Everything you need to know about strobing

By now, we’ve all heard about contouring. We’ve read about it 1000 times. We’ve come across about a million directive images, like this:

A photo posted by Makeup Ideas/Tips (@alldolledup__x) on
Jun 15, 2015 at 2:51pm PDT

Heck, most of us have tried our hand at it at least once.

But there’s a new make-up trend that’s been giving contouring a run for its money this year.

It’s called strobing and not only is it quicker than contouring (and doesn’t leave you looking like a lost tribal warrior halfway through), but it achieves the most radiant result.

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So what exactly is strobing, and how do you do it?

Instead of finding the shadows and highlights of your face and enhancing/faking them, strobing is all about highlighting your skin in certain areas to give your complexion that healthy glow you’ve always wanted. It’s basically alllll about light. No shadows here, thanks.

A photo posted by @aniamilczarczyk on
Jul 20, 2015 at 4:21am PDT

A photo posted by Victoria Curtis (@curtiscollection) on
Dec 17, 2015 at 1:05am PST

How to ‘strobe’

You’ll need a highlighter, highlighting powder or even a clear lip balm or gloss.Then, just apply it to the areas you want to highlight: your cheekbones, brow bone, bridge of your nose and your temples. In other words, the areas of your face that already catch the light. This Instagram pic spells it out:

A photo posted by Karla Powell (@karlapowellmua) on
Jun 8, 2015 at 6:02am PDT

Compared to contouring, strobing is an easier (and more forgiving) way to give your face extra depth and dimension.

But don’t be fooled into thinking some highlighter will solve all your dull skin issues. It’s also super important to maintain a regular skin care routine. You know, cleansing, moisturising, exfoliating and all that jazz.

Oh, and if you want to give strobing a whirl, it’s best to avoid any matte primers, foundations and concealers. Because this look relies on highlighting, you’ll want to use a dewy or illuminating foundation, and so on.