Strobing 101: An Introductory Guide

So unless you live in a hermit cave, you’re probably familiar with the contouring trend. Popularized by the Kardashians (mostly by Kim), the shading and highlighting technique was used to give structure and definition to the face. Now, if you really are keeping up with the Kardashians – or if you have an Instagram account – you now know that the time has come to throw away everything you know about contouring, because this summer, it’s less about sculpting and more about ~strobing~.

Strobing is, in fact, just a fancy makeup term for highlighting. In all the previous blogs that I’ve read, this trend was always credited to the Kardashians. And while I completely agree that they were the ones to revive the trend, allow me to introduce you to the real queen of strobing.

Back in the 50’s, matte makeup was all the rage, but Marilyn Monroe had a real soft spot for highli– err, “strobing”, because she knew that that glow and dewiness would make her look so much fresher and more radiant. Since highlighters weren’t really a thing back then, she would apply a really thick layer of petroleum jelly under her foundation before photo shoots. It probably wasn’t the most comfortable thing for her to have on her face, but she still looked downright gorgeous, so I’m not complaining.

Now, by all means, I am not saying that you should slather your face with vaseline to pull off this trend. All you really need to achieve this look is a really good highlighter. After you finish with your regular makeup routine (if you have oily skin, make sure everything besides the highlighter has a matte finish to avoid looking like a greaseball), grab your favorite highlighter and apply that on the high points of your face — cheekbones, nose bridge, chin, cupid’s bow, and center of your forehead.

I actually like this trend a lot more than contouring, since it’s a lot easier to master (seriously though, contouring was a pain) and I don’t have to walk around with a thick layer of makeup on my face to sport it.

What do you think? Are you planning on swapping your contouring/highlighting kit for a highlighter this summer? Let me know in the comments!