What is strobing and how to achieve a fashionable effect?

Limit yourself to a soft highlight on the cheekbones or create a spectacular makeup with intense radiance on all protruding parts of the face - the choice is yours! In 2019, strobing is still in trend, but is revealed in a variety of interpretations depending on the wishes of the makeup artist and client.

Elena Kovaleva – makeup artist-stylist, graduate of the Beauty Course at Joe Blasco Makeup School (Orlando, USA)

What is strobing?

What is strobing? An incredibly fashionable and current makeup technique, popular among makeup artists. Strobing appeared several years ago in Hollywood, where it is successfully used for filming fashion videos, in glossy magazines, and on catwalks.

Strobe is a visual illusion of movement that occurs with a flash, a triggered impulse... This makeup technique looks very natural and is the exact opposite of facial sculpting. Applying makeup using this technique is simpler, faster and easier. When strobing, volume is created by applying highlighter exclusively in those places where natural light gives natural highlights on the face.

Which areas should you apply highlighter to?

This is the upper part of the cheekbone, the brow ridges, the center of the forehead, the back and tip of the nose, the chin, the inner corners of the eyes, and the “tick” above the upper lip.

Strobing does not involve bronzer or other means of darkening, just a natural glow and volume creation is needed. However, if this look is unusual, you can add bronzer under the cheekbone and along the hairline, carefully blending so that no transitions are visible, and the bronzer creates only a natural shadow.

This technique emphasizes the fresh, healthy, radiant look of newly awakened skin, a chiseled appearance, and creates a candy-like shine effect.

Which highlighter should you choose?

The type of highlighter for this technique does not matter. These can be either dry or creamy textures or both products. Any light shadows of warm shades with mother-of-pearl can also be used.

If you want to make your entire facial skin glow, you can mix a small amount of highlighter with your foundation, and after applying it, add highlights to the volumes with dry or creamy textures. Apply it sparingly and work in layers, blending thoroughly, otherwise it will look sloppy.

Who should give up strobing?

An important point: strobing is not suitable for those with problem skin, since highlighter tends to highlight all its imperfections. This applies to redness, rashes, and peeling. Therefore, if you have one of the listed problems, you first need to solve it, and then use strobing.

Strobing is an incredibly beautiful and very popular technique today. Practice and update your skills with the latest trends in the beauty industry!

The article was first published in MAKEUP&YOU Professional magazine.