The "Lobe Strobe" Is Sweeping Instagram — & It's So Extra

Feathered brows, bubble nails, 100 layers of just about everything — we've seen some weird beauty trends over the years and today we have another to add to that list: ear highlighter.

The technique, which we're calling "lobe strobe," includes highlighting your outer and inner ear, tragus, and/or lobe. We've seen highlighter in more bizarre places, but we'll admit that this felt new — even to us. And don't get it confused with the ear makeup movement of 2016 — which was more artsy. Lobe strobing serves the same purpose as sweeping an illuminator across your cheekbones: to lift, enhance, and just look glowy as hell.

It turns out that editorial makeup artists have been using this exact ear trick for years. But makeup artist Andre Sarmiento says it's recently become a bit more obvious thanks to social media. "I definitely think people are highlight obsessed these days and subtlety isn't always the name of the game so it feels like a natural extension for highlighter to be on the ear," he says.

The influencers who are trying it agree, swearing by the technique for the optimal side profile and selfie. "I first discovered it from Bretman Rock. He’s just so extra with the highlight,” says model Miski, or musegold as she’s known to her 22k Instagram followers. “Bretman Rock does it on his Snapchat, and I was like, ‘Oh my God. I can take my highlighting game to the next level.’" And, sure enough, if you stalk beauty guru and influencer Bretman Rock all the way back to early 2016, you’ll find him preaching about highlighting the ears.

But how exactly do you strobe the lobe? There are several ways you can approach the trend. According to Sarmiento, you can add a little highlighter to the top of your ear or a tragus for a look that’s more dreamy and whimsical. On the other hand, he encourages anyone looking for a daring, futuristic aesthetic to go for an all-over strobe. “Highlighter leaves people feeling powerful and pretty,” Sarmiento says. “So adding a little highlighter on the ear can be a statement of confidence.”

To that we say: Strobe on, fam.