You may have been seeing the word "strobing" lately on Instagram or YouTube tutorials. So what exactly does it mean? The easiest way I would explain strobing is basically highlighting but perhaps with a cream and not a powder. If you are still figuring out how to highlight, let’s take it one step at a time. 

One of my favorite powder highlighters is MAC's Mineralize Skinfinish in Soft and Gentle. Make sure you are using a clean brush to apply it as you don't want to mix your shimmers with your regular coverage powders. I like to take this step at the end of my make up by applying a little bit right above the highest point of my blush close to the temples and a little bit down the bridge of my nose. To be honest, I feel like this looks best on younger people, or someone with really great skin. The shimmer accentuates and highlights your features but at the same time can make your wrinkles or pores show more. Be very careful with where you are applying it. Using this on the middle of your nose like a line is great if you have a wider nose and want to accentuate the middle bone, but if you are like me and have a straight nose it can sometimes make it look longer in photos. I recommend watching some tutorials and practicing. The easiest way to see what works is to take a selfie and see which look suits you best. 

Now on to strobing! This look may be easier to get away with and also much faster than contouring and highlighting. The only downfall of this look is that it makes you look really dewy, so if you are already sweating because of the summer heat, you may want to save this look for a more air-conditioned day indoors. I used to do this technique in the past but simply just mixed a little bit over my foundation. First apply foundation all over, then get a highlighter and mix it with whatever foundation is remaining on your hand. Apply this with your fingertips just patting right above the cheekbone. This seems like an easier way to do this. If you want hard chore strobing just pat a cream highlighter on your cheekbones, bridge of your nose, above your lip and even under your brow. I like this look with a cream blush since the textures match up better together.

CHANEL SOLEIL TAN DE CHANEL SHEER ILLUMINATING FLUID in Sunkissed is great for this look because it has warmth to it and looks great on olive skin, especially with a tan. Stay away from any white looking highlighters since those are more suitable for lighter complexions. If you have oily skin, skip this trend all together, because you are naturally strobing! 

Aline Agopian