The Ultimate Light Temperature Guide For Your Makeup

Ever wondered why you look a certain way in your bathroom vanity light or selfie ring light and appear completely different everywhere else?

Well, it all has to do with the light temperature.

When you have the wrong lighting temperature, it can seriously affect how your makeup looks.

So what’s the best light temperature for makeup?

What is Light Temperature?

Light temperature (more popularly known as the colour temperature of the lights) is the temperature of an ideal black-body radiator that radiates light of a colour comparable to that of the light source.

The warmth or coolness of a light fixture that you see when you turn the light on.

From soft white light to cool white, warm yellow, and natural daylight, all these colours are represented by the colour temperature of the lights and are measured in degrees of Kelvin (K) on a scale from 1,000 to 10,000.

A bulb’s colour temperature determines the look and feel of the light [2] it will produce to brighten up the area.

Understanding Different Light Temperature

As mentioned the colour temperature of light fixtures is measured on a scale of 1,000 to 10,000, wats of energy.

Let’s first talk a bit about the different types of lighting colours for a better understanding.

• Less than 2000 watts of energy: The bulbs produce a dim glow similar to candlelight. [3]
• 2000 – 3000 watts of energy: Soft, warm white illumination; it is the exact yellow color produced by a standard incandescent bulb.
• 3100 – 4500 watts of energy: A bright white or cool white light; this light color is also known as neutral white.
• 4600– 6500 watts of energy: A natural daylight color; it illuminates the most natural lighting.

The Most Suitable Light Temperature for Makeup

In most cases, when choosing the best light fixture for our face, we consider that particular light to be the most perfect lighting for makeup application.

However, it’s not always true.

Different light colours have a different effect on your skin tone, which significantly affects your makeup application.

While a yellow light will make your face look tired, causing an overload on concealer, red colour lighting will result in a pseudo healthy glow.

This would persuade you to apply less concealer than actually needed.

On the other hand, fluorescent lights will cause your skin tone to look washed out and convince you to apply more bronzers or blush.

This would cause over-application of makeup and make you look “not so beautiful.”

It is important to remember that a lighting hue that is too warm or too cool will misguide you to apply the wrong shades of colour and look horrible afterwards.

Note: You can check this page to know which light bulb mirror is suitable for Makeup Vanity Mirror.

So, What is the Right Light Color to Apply Your Makeup With?

To apply your makeup flawlessly, we would suggest you opt for LED bulbs of at least 5000 watts of energy (try out Waneway 6500K Vanity Light for Mirror).

The reason for recommending such a higher kelvin is that the higher the color temperature of the lights, the more closely it will replicate the natural daylight effect [4].

Natural light is known to reflect the most “true to life” reflection of your face on the mirror so that you can apply makeup without any false impressions or deception.

To enjoy your reflection for professional-quality makeup application, install high-temperature lights (makeup lights) on your vanity mirror and turn it into a Hollywood mirror.

Check out this video on the best light for makeup artists

For your bathroom, you can try out this HAUSCHEN LED Bathroom Wall Mounted Mirror and for your vanity area ( a favourite for any makeup artist)

Both these mirrors have a higher light temperature and are capable of producing the most natural reflection for gorgeous makeup application.

Note: You can check this page to know which light bulb mirror is suitable for a Makeup Mirror.

CHECK: Vanity Mirror Light Bulb Replacement

Important Things to Keep in Mind when Choosing the Best Light Temp for Makeup

Even when you have the right color light, it still might not guarantee a flawless makeup application if there is any form of a shadow.

When installing new light bulbs or a new makeup mirror, always keep in mind the “shadow” factor and install them accordingly. 

Bathroom lighting is the major culprit for casting shadows due to fluorescent lights.

To get a flawless look, LED bulbs with a minimum of 5000 watts of energy are the best option.

In Conclusion

One important takeaway is that fluorescent lighting is your worst enemy for makeup application.

While natural light or natural sunlight will give you the best result, try as much as possible to mimic natural light.

Now that you know everything about makeup lighting, we are sure that you will be able to pick the best light temperature for makeup and look flawless all day, every day.

Sources

1. What is Lighting Color Temperature? [Internet]. TCP Lighting. 2020. Available from: https://www.tcpi.com/what-is-lighting-color-temperature/

2. Page Not Found [Internet]. www.westinghouselighting.com. [cited 2022 Jan 27]. Available from: https://www.westinghouselighting.com/color-temperature.

3. Lighting M. What Does Temperature Mean When It Comes to Bulbs? | Mclaren Lighting — Victoria & Nanaimo, BC [Internet]. 2020 [cited 2022 Jan 27]. Available from: https://mclarenlighting.com/what-does-temperature-mean-when-it-comes-to-bulbs/