What is 'baking' and how does it work?

Mar 25, 2016

Kitty K.

I'm totally curious as to what 'baking' your makeup is? And what improvements does it make to your make up.. Is it supposed to be doing something? Is it a trend or does it serve an actual purpose to you ladies?

Thoughts & discussion!

Mar 25, 2016

Alexis C.

From my understanding you apply a load of loose translucent powder under your eyes and let it sit so it sets the concealer and keeps it from creasing. When you're done "baking" you brush away the excess powder. It's also popular to bake under your contour line to clean it up and make it nice and sharp. Personally I've never tried baking and I never will as I really don't see any purpose/don't see it working. It just seems silly to put so much extra powder on your face.

Mar 25, 2016

Kitty K.

That's the part that confuses me.. wouldn't setting your under eye concealer with a normal amount of powder be suffice? I'm hoping some ladies that do bake answer.

Mar 25, 2016

Hannah K.

I use it as I find it soaks up my excess oil and makes my makeup matte for longer :) I just find it sets my makeup better.

Mar 26, 2016

Kitty K.

That's interesting Hannah, does it affect the finish as wear time goes on?

Mar 26, 2016

Llesenia S.

I agree with Hannah. I only do it on certain occasions. I find that my under eye concealer doesn't crease when I bake. Also, I have major laugh lines for only being 19. I bake that area too and my foundation doesn't crease there either!

Mar 26, 2016

Shengmin L.

Hi sorry for hijacking thread but is it better to bake with banana powder or translucent powder if you have medium-light skin?

Mar 26, 2016

Aurora S.

I think it's good for certain occasions when you want your makeup to really last and not crease up.

I think it may be more beneficial to those with oily skin where a light dusting of powder isn't sufficient since the natural oils come out and cause the concealer and/or foundation to crease up and slide around this also helps with stopping creases around the laugh lines

Like for me, on more specifically occasions I prefer cream concealer under my eyes since it's more opaque than liquid and baking REALLY sets it and it doesn't crease whatsoever throughout the day.
When I use a normal amount of concealer in general it ends up creasing anyway but I usually just dab my under-eye area and just move along most days.

If you're older or have more lines under your eyes it can end up emphasizing them so if you have fairly good skin then it's a good option.
I find certain powders help to minimize the look of pores better with baking than just a light dusting.


@Shengmin, I would say translucent powder. If you're using the Ben Nye Banana powder it is too yellow, unless you're using a very pale concealer under your eyes, in which case the banana powder will make the under-eye concealer closer to your skin tone.
I kind of like to mix a translucent and banana powder some days if I find my under eye area has some purple tones that didn't get covered from my concealer but that's about it.

Mar 26, 2016

Yaira D.

I too have a question about baking. If you apply an undereye concealer, and bake with a translucent setting powder, then highlight, would it help the longevity of both products applied? Or would it not work and only slip off?

Mar 26, 2016

Shengmin L.

@Aurora, thanks so much once again! What translucent powder do you recommend? I'm using the NYX photogenic one.

Mar 26, 2016

Aurora S.

@Shengmin, pretty much anything talc based because with that thick layer of powder, talc isn't too drying for under the eyes but it gets the job done.
RCMA no Color powder would be a good option as well as some of the Ben Nye which has a neutral one that works great.

If you're talking about the NYX HD photogenic loose powder, that's actually a finishing powder and when baked with it sometimes actually still causes creasing cause it sorta just sits on top of the skin in an interesting way, although it is great at making pores look smaller and lines looking less pronounced. That particular powder will also cause major flashback if you use it for baking and happen to take a pic with direct flash

Yaira, not that I've noticed. Days when I would bake I didn't notice my highlight lasting any longer or any less.

Mar 26, 2016

Shengmin L.

Thanks aurora! I did notice my lines and pores got smaller when I used the NYX powder. Do you think it would be a good idea to use the RCMA powder first then use the NYX powder over it?

Mar 26, 2016

Aurora S.

@Shengmin, yes :) you only need a tiny tiny amount of that powder to "finish" the look and it's meant to be put on after everything

Mar 26, 2016

Kitty K.

Very interesting, I was able to diminish my laugh lines with appropriate skin care. Very interesting to know it's just another trend and best to just bake in my kitchen! And you're absolutely right Alma, everytime I see the make up of stage performers it just looks like layers and layers!

Mar 26, 2016

Alma M.

Baking for the kitchen lol yes kitty. It doesn't stop creases when you add powder. If that was the case we would all be flat uncreased faces.lol You know how you put on that deodorant to help defeat sweat but after a while you lift up your arm and you see that the deodorant is still on except in the crease? Well that's because when skin has a crease or dip of any kind it will rub or develop heat and break anything down even Powder. Just something to really think about ;)
You can always cover/fill any pore like you fill a hole with sand at the beach but after a while moisture will break it down washing it away.  

Mar 26, 2016

Rissa G.

Yeah, I think this trend is a load of bologna lol. powder is always going to just looked caked up in person ESPECIALLY layered powder. I'm not knocking anyone who does it but it totally doesn't look good in person and if anything I think it would just crease more lol. I mean its a LAYER of powder. anything looks good in a picture.

Mar 27, 2016

Rida S.

Totally off topic but Kitty you said you were able to diminish laugh lines with appropriate skincare...can you please share what you did to get rid of them or at least minimize their appearance.  thanks!

Mar 27, 2016

Kitty K.

It definitely sounds like a load of bologna! Most have issues with just their foundation laying right on their skin, I can't imagine layer a bunch of powder would fix it and looking like that cracked doll or crappy horchata doesn't sound too fun!

Rida, mine were diminished with the use of chemical exfoliants.. particularly AHA's (which my sensitive skin doesn't take well to Glycolic Acid, but the use of a weekly exfoliant worked more than enough and lately I've been using a glycolic/lactic acid mix that doesn't bother my skin as much as just glycolic.).
My skincare routine also consists of chemical peels and microdermabrasions as well.

Shannie, would you mind posting some photo's with the products used? A before and after! Very interesting that it worked for your skin type.

Mar 27, 2016

Tessandra R.

The way I have learned to bake is take a makeup sponge, wet it slightly and then use it to apply loose powder on your face. It's supposed to help with excess oil, prevent creasing, and elongate the lasting power of your makeup

Mar 28, 2016

Natalie D.

I started baking my makeup when I started getting really oily and it honestly saved my makeup this summer. I randomly got really oily skin under my eye and along my jaw so my friend who's a drag queen told me about the baking technique. Now unless I'm oily, I don't bake it anymore. I take a sponge that hasn't been wet and dip that in the powder to use. I honestly couldn't do it every day and don't understand how people can stand that much powder on a daily basis.

Mar 28, 2016

Kitty K.

Thank you for the information ladies. Can't wait to see Shannie!

Mar 28, 2016

Kitty K.

Aww that's no good :( I can let a team member know so that they can help you with your post!

Mar 29, 2016

Alma M.

I'm going to share Jordan Liberty video about the Instagram looks ;)
https://youtu.be/LJ33S8S5L8Q

Mar 29, 2016

Alma M.

Do you have a direct pic of the under eye finish with no soft focus? By the way lol thanks Jackie I thought that video would be helpful. I'm so glad Jordan went for the challenge of proving the insta madness nonsense.