Remember the days when women applied a bit of cover up, swiped on some lippie and that was that?
Then contouring came along and turned the makeup world on its head. Not technically a new technique, it has long been used on television and films, but the last few years was the first time that contouring because a mass trend.
Though you may have discovered through your own trial and error that contouring isn't at all easy and can often end up in disaster.
"It's hard for the everyday person to do contouring, and I think it's really not necessarily right for everyone," The founder and C.E.O. of Hourglass Cosmetics Carissa Janes told The Huffington Post Australia.
“There's a negative associated with it, like we are trying to change something and it can be very obvious in natural light. If you're behind the scenes on a film or you're being photographed that’s different, but in everyday life contouring is a bit much and not for everyone -- it can look very bad."
Makeup novices the world over properly sighed with relief when the focus was taken off contouring and placed on strobing recently. But what is strobing?!
"Essentially, strobing is just highlighting -- but it’s nice for women to have a fun, new trend to participate in. While strobing is a trend term, highlighting is something that is timeless. It has been around for a long time and it will continue because it makes your skin look beautiful -- why would that go out of fashion?," Janes said.
Okay, phew ... it's just highlighting. You know that shiny part on the Kardashian's cheeks? That's all it is -- and that we can do.
"Strobing is all about enhancing -- it is contouring the face with light. If you use the right products it can be fun, anyone can do it and it's suitable for all age groups and skin types and it makes you look beautiful and glowy," Janes said.
Highlighter (which is sometimes called illuminator) should be applied to areas of the face you want to highlight, not surprisingly. Think top of the cheekbones, the brow bone, down the bridge of the nose, and on the cupid's bow.
"Women are more hesitant to use liquid highlighters and for that reason, powders are a great way to try strobing. Both are great, creams are lovely to use too. It's about personal preference, which tends to be powder. When looking for a highlighting product, steer clear of a heavy frosty or glittery finish - you want the glow to be subtle," Janes said.
The trick is to be very, very light handed. A very minimal amount of product needs to be applied to these areas as the last step to subtly add dimension.
"People are hesitant about strobing because contouring is so tricky -- but it's so not, it's so easy and flattering," Janes said.
