What Does It Mean To Bake Your Makeup?

If you're not quite sure what baking is — and I don't mean cookies — this is the next makeup trend you need to know about. "Baking," or "cooking" makeup is an older technique often used in drag makeup, and it's all about achieving a more flawless and creaseless, long-lasting, full-coverage finish. Sounds pretty good, right? Even though baking is a technique usually used to help set stage makeup, the beauty community has recently been all over it, for obvious selfie-related reasons (squinching + baking = selfie success). OK, OK, but how does baking even work?

Pressing powder over concealer helps to set it and prevent creasing, but baking takes this idea to a whole other level. Instead of applying what seems like a "normal" amount of powder, baking requires really laying on the powder, and then laying on some more. These layers of powder should be left on the face for five to 10 minutes so that everything can set, which is where the "baking" or "cooking" part comes in. Once the time is up, the excess powder can simply be swept away with the same brush with which it was applied (although you can also use a sponge to apply the powder) to reveal a flawless finish. Just take a look:

Even though this technique can be heavy and may not be practical for everyday, it is certainly a good one to know if you need to be in front of an HD lens and don't want to worry about your makeup looking creased or faded. And what's more, is it's a great multi-tasker. While it might seem like the five to 10 minutes it takes for makeup to bake is just an extra five to 10 minutes you have to work into your makeup routine, it's actually the perfect time to apply eye makeup.

If you normally apply eye makeup before face makeup for fear of fallout ruining your base, if you intend to bake, wait until then to perfect your smoky eye. All of the excess powder applied over under-eye concealer is perfect for catching fallout. And because it will all be swept away in the end, fallout is simply not a concern when baking. Ready to give baking a try? Check out this tutorial to get your most flawless, full-coverage face:

Images: 99brushes/Instagram; Heidi Hamoud/YouTube