use powder foundation a powder highlight might sit better on top than a liquid product.)
Use concealer to hide any blemishes or redness.(you can also apply your blush and contour now if you wish)
While in dewy editorial looks a radiant dewy base can be combined with strong highlighting, I recommend keeping the balance
for everyday wear, wearing a more natural looking not too dewy base and a subtle highlight, to avoid looking too shiny,oily or sparkly like a discoball.
For more mature skin you can achieve strobing with satin finish products that provide a sheen, rather then sparkles.
Highlight:
Apply your highlighter of choice: On top of the cheekbones using fingers or blending brush, along the bridge of the nose and on the cupids bow of your lip.
A little highlight in the inner corners of the eye also looks lovely, and will open the eyes, making them appear to me wider set.
Avoid highlighting areas with blemishes or areas that you don't want to draw too much attention to.
