Lighting for the home has come along way but with the addition of so much choice it can be confusing when trying to pick the best type of modern lighting for performing certain tasks.
When applying makeup good lighting is critical. Natural light is ideal but much of the time this isn’t possible. When you’re applying makeup in the early morning or in the evening or, if you live in the UK, anytime between October and March, then you need to rely on artificial lighting.
If you regularly wear makeup then the chances are you’ve been in the situation where your skin tone looked flawless before you leave the house only to find different colours and patches appear everywhere now that you’re outside.
Many people blame the make up itself when this happens, or possibly the application process. However, the first thing to look at is the type of lighting being used when applying your makeup.
Lighting to Avoid When Applying Makeup?
There are lots of different types of light available on the market and some are definitely better than others when it comes to makeup application.
Florescent Lighting – This type of lighting is very bright and has a tendency to make you look washed out and a lot worse than you do in reality. Applying makeup under this type of light tends to lead to over application of foundation, bronzer or blusher as you try and add color to you complexion.
Rosy Lighting – Warm pink lighting, which is often used in bedrooms, can do the reverse of florescent lighting and make your skin look glowing and healthy. Using this type of light can lead to using less concealer or missing patches of skin that we would normally cover up.
Yellow Light – As you’d expect yellow light gives the skin a yellow tone which often gives you the appearance of looking tired or even ill. The tendency is to over apply foundation and blusher so when you step into a more natural light your makeup looks totally overdone.
Downlights – This is more to do with lighting angles rather than the color tones of the lighting. Downlights are common on bathroom mirrors, however when it comes to applying make up they should be avoided. Lighting that is cast down from above creates shadowing which emphasis parts of our face in an unrealistic way. You may end up overapplying in some areas and under applying in others as you’re not seeing a true reflection of how you look.
The Best Lighting for Makeup Application
Sunlight is by far the best option for applying makeup. However, there are alternatives that will closely mirror the illumination that sunlight provides. The best (artificial) lighting option for applying makeup is to use warm white LEDs. These provide a close match to natural sunlight and also cast an even distribution of light across the whole face.
LED bulbs are now widely available and fit all common type of light fitting. The added benefits of LED bulbs are their lifespan, which is far greater than standard bulbs, and also their low energy usage. This means that not only will your makeup look great but so will you bank balance!
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