Let’s Get Baked: The New Make-Up Trend That Gives A Perfect Finish, Honest

First there was contouring, then strobing, then, er, clowning – now we’re all about baked make-up. Yep, baked. Now, before you go shoving your Naked palette in the oven, let’s get back to basics: just what is this brand new beauty hack?

Well, it’s not brand new at all – baking has been around for donkey’s years, popularised in drag circles as a way of giving that super-sleek, picture-perfect finish and of emphasising or highlighting particular areas (without going for a highlighter with an obvious sheen).

If you’re the type whose make-up tends to slide off after an hour; if you want to highlight your cheekbones / jawline / chin; if you have mastered contouring, strobing and clowning and find yourself with an extra 10 minutes on your hands and fancy experimenting – well, baking’s for you. Let’s start with …

1. Do your make-up

Do your usual routine – serum, moisturiser, foundation, whatever way you usually apply. Just stop before you add contour, blush or set your face with powder.

2. Conceal, conceal, conceal

Using a damp make-up sponge, apply concealer to your under-eye area. You can apply more than you usually would; this method prevents creasing so it won’t end up settling into your fine lines. Then, er, repeat this step.

3. Dust on your loose powder

Dust, dust, dust. Pretty self-explanatory, right?

4. Bake!

Using a damp sponge (you can dampen it with a setting or fixing spray if you like), apply more translucent powder to the areas you want to bake. That’d be under your eyes to the apples of your cheeks, maybe down the bridge of your nose, your chin or along your jawbone. Leave the powder there for five, 10 or even 15 minutes to set (we recommending using this time to, y’know, eat breakfast or get back to some emails).

5. Blend

The last step? As always, blend! Using a powder brush, blend your baked makeup so that there are no harsh lines or obvious points of difference. Then proceed to your final steps – contour, clown contour, blush etc.

Still confused? Here’s YouTube guru Huda Kattan‘s baking how-to.

Want to get your hands on some baking paraphernalia? We rate Lottie’s Blend & Snap Sponge, €7.50, NARS’ Mizubake Kabuki Brush, €58.90, and NARS’ Soft Velvet Loose Powder, €36.30.

• Asos.com
• Beauty
• drag
• Huda Kattan
• make-up
• Nars