Best Vanity Lighting For Flawless Makeup

What is the best vanity lighting?

You have two lighting options to apply makeup at your vanity: natural and artificial.

Natural lighting

• Ask any makeup artist and we bet that most - if not all - of them will swear by natural lighting to apply makeup!

• Because you don't run the risk of encountering any type of distortion caused by weird lightbulbs, your makeup will look exactly the same when you leave the house as it did when you were applying it. No unpleasant surprises!

• Relying on natural light is a more suitable option in rather large bedrooms where you're not restricted by the room's existing layout when it comes to positioning your new makeup vanity;

• However, there's also a disadvantage to buying a makeup vanity without any form of artificial lighting. Whenever you need to get ready to go out once the sun's gone down, you'll be left in the dark… literally. Or, worse, you'll have to rely on that bright yellow overhead light!

Artificial lighting

• Artificial lighting can make or break your makeup routine, which is why it's important to know what type of light you can go for and what you should avoid at all costs (don't worry: we're about to share the secret in this article!);

• A makeup vanity with lights is definitely a much safer alternative in smaller rooms where you haven't got a lot of options when it comes to finding a place for your new table.

Overall, we think that a makeup vanity with lights is a better choice, even if you have access to a large window. It will allow you to apply your makeup flawlessly whenever you need to get ready in the evening, but nothing's stopping you from relying on natural light during the day.

Where is the best place to put a makeup vanity?

• If you've decided to go for natural light, the position of your makeup vanity is everything!

• The best place to put a makeup vanity when relying on natural light is in front of the window so that you receive it from all angles;

• By placing your makeup vanity opposite the window or by either side of it, you'll get shadows on your face, which will lead to uneven results;

• If you're planning on relying on artificial light, the position matters less, especially if you've got a small room or want to add it to a windowless walk-in closet;

• However, if you do have the option of placing your makeup vanity with lights in front of the window, we still recommend going for it so that you have the option of using either.

What color light is best for makeup?

• The color light that's best for makeup is actually neither cold nor warm, but plain white;

• We highly recommend avoiding colored or fluorescent lights. They could compromise the final result of your makeup by showing you different shades and hues compared to what you'll actually see when you're no longer sitting by those bulbs;

• Yellow light can give you a tired, sickly look, leading you to overdo your powder, concealer and foundation to mask it;

• Pink light can have the opposite effect, preventing you from spotting areas that need extra attention;

• Fluorescent light emphasizes even the most minuscule of imperfections, often resulting in an overapplication of foundation and blush that will look terribly out of place once you step away from your lighted mirror.

Which light bulbs are best for a makeup vanity with lights?

• LED light bulbs with a CRI of 90 or higher** are the best choice for a makeup vanity with lights;

• You've probably noticed that colors appear inconsistent under different types of light sources, and that's because of the differences in CRI;

• CRI stands for Color Rendering Index and refers to the light bulb's ability to show different colors: a 90-100 CRI is the closest you can get to a sunlight effect.

The moral of the story? Choose a makeup vanity with lights featuring white LED bulbs with a CRI of 90 or higher.

If you can, place it in front of the window so that you can still rely on natural light during the day but feel like a Hollywood star by night!