We introduced you to strobing last year. You know, contouring’s less labor intensive cousin? Well, forget all that. A new beauty trend is here and you are going to love it for summer.

The latest beauty trend is called “stripping” and it is super hot. And not nearly as sleazy at it sounds.

Since a more natural look is on trend this year, and thank golly for that, it isn’t a surprise that the number of products it takes to achieve the look is more minimal too. You’re yearning to bust out the good ol’ bronzer right about now, aren’t you?

We all want to shake off our winter pallor and sport a healthy glow this time of year. But the old ways of bronzer are behind us. Stripping, or “sun stripping”, is a way of using bronzer that makes it look like you’ve actually spent a little quality time under the sun. Who comes in from a fun day outdoors with a uniformly bronzed face? No one. Ever. That’s why all-over face bronzing got kicked to the curb in favor of this new approach.

Best of all it’s fast, easy, and requires only one product. Here’s how.

How to Perform the Stripping Beauty Trend in 4 Easy Steps

1. Choose a bronzer. Here’s the trick with stripping. You want it to look natural, so stay away from bronzers with shimmer and select one that looks good on your skin tone. Also, powder works best for stripping. Alima Pure Bronzer comes in two color choices, light bronze and medium bronze, and is super natural looking. Another option is W3LL People Bio Bronzer, a universally flattering shade that looks like a true glow.

2. Use the right tools. You don’t want your bronzer everywhere. A semi-sturdy brush, like the Alima Pure Flat Top Brush, is perfect for applying the bronzer. You will also want a blush brush, like Alima Pure Blush Brush, for blending.

3. Apply the bronzer. After applying your foundation or tinted moisturizer as usual, apply a strip of bronzer across apples of cheeks and bridge of nose, where sun hits your face when you are outdoors. This is going to look wacky, but stay with us.

4. Blend it out. Now, using the blush brush, blend the strip of bronzer outward slightly and buff to a natural looking glow.

That’s it, peeps. Couldn’t be easier and you will love the just-been-out-in-the-sun look it gives your skin.

*Disclaimer: Help support EcoSalon! Our site is dedicated to helping people live a conscious lifestyle. We’ve provided some affiliate links above in case you wish to purchase any of these products.

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Image of girl with bronzed cheeks via Shutterstock

The post Beauty Trend Alert: Stripping is the New Strobing appeared first on EcoSalon.

Who doesn’t love a good selfie? If you are on Instagram, and here’s betting you are, you’ve probs doctored an image or two. Are we filtering and #nofilter-ing our way through life?

These days of reality TV overload and insta-public documentation of our every move, location, and meal has left us feeling the need to be camera ready at any given moment. But what non-reality star without the hair and makeup people has the ability to pull that off? No one. That means a little handy camera work has to take place, and take place often. You know how some women have that ethereal glow no matter what time of day they are posting and, yes, even on those “look how horrible I woke up” shots? It’s a filter.

Leandra Medine recently penned an article on an Instagram lashing out over an image she posted of her bare face. And she’s the Man Repeller, people! If she can’t get by with posting a not-so-perfect pic, who amongst us can hope to? In the article Medine goes on to say this inspired her to seek the help of a makeup artist who taught her how to diminish her flaws and highlight her attributes via contouring.

The question is … why do we have to look so freakin’ perfect all the time? Why is it not ok to post a pic where you look human? Is it because it is forever immortalized on the interwebs? Is it because an old boyfriend, rival or potential client may see you with a zit or dark undereye circles? Or is it because everyone else online seems to be flawless? Even when we happen to get a shot of ourselves that looks good, no manipulation, it has to be announced with a #nofilter tag. And even then, does anyone really believe it hasn’t been enhanced a little bit?

It leads us to wonder what we are doing to our young girls. They see teens on Nickelodeon or Disney Channel leading their daily lives in full makeup, done hair, and heels. Every Instagrammer or YouTuber they follow is picture perfect. Our society is inundating girls with the image of faultless looking people who are really just like them, zits and all. Can this really be good for anyone’s self esteem?

Then there are those of us who are decidedly unphotogenic. No filter, contouring, or app can do the justice of a mirror or real life because we can’t seem to take a good pic to save our lives. What’s a camera shy girl to do? That’s where those hand, lap, and feet shots come in handy. I speak from experience.

If you are simultaneously wagging your head in dismay over the horribleness of the filter generation and wondering which of those filters, exactly, would make you love your selfie more, here’s a list of which filters and apps to use to enhance your selfies.

CreamCam: Maybe the only retouch app any of us really need. This free app turns skin from real to flawless in an instant.

ModiFace: A free photo editor with reshaping and feature enhancing basics.

Perfect365: Hailed as the “one-tap makeover”, this free app lets you zap any spots, resize, and reshape.

Photo Wonder: This free app mixes serious with fun. Your basic retouch functions with creative background and collage choices.

Pixtr: A fancier retouching app that gets you picture perfect in one tap for $2.99.

Facetune: Fix your smile, skin, coloring, shape, hair, and just about anything else with this effects app for $3.99.

These are all fun and even kind of addictive. So what’s the harm done? Unless you are sending retouched pics out as headshots for paid modeling gigs, I can see none. But how great would it be to see a trend in posting real, unadulterated images of ourselves? You go first.

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Image of girl taking selfie via Shutterstock

The post Selfie Made: Is Looking Better On Instagram Than Real Life Worth It? appeared first on EcoSalon.