Baking Makeup Technique: What, How To, and FOTD

Just when I thought I had the hang of strobing and highlighting, the trend changes to "baking". What next, the stir-fried makeup look? Or the parboiled one?
So what is the baking makeup trend? No, you don't stick your head in the oven. There are different ways of "baking" or cooking your makeup out there, but the majority of the beautysphere, particularly on Reddit, follows these steps:
1. After makeup, you apply a tonne of powder. Some recommend baby powder, but you can also use any old pressed or loose powder, or setting powder in your own shade.
2. Then, you proceed to dunk your face in a basin of water. Some do this by liberally spraying on a face-mist, but I find that leaves most of the powder on the face and actually combines with the powder "to create a sort of blancmange".
3. Post-dunk, pat your face dry - gently, please.
Fans of the trend claim your makeup will be set, matte and long-lasting. Let's see what happened when I "baked" my mug.

Scroll down for the lowdown on the baking makeup trend, and for a "baked" FOTD using the Lorac Pro 3 Palette and more. 

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I did not apply the following products before the dunking:

• Mascara
• Eyeliner

Waterproof or non-waterproof, some things are best not risked. Everything else went on first.
What did I use?

Face:

• Zelens Velvet Primer
• Cargo HD Picture Perfect Foundation
• Becca SSP in Moonstone 
• Bourjois Delice de Poudre Bronzer
• Nars All Day Luminous Powder - for setting

Eyes:

• Too Faced Shadow Insurance Primer
• Jane Iredale Disappear Concealer
• Benefit Goof Poof Brow Pencil
• Lorac Pro 3 Eyeshadow Palette
• Bell Hypoallergenic Liquid Eyeliner (after dunking)
• Nars Audacious Mascara (after dunking)

Lips:

• Collistar Lipstick in Rosetto Puro

Laura Mercier Translucent Powder (for "baking")

The "baking" process (there are different baking methods detailed by different people but this is what the majority seems to follow):

• First, I applied a nice coating of the Laura Mercier powder.
• Then, I dunked my hair in a basin of water for a few seconds.
• I patted my face dry gently with a couple of paper towels.

And then...
My entire makeup, including the Lorac EOTD, was blurred. And - worst of all - F.L.A.T.
I looked flatter than a tyre that has met with a few nails. Flat and waxy.
Even my lipstick looked lighter. The bronzer all but disappeared.

Here's the look.

No. Just - no. IMO I look generally sad. I've always been diffident and insecure about my looks, and hate my face and skin anyway, but this one is easily my worst look. My makeup is faded out and there is a waxy finish in photos. Plus, my faux-bangs are ruined.

Results:

• The face was blurred out, rather like with a very heavy dose of silicone primer. Which means, if you blended out your makeup, this process blended it a bit more. 
• It isn't just blurring in a good way - the entire skin looks waxy in photographs.
• My carefully-done bronzer/contour pretty much disappeared. 
• My eyeshadow look lost its sharpness and turned out looking less pigmented than before. 
• The only thing that did not dim at all was the Benefit Goof Poof Brow Pencil - this thing won't budge if you paid or even threatened it.
• Patting your face dry removes not just the powder, but also the product you applied just beneath it - in my case, bronzer and eyeshadow. 
• I agree, the face does become matte initially, but my sebaceous glands realise this and work overtime soon after. Anyway, my face produces enough oil to merit membership in the OPEC group.
• My hair was FLATTENED, and my faux-bangs disappeared. I know you'll say it was my fault for not using a bandana or something, but that flattens my faux-bangs even more. 

And, did the look last at all? No more than usual, sadly. I turned oily after the normal timespan. I needed my touch-ups, as usual. I get better staying-power using setting powder normally, or even using Urban Decay's setting sprays.
Nor was it particularly flawless. I get better results with a full-coverage foundation and silicone primer. 

Verdict

Well, my Mum taught us to say something nice, or say nothing at all, so....
"Baking" makeup is fine if you:

• Want to try something gimmicky and new.
• Want a softer, blurrier look.
• Don't mind reapplying certain elements of your makeup, such as bronzer or blush.
• Do not have sebaceous glands that protest mattifying by working overtime.
• Want a unique and gimmicky method of setting your makeup. 
• Have no high expectations regarding staying power, mattification, and so on.
• Want to keep up with whatever trend is sweeping the beautysphere. 

That's enough. I'm off to go look at normal photos of myself in an attempt to feel better. 
Check out other makeup posts this week.

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