What to Avoid When Selecting Makeup Lighting

To get a good makeup application, lighting is nearly as important as the products you use. If you have quality products but bad lighting, the products can end up not looking their best.

Here are a few things to avoid when it comes to lighting. 

1. Downward and Upward Lighting

When light is pointed down or up at your face, you will get shadows. Shadows can lead to uneven makeup application or missed problem areas. 

Using a light fixture that emits light around all sides of the face can help eliminate shadows. If the light is only shining from above, you’ll get a shadow under the nose and eyebrows. If the light is shining from below, it will look similar to horror movie lighting with deep, unflattering shadows.

Using a vanity light with bulbs that go around the entire mirror is a great way to minimize shadow. Ring lights are also very good at giving you flattering lighting without strange shadows.

2. Yellow Light 

Reds, oranges, and yellows are more intense in yellow light while blues and greens are muted.

Yellow light can also make you look sick by bringing out warmer colors and muting the cooler colors on your face. It lacks brightness and clarity, making it hard to use while applying makeup. 

3. Blue Light 

Blue light will highlight blemishes, dark circles, and other uneven skin areas. It makes red have a deeper tone and draws out shadows on your face while deepening neutral colors. 

Nude colors will look harder under blue light, while oranges will appear brown and darker colors will appear harsh. This unflattering light can wreak havoc on your makeup application.

4. Rose-Colored or Orange Light

While rose-colored or orange light can enhance your skin tone and look flattering, it can also hide blemishes by highlighting all the red tints in your skin. 

Warm lighting like rose-colored light will intensify reds, oranges, and yellows while muting blues and greens. 

It can distort the way you see your bronzer and lipstick by making reds and browns look more intense.