Contouring. Strobing. Baking. Chroming. Nontouring. Clown contouring (okay, that one was out of hand). It’s hard to keep up with beauty trends these days! (TBH, we at least partially blame the Kardashians.)
Just in case you weren’t confused enough, E! has a new trick up its sleeve to add to the growing list of techniques being used to sculpt your face to perfection with its Susie K. Glaze (named for the network’s in-house makeup artist, Susie Kim), and we couldn’t help but wonder: How different can it really BE from all its predecessors?
Let’s examine, shall we?
To understand the rest, you’ll need to be familiar with the concept of contouring: the godfather of makeup techniques, which really hit the makeup circuit in heavy rotation roughly two or so years ago. The concept was simple enough: Give your face shape and structure by creating shadows through makeup. But HOW? By staying away from shimmer, for one, and using matte products (such as bronzers or dark-pressed powders) along areas such as the jawline, nose, cheeks and hairline, thus creating a subtle illusion of shadow.
Unlike contouring, strobing was less about creating shape and all about highlighting, using shimmery, illuminating products to mimic light in areas it would naturally hit your face, like your cheekbones, browbones, chin, Cupid’s bow and nose.
From there, baking was born — this one is similar to highlighting, only instead of using shimmer, you’ll put a thick coat of powder on areas you want to highlight, which is said to both make those areas more prominent AND set your foundation — a 2-for-1 deal.
By May of 2016, even celebs had had their fill (heck, Alicia Keys quit makeup altogether!), opting for a more natural look in the nontour, which former contour queen Kim K. herself has taken to as of late, which sees us essentially forgoing most of the heavy beauty products in favor of a quick primer, a tinted moisturizer and a light strobe with a focus on fresh-faced, healthy skin over product.
This newest twist on these techniques more or less sees all of these schools of thought married into one. Much like the nontour, healthy skin is a must, so moisturizer and primer are the first steps (although this trend sees a shimmering primer replacing your normal one). From there, a bit of foundation is involved (a silken or BB cream-style version will do) before bronzer is applied to the cheeks “for a touch of warmth.” Strobe as usual, and voila! You’re Susie K. Glazed.
Essentially, it’s a stripped down makeup routine with a heavy focus on highlighting plus a bit of bronzer to boot. Read: a minimalist blend of all its forefathers. No muss, little fuss.
Amen to that!
What’s your beauty technique of choice? Share with us over @BritandCo!
