What is "Strobing"?

The newest "trend" that's taking off in makeup is "strobing". Contour is "like so last year" and now highlighting the bejesus out of your face is what's in. I, who am not usually the biggest fan of highlighters, am actually really loving this. Mainly because highlighters have become so much better the last few years. Thanks to Becca Cosmetics, I personally feel. So I done this new trend and now I can't stop doing it.

You basically highlight the highest planes of your face which is what you would normally do. Most people do it with liquid or cream highlighters to really get that intense "glow from within" look. I use both though. You're gonna focus your highlight on the: Cheek Bones, Nose, Cupids Bow, Brow Bone, and Inner Corner of your Eye. These are all areas that naturally catch the light more. I tend to go a little further than this and I'll explain on down. 

The first thing you need to remember is to get this in the fullest effect you'll need to start with your skin. So use a really hydrating moisturizer, or a moisturizer that has some shimmer in it. I use Sanitas Oil Free Moisturizer because it just works best on my skin. Don't let the Oil Free part scare you away, it's still incredibly moisturizing. However, keep in mind to have very luminous skin you'll need to use products that will get you there at night too. So I use Caudalie Grape Water facial spray toner, it's moisturizing, as my toner so it doesn't dry out my skin and I used Josie Maran Argan Oil nightly to keep it luminous and glowy instead of dull and dry like some overbearing products can do. For foundation I will use a luminous foundation, which isn't necessary really but I like to do it. So I use Loreal True Match Lumi, NARS Luminous Weightless Foundation, NARS Sheer Glow you get the drift. You don't have to use luminous foundations that's just my preference. I always prime though, I use my Makeup Forever Mattifying Primer just so my foundation doesn't break up or move. I still look luminous but it doesn't move. Now if you're incredibly oily you may not want to do this. That's fine. You can skip straight to highlighting if you want. However, for myself, I tend to be Normal to Dry with my skin so I get a little crazy with my strobing. 

Products that I really feel make a difference are: 

• some form of a liquid illuminator to either mix into your foundation or apply over top. I've been using Giorgio Armani Fluid Sheer in shade 2. Benefit Highbeam would be good, Becca liquid illuminators are awesome, even the Hard Candy liquid highlighters (if still available) are good choices. I like these applied over top the best and I use a kabuki brush because it soaks up some of the excess product. I put this everywhere mentioned above but I also pat it on the center of the chin and forehead.
  
• a cream highlighter for under the eye. I use Becca Brightening Eye Corrector. It can be used to correct dark circle or used over top of concealers and foundation to reflect light off of the area. I find that it works great if you want a super luminous look. It's very heavy though so keep that in mind. You could also use Origins Ginzing Refreshing Eye Cream underneath concealer or corrector as well.
• a powder highlighter to set the under eye. I use MAC Emphasize powder. It has a slight sheen. I mix it with Laura Mercier baked radiance powder in Highlight 01 sometimes because it's a very natural highlight. (This is optional)
• Powder Highlighter. I like Mary Lou-manizer from The Balm and Becca Opal highlighters the best. They are the smoothest and do not have any chunks of glitter in them just a smooth and solid sheen. Bobbi Brown Shimmer Bricks would be good and apparently the new Loreal Lumi Highlighters are a good dupe for some of the Bobbi Brown Shimmer Bricks. I use either a duo fiber tapered brush or a more dense tapered brush depending on how much product I want to apply ( a thicker more dense brush will apply it heavier than a duo fiber). I dust it everywhere previously mentioned above except the chin and forehead. If you have large pores this will emphasize them, so you may want to use a pore filler or go very lightly at first with the powder highlighters. This is the main part. So if you choose any of the steps to do, choose this one.

I like to go in with luminous blush as well. Some say don't, I say why not? You can absolutely use matte blush if you want. I apply the highlighting first then I do blush and bronzer. I want the over all look to be sunkissed and have a summer vibe, I'm not looking for an intense pink or peach cheek or intense contour. I want it all to blend into a warm healthy deep glow. So some blushes that I've really loved are:

NARS High Intensity Blush Duos applied wet are super watt sheen, almost foiled looking (Fervor is my fave)
Becca Blushes (any of them will work, Songbird is my favorite but it's pretty dark)
Milani Luminoso blush (very shimmery peach)
Makeup Geek Romance (Very shimmery pink/peach)
MAC Warm Soul (subtle coral blush with golden sheen)

Bronzer that I use last, have been:
Makeup Forever Sculpting Duo in 2 
Chanel Bronze Universal
MAC Careblend Pressed Powder in Dark 

I did a little contouring today, but I went over it with a "warm" toned bronzer so that it wouldn't look too "contoured". I feel like warmer tones suit this look the best. I don't like a really cool toned harsh contour with this super highlighted look. I would say you don't even have to contour if you don't want to just bronze. I contour because I like it to slim my face and give me cheek bones. So cream contour would be much more natural but you can still use powder contour lightly if you want.

The later in the day it gets the more your highlight shows up. It's great for dates, or cook outs, you best believe I'll be rocking it for the Fourth of July festivities. This picture taken above is at about 11 o'clock at night as you can see it's super intense and glowy. You can make it as intense as you want. So add or take away what you want from these tips. It's just makeup.