Contouring with a Sponge & My First Attempt at "Baking"

If you haven't already heard, "baking" is the latest technique gone viral in makeup.  And no, I'm not talking about putting your makeup in the oven.  Baking (sometimes referred to as "cooking") in the makeup world is a technique used to set your makeup, further emphasize any highlighting and contouring, and give a flawless finish.  I have heard that the drag community has used this tip for years, but we can thank Kim Kardashian's makeup artist for its recent spike in popularity.  I thought I would give this a try and blog about my experience.

What It Is and How It Works 
The idea behind baking is to first apply your undereye concealer (and bring it down using the triangle method for highlighting) and your cream or powder contour product.  You then apply a heavy layer of loose translucent setting powder (you just get it on there--don't do any blending yet) over your concealer and around (not over) your cheek contour and let it sit for a few minutes.  As the powder sits and "bakes," it mixes with the heat of your skin to set your foundation and concealer to make it last under extreme heat and add some extra oomph to your contour to make your face look even more sculpted and flawless.  Once the product is done baking, you brush off the excess with a fluffy brush.

My Attempt at Baking

What I Used 
I used my fingers to pat in Benefit Erase Paste in Medium underneath my eyes.  This is a great concealer but needs to be set with powder because it doesn't dry, so I used Bobbi Brown Retouching Powder in Yellow with a damp Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge to set it.  I didn't do any baking on this area--I just set it as I normally would with the powder.

For my contour, I used L'Oreal True Match Super Blendable Powder in N8 Cappuccino.  I decided to try something new here and use the Real Techniques sponge rather than a brush to contour.  I picked up some of the L'Oreal powder with the pointed end of the damp sponge and pressed it into the hallows of my cheekbones.  I did the same thing on my temples to contour my forehead.

After this, it was time to bake.  I used the above mentioned Real Techniques sponge and Bobbi Brown powder and applied a heavy layer of powder on the tops of my cheekbones and underneath my cheek contour, leaving no space between the L'Oreal powder and the Bobbi Brown powder.  I let it sit for about three minutes, then I brushed off the excess with a fluffy brush (I used the Real Techniques Blush Brush, but any fluffy face brush you have will work).  At this point, I had already done all of my makeup except blush.  I finished off the look with NARS Blush in Orgasm and applied that with a Sedona Lace Large Angled Contour Brush.

Baking and looking like a freak

Results and Mistakes I Made 
I really wasn't all that impressed with the results; I didn't think my face looked noticeably more contoured or flawless than it did before I followed the baking procedure.  I don't think this technique would be so popular and raved about by professional makeup artists if it didn't work, so I must have made a few mistakes.  I'm pretty sure I didn't let it bake for long enough--I waited about three minutes, and after reading more into it, I found that it is suggested to wait five to 10 minutes.  I also messed up on my left cheek--I was a bit too sloppy and inadvertently covered part of my contour with the setting powder.  I also didn't bake under my eyes and didn't use enough concealer.  In doing more research, I've discovered that it is recommended to go heavy with concealer and powder.  In retrospect, I probably shouldn't have used Erase Paste.  I should have used a thinner concealer and used the triangle method to highlight.  I'm guessing that the combination of these mishaps are why I didn't see any life changing results.

Left: Post-contour and pre-bake
Right: Post-bake but pre-blush.  There is hardly a difference in these two shots.

The finished product with blush added

 I think you are technically supposed to use a translucent powder, but this yellow one by Bobbi Brown is the only loose setting powder I have.  I can't say for sure, but I don't think it's a huge deal that it was yellow.  If anything, the yellow tone just added more brightness.

Overall Thoughts 
I didn't dislike the results, but I also didn't see any notable improvement over my normal makeup application.  I also think this technique can be time consuming and is not practical for most of us on a day-to-day basis,  I usually do my eye makeup first, so by the time I got to the baking portion, I only had lipstick to apply as I waited.  I also needed to apply blush but couldn't do that as I was baking.  It would make more sense to do your face makeup first in order to maximize your time and productivity because you could do your eye makeup as you let your face bake and not lose as much time.  Still, it is an extra step, and if you're getting ready for work at 6 or 7 AM, you'll likely not be too excited to add this to your routine.  Not only that, but this step requires A LOT of concealer and powder, and doing this regularly would not be good for your wallet or your face.  I have read that those with more mature skin should stay away from this technique, as the powder will emphasize fine lines.  I do think that if you know how to bake and can make it look the way you want it to, it would be a good thing to do for special occasions.

I mentioned that I tried contouring with a sponge, and I loved the results!  It was similar to the effect of contouring with a cream product, which tends to look more natural than powder products.  After placing the product where I wanted it, I just kind of rolled the sponge over the product to blend it out a bit more.  It didn't need as much blending as it does when applied with a brush--there's just something about the sponge that makes it look blended out as soon as it's applied!  I will definitely be doing this regularly.

 I will keep experimenting with baking and will do a follow-up post once I have it down.  If anybody has any tips, please leave a comment below!  Thank you all for reading, and let me know if you try this out!