Think baking is all about cupcakes and cookies? Think again...
Since contouring blew up thanks to a certain Kardashian mid makeup selfie, we’ve had strobing (a softer approach focusing on highlighting) and more recently clown contouring - an even more extreme version of contouring using colour as well as lights and darks.
Now, the latest technique doing the rounds on Instagram and YouTube is baking, also reffered to as cooking.
The technique - popular with drag queens for decades - involves applying multiple layers of concealer, foundation and loose powder to create the appearance of highlighted contours. Used primarily under the eyes, the technique can also be used anywhere you would use a traditional highlighter such as down the middle of your nose or on your cheekbones, chin or forehead.
The labour intensive process goes something like this: apply foundation, apply concealer, apply another layer on concealer and then add a thick coat of loose powder with a sponge or puff. Once this is done you leave this thick coating of powder to ‘bake’ for anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes and then very lightly dust off with a brush.
The result? Flawless makeup. The catch? The flawless affect only really works under bright camera lights. Perfect for Instagram selfies or the theatre (hence the drag roots), this technique is sadly not one that translates for everyday. Quite the relief really considering how much makeup you might get through…
For a full demo checkout the multiple YouTube tutorials like this one from Melbourne based makeup artist Heidi Hamoud.