The All-time Mode to Light Your Face for Perfect Makeup

Photo: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

I once overheard Heidi Klum deny a picture to a photographer at Fashion Calendar week because of bad lighting. "You meet this overhead light here? Not adept!" she chirped. Everyone knows that lighting can exist the departure betwixt a good photo and a bad one, but it tin can as well exist the divergence between practiced and bad makeup application.

Since moving apartments, I've had to accept that my shiny, brand-new bath has bad beauty lighting. The slightly yellow, warm generic GE bulbs are perfect for hiding under-middle tiredness, and not platonic for showing just how much under-eye concealer I actually demand. To find out the best lighting for dazzler, the Cut spoke to makeup artists Nick Barose (whose clients include Lupita Nyong'o and Gugu Mbatha-Raw), Vincent Oquendo (who works on Jessica Stam and Cara Delevingne), and Deanna Melluso (Olivia Wilde and Natasha Lyonne). Let there be (practiced) light.

All makeup artists agree natural daylight is best. It's evenly diffused and clear, and then you can hands see when something isn't blended properly. If you have the choice of doing your makeup near a window or skylight, have reward of it. Backstage at a Fashion Week, I one time saw a makeup artist wearing a lighting helmet contraption similar to what you find on a miner. But well-nigh makeup artists don't get to that extent for "good" light.

Natural white light is the next best thing. Oquendo and Barose both praise this ultrafancy white portable light by Glamcor. "It doesn't become as well hot and I can adjust the height to minimize unwanted shadows," Oquendo says. Barose also directed me to an entire section on Walmart.com called "Daylight Bulbs." He explains that he prefers a wattage of virtually 60 to 65. "You don't want anything brighter because information technology'll exist also blown-out and bright, so you might end upwardly putting on as well much makeup," he says. Melluso recommends the GE Reveal bulb in 75 or 100 watts.

Avoid xanthous, rose, and fluorescent lights. Melluso explains that "yellow light tin brand you look sallow, and then you lot cease up putting on too much makeup. Rose-colored lite warms up your peel, but it's non ideal for makeup as you can't actually run across what you are doing." And of fluorescent light, Oquendo but says, "It is the worst. It pulls out all the imperfections."

Stand up directly in front of your lite. Don't stand straight underneath it. Barose clarifies, "Any lighting that's overhead is bad. It will bandage a shadow and you'll finish up putting besides much on."

Follow these tips and never take the fear of walking out your door with splotchy block-face over again.

The All-time Way to Light Your Face for Makeup