Bake your WHAT?!!

When Huda Beauty comes out with something new, I'm all ears! I don't think I'm more loyal to any other cosmetic lines as a whole. Literally, my favorites are all hers. My favorite full coverage foundation, my favorite highlighter, my favorite matte lip gloss, my favorite eyeshadow pallets....all hers! So when I saw her baking up something in the kitchen, I have been like a kid on Christmas waiting for this release.

I'll admit, it sounds strange to "bake your face." What does that even mean?! If you do an image search for Kim Kardashian, one is sure to pop up. That infamous shot of her with a thick layer of powder under her eyes- yup, that's baking!

WHY do you bake? Well, it sets your makeup for the entire day. It helps keep makeup creasing at bay. Another huge benefit of baking is, it has to stand for 3-10 minutes, so it acts as a barrier from any fallout you may get from your eyeshadow! And my personal favorite reason is, when you dust away the "bake" you are left with a perfectly highlighted face. OK, now that you know the why, lets get into the "HOW" of baking.

It's stupid easy. You literally apply foundation/concealer (the powder needs something wet to stick to) And then you can either get a compact brush, or my personal fav, a damp beauty blender sponge- dip it in the powder and cake it on as thick as you can under your eyes. Ill include a diagram from Huda's website to show where it should go. So after you do this, you finish up your face, and then get a fluffy powder brush to dust away the excess! And enjoy the gorgeous dimension it adds to your face. It's basically magic:)

So, I tried something I've never thought to do today that I'm psyched about. I used a darker shade of easy bake to contour my face. So literally, foundation, concealer, under eye bake, contour bake. I was able to skip a few steps doing it this way (face powder, cream contour, powder contour all skipped). The color I used was Cinnamon Bun. It looked a little red so I wasn't sure it was good. But I gotta tell you, this new trick is LIFE if you like to contour. So so easy and it melts together seamlessly. Can be a challenge to blend those harsh lines, but with this, I literally dusted it all off at the end and "BAM" contour and highlight complete!

Now, what do I think about the product itself? You guys will get total honesty from me always. I've only had it on for a few hours, so this is definitely just a first impression. But- the dark color for contour- totally sold. The lighter color, (I went with pound cake) - so far seems to really be oxidizing. As the days gone by, it's not giving me the initial brightening effect it did when I first applied it. I chose one of the lighter shades so it wouldn't just neutralize, but actually brighten. It was so light, that when I first saw it in the package, I actually thought it would be too light. But it really seems to be getting darker. Would be curious to see feedback from anyone who has tried it. I DID put on quite a bit of self tanner last night, so perhaps that color is popping through-haha! BUT I don't know if I will love it if it does oxidize as bad as it is.

As far as formula, all I have to compare it to is the Ben Nye baking powders. I have Cameo and Banana. I included a pic here of the 3 colors side by side for reference. The cameo is top left, banana is the obvious yellow, and the Huda is at the bottom. The first thing that struck me when I compared the textures with my hands- the Ben Nye feels much more dry. The Huda, although a very very fine milled powder, somehow felt creamier. Which I liked because the Ben Nye can tend to look overly matte. So in theory, I like the texture better. The packaging is also much nicer. The Ben Nye you have to pour into a cup. With the Huda, there is screen to keep it in until you tip over and tap it.

One final note: I was HOPING with names like "pound cake" and "banana bread" a line called 'easy bake' would smell like sugar cookies. A little disappointed to find it instead smells like flowers. It's not a bad smell, it's nice (smells just like the foundation) BUT it would have been a nice touch for this sugar cookie scent lover:)

So there you have it, baking 101! I will update this in a few days to see if it's worth it;)

xoxo, Danette