Baking (make-up)

The cosmetic technique of baking is a "very old make-up technique"[2] that may be traced back to times such as Ancient Egypt and the early Victorian era.

The use of make-up can be traced back to times as early as Ancient Egypt. High class members of Egyptian society would use make-up to display their wealth, beliefs and positions within the community. Cosmetics were regarded as a symbol of high status and a sign of holiness and were often a major part of the burial ceremony along with jewellery.

Although, Egyptians are renowned for heavy eye make-up, facial products were also used but were mainly focused on cheeks.

Despite the fact that make-up developed over time it remained an ideological concept of wealth and a display of class. In the lead up and throughout the early Victorian era cosmetics took aspects from Ancient Egypt and began to be used by actresses and prostitutes to define the face and eyes, however this was condemned by Queen Elizabeth I who described the type of dark make-up as 'vulgar'.

From the Renaissance up until the 20th century the lower classes predominately worked outside in jobs such as agricultural work, therefore, the stereotypical light-coloured British skin was darkened by exposure to the sun, this created the trend of 'pale faces' in mainland Europe. This type of cosmetic technique was used especially by royalty and the higher classes to segregate them from the poor. The whiter the complexion, the higher the class and nobility of the person. Consequently, why Queen Elizabeth I is famous for her pale skin.

Baking was brought into the spotlight by celebrities such as Kim Kardashian whose make-up artist, Mario Dedivanovic uses the technique to set the famous Kardashian's make-up for events. He argues that this practice should not be used every day and he only uses it for celebrities that like "a very dramatic, long lasting, matte finish to the face" or if he is working on stage performers.[3] This technique was also brought into light with the increased visibility of the drag community following the popular television show RuPaul's Drag Race. The technique of baking can be seen throughout the episodes when the queens are in the 'work room' preparing for the runway. Baking is not just used for drag performers, it has been adopted by many make-up artists and is now used throughout special effects make-up to set bruising and cuts so that the products applied to the face melt in seamlessly and look as realistic as possible.

This technique was then popularised further by many bloggers and vloggers who have created videos and pages, teaching make-up enthusiasts and the general public how to bake or cook their face. This type of tutorial has taken over social media sites such as YouTube and Instagram, bringing baking into the mainstream as a new internet 'buzzword'.[4] These such videos have gathered thousands of views, one of the most popular tutorials, by Heidi Hamoud,[5] managed to gain over 2 million views since its upload in April 2015.

Someone who has taken this technique directly from the drag community, into the social media and make-up tutorial scene, is Miss Fame. A season 7 contestant on RuPaul's drag race, who is now planning a make-up tour[6] where she plans to teach people the art of 'painting', a term used in the drag community to refer to 'making up'. Miss Fame features heavily on YouTube, not only with her own channel of tutorials and how to guides but also throughout other 'beauty gurus' channels where she 'paints' them and provides viewers with tips and tricks from the drag community.[7]