Makeup never ceases to amaze me!
Every single day I discover new things… New products, new formulations, new terms and techniques!… Today I bring you two of the newest trends Strobing and Clown Contouring.
The what has become today the #strobingphenomena is not something new in the beauty world, all renown makeup artists have been doing it for a while ( maybe you have already seen Kim Kardashian’s makeup artist Mario Dedivanovic doing it in some of his Instagram pictures or his tutorials! ).
What’s this STROBING thing anyway?
It’s the same thing as highlighting, the good old highlighting technique under another, fancier – if you ask me!, name.
The technique is in fact the same with only two minor differences, the first being the finish of it! While what’s now becoming “the traditional highlighting” is meant to give a more natural look to the face, the today popular strobing comes like a more dramatic version of it, with a plus of dewiness in the finish, something close to a wet look – very fresh, very luminous, that in my opinion is the perfect look for the summer, looking excellent with a tan.
Another slight difference I discovered while doing my research online, is that strobing is preferred to be achieved more with cream products than powders.
I guess we all are familiar with MAC Strobe Cream! It has been around since the early ’90, the Clarins Beauty Flash Balm is a cult product out even longer than that… But it seems that today this trend is taking over and brands come out on the market more and more with amazing highlighting palettes and cream glowing products. So it would be a shame not to take advantage of them, right?!
Here you have some options according to your skin tone: RMS Beauty Living Luminizer, $38; It Cosmetics Hello Light Anti-Aging Crème Illuminizer, $24; Benefit Sun Beam Golden Bronze Complexion Highlighter, $26; NARS The Multiple in “South Beach,” $39.
– photo credits: Tara Rice, as seen on Cosmopolitan
STROBING how-to step-by-step
Step 1:
Start by preparing the base like for any other makeup look, by hydrating it. In strobing, this is the step where you can add to your face cream a luminous liquid perfecting base like the Chanel Le Blanc Sheer Illuminating Base, the Tom Ford Illuminating Primer, the Eve Lom Flawless Radiance Primer SPF 30 – a bit of SPF is essential right?!, or the Charlotte Tilbury Wonder Glow!
Step 2:
Add just the perfect amount of foundation making sure you’re not using a high coverage one, otherwise what would be the point of prepping your skin with an illuminating product, right?! And also make sure that you blend it with tapping motions – a beauty blender or a dense stippling brush, even your fingers would be just perfect for that! Make sure that everything is perfectly blended out and there are no harsh lines in sight!
Step 3:
Use a tiny amount of translucent powder, only in the areas where you get oilier during the day!
Step 4:
Dust a bit of extra-highlighter in strategic places like your eyes – inner corner, brow bone, enhance your cheek bone, sculpt your nose, and emphasis your pout… Basically all the places that are meant to catch the light!
And you’re pretty much done!
But remember, you’re aiming to get an angelic glow not to look like a disco ball/stroboscope – *hint strobing!, like this lady here:
[ Read more on what common mistakes to avoid when you’re doing your makeup, in this 10 most common MAKEUP MISTAKES article I wrote a while back! ]
As for CLOWN CONTOURING…
… It’s the next big thing you know!?…
Just when we thought that the Kim-K contouring technique was going to be taken over by strobing, here it is resurrected by the good old YouTube! This girl’s tutorial went viral for example!
– image source: Marie Claire
Like strobing, clown contouring isn’t a new discovery! It was very popular in the ’60 among makeup artists like Joe Blasco and many others!
Clown contouring is – if you ask me, a clever technique of blending a circus-themed makeup, which consists in strategically applying layers of products in some key points of your face and a whole lot of skilled blending!
I am so not going to demonstrate that here, I’m going to leave that to the actual professionals! Enjoy this Clown Contouring tutorial by one of my favourite makeup artists, Wayne Goss!
The transformation is pretty amazing, don’t you think?! Although I definitely don’t think this is a look I’m going to be doing on my morning commute anytime soon, if you know what I’m saying!…
Got to love makeup, right?! It never gives you a dull moment! Haha!
See you soon, beautiful!
xx, Annie
INTERESTING FACTS, TRICKS AND TIPS:
- choose the highlighting shade that works best for your skin tone
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avoid applying your highlighter in places like forehead and cheek areas where you have enlarged pores, acne scarring or other imperfections
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if you’re going for the glowing look do use your highlighting products but make sure that you balance that by using all matte products ( blush, powder, eyeshadow )
*The photographic material used in this post was fount on Pinterest, or via Google and it’s not annie’s beauty… property, unless stated otherwise!
Mami și Zâna 