What Is Makeup Baking?
You heard that right, ladies! Face baking makeup technique, or cooking makeup is the newest fad to have reemerged from its ‘concealed’ grave. This twentieth-century baking makeup trend uses makeup to bake your face!
It managed to make a smashing comeback on Instagram and Snapchat, with members of the Kardashian clan and other makeup artists worshipping the makeup techniques that include the combination of concealer, foundation, and powder which gave amazing results.
Remember last year’s fixation with contouring and highlighting? The New Year has beckoned with it a new fixation with baked foundation, under eye baking and baking contour makeup, all in favor of matte highlighting. So throw away all your shiny highlighting powders and grab your baking makeup products, and bake away!
What Is Baking Your Face?
Baking face makeup has been around for quite a long time, with yesteryear heart-throbs like Marilyn Monroe rocking the airbrushed look with very little effort, thanks to her talented makeup artist Allen ‘Whitey’ Snyder.
This was ideally used to remove under-eye bags and blemishes, but today this is used to also highlight all prime parts of the face, namely under the eyes, brow line, the center of the chin, nose and so on.
Makeup-historians attribute this popular technique of using powder for baking makeup to drag queens, who worked to magically vanish creases, fine lines, crow’s feet and pores off their faces. The entire routine takes about a half hour, but the results are definitely worth it!
How To Bake Makeup
The term ‘baking my face’ basically refers to caking on face baking products on wet concealer and allowing the face powder for baking to soak up the oil, leading to a perfect matte highlight.
What Do You Use To Bake Your Face?
The things you’ll need for the baking makeup method are fairly straightforward:
- A loose setting powder
- Foundation
- A thick concealer
- A blending sponge
- A big, fluffy makeup brush
Many people confuse facebaking with using cheap baking powder makeup but it is important not to do so on a daily basis, especially for so long, although the benefits of baking soda for skin care are many in number, such as baking powder for skin whitening.
What Products To Buy
Remember to choose the best product to bake your face – the best powder for baking makeup, a concealer, and a foundation that is a shade lighter than your skin tone, as they will simultaneously function as a highlighter.
What Powder To Use For Baking Makeup
While choosing what powder to use for baking face, ensure that the powder and your concealer match, or are close shades.
1. Neutrogena Mineral Sheers Loose Powder ($13.49)
This is one of the best best baking powder makeup products that you will find in the market. It acts as both powder and a foundation and comes in 8 different shades.
2. Covergirl TruBlend Loose Powder ($7.99)
You can use this powder to bake face as it is easy to apply and comes in four different shades. This is the best drugstore loose powder for baking.
3. e.l.f. Mineral Pearls Loose Powder ($8.00)
The e.l.f. Minerals pearls is one of the best loose powder for baking that you will find.
4. Maybelline Facestudio Master Fix Setting + Perfecting Loose Powder 10 Translucent ($9.99)
This is the best translucent powder for baking! Using a translucent powder for baking is a good choice as it will allow your concealer to keep its color without switching shades. This is the best drugstore translucent powder for baking.
5. Boots No7 Perfect Light Loose Powder ($10.50)
This is another one of the best powder for baking your face. It comes in four shades that compliment everyone’s skin tone.
Other good powders for baking makeup include the Laura Mercier baking powder – the best powder for baking under eyes and MAC baking powder. You can also try the Maybelline Better Skin Powder Foundation, one of the best drugstore powder for baking.
Baking Foundation Makeup
Opt for liquid foundation and lotion, not powders.
1. Stila Illuminating Liquid Foundation ($19.00)
2. NARS All Day Luminous Weightless Foundation ($49.00)
3. Dior Diorskin Forever Perfect Makeup Broad Spectrum 35 ($50.00)
4. Hourglass Immaculate Liquid Powder Foundation ($56.00)
5. La Prairie Skin Caviar Concealer Foundation ($189.99)
Baking Concealer
Your concealer is important as it helps with baking contour makeup. How to bake concealer can be quite easy – simply ensure that it is nice and thick while applying it, before applying the powder on it.
1. Physicians Formula Concealer ($9.55)
2. Maybelline Face Studio Master Concealer ($8.99)
3. Pixi Illuminating Tint & Conceal ($26.00)
Blender And Brush
1. Beauty Blender Original ($20.00)
2. NYX Lightweight Powder Brush ($22.00)
Go for nice and bouncy sponges, which absorb powder and blend really well. Go for really wide and soft brushes made of horsehair and the like for best results.
Baking Makeup Tutorial
If you are wondering how to bake concealer, then worry not. Here are four steps to the perfect baking technique makeup.
- Start with unclogged pores, so that your skin isn’t irritated.
- Apply foundation and concealer under your eyes, moving upwards towards your temple in a characteristic triangular shape. Be extremely generous with your application.
- You can also apply concealer on the areas of your face you want to highlight, like the middle of your forehead, the tip of your nose, the middle of your chin, cheekbones and so on. Pat the concealer with the sponge until it is perfectly blended in.
- Apply a very heavy layer of loose powder on the blended skin, and let it sit for fifteen to twenty minutes. Your face should look like a clown’s mask while waiting – with oodles of powder just waiting to be brushed off.
- The science behind this is simple – the powder works with the natural heat of your skin to melt and bake into your creases, pores, and lines, giving a perfectly airbrushed finish. Do not go overboard with the concealer unless you are being made up for stage performances and the like.
- After the ‘face baking’ process is done, brush off all excess powder in quick, short strokes with your brush, and you’re ready to go! You can give definition to your eyes during the waiting time, but remember to save your lips for last.
Pros
- This method works wonders for under-eye bags and dark circles, making them disappear magically.
- It wipes out crow’s feet, laugh line and fine lines in one swipe. There is absolutely no after-concealer creasing as well, especially in the eye region.
- This technique takes ‘long-lasting’ to a whole new level! The endurance of long-lasting concealers is extended manifold, and it enhances the time limit of less powerful products as well. Not only the time, but the concealing level of the product is also increased, with the powder covering up blemishes flawlessly.
- It works on lighter and darker skin tones fabulously; lighter skin tones have the added glamor of brighter faces, while the highlighting effect is greatly enhanced on darker skin tones.
- Women with oily skin will benefit greatly from this, as it absorbs oil and keeps skin oil-free and super matte.
- It photographs really well, with no unnecessary glare even under unforgiving flashes.
Cons
- This method tends to dry out your skin, especially the sensitive skin under your eyes. Women with dry skin will find this a bit hampering as it tends to remove the already lacking moisture from your skin.
- There is a lot layering involved, so people who prefer the more natural look might not find this very appealing.
- Pale-skinned women need to put in a lot more effort with the highlighting and contouring, as imperfectly made up skin can look patchy and vampire-like. A good tip here would be to use contouring powder simultaneously with the loose powder to produce the perfect look.
- Face Baking might cause your pores to clog; remember to scrub your skin at least twice a week.
- The major discomfort with baking is the sheer amount of time it takes – ranging from fifteen to thirty minutes. So this is definitely not a last minute potpourri thing you can manage! It takes time and effort to perfect the ultimate look for your face. But this can be made up – use this time to make your eyes or hair.
Face Baking Hack!
Try baby powder for baking instead of your general face powder for a stronger effect. It works amazingly without any creases and is lighter on your pocket!
Although this shouldn’t be your go-to everyday makeup routine, face baking works extremely well in photographs, and for special occasions. Who said baking had to be restricted to the oven? Bake away in front of the mirror today!