I got a simple human mirror used on ebay about 3 years ago. I LOVE it for doing my makeup. It's magnified with bright light (it seems more neutral to me?) and it really helps me get the details of my makeup better. I do have a wall mirror hanging above my vanity so I can do normal distance checks as well. I will say that it will show every single detail of your skin so don't fixate if you do end up getting one. Answer from blancawiththebooty on reddit.com
Lume Cube
lumecube.com › home › blog › blog
What’s the Best Lighting for Makeup and Beauty Artists?
October 9, 2024 - Go for Daylight Temperature: You want to aim for LED lights with a color temperature between 5000K and 6500K. This range mimics natural daylight and is ideal for applying makeup because it won’t throw off the true colors of your products.
Byrdie
byrdie.com › best-lighting-to-apply-makeup
The Best Makeup Lighting for Precise Application
May 20, 2024 - ... A trick to setting up your lights is to check the mirror; the most illuminated section of the mirror should be at eye level. Both experts agree that white light is the best artificial lighting for makeup application because the colors will ...
Videos
19:40
HOW TO SETUP LIGHT LIKE A PRO | 5 LIGHTS THAT WOULD CHANGE YOUR ...
09:43
7 Best Lights for Makeup Studios in 2025 - YouTube
03:35
Top Lighting Picks for Makeup Artists: TML Black Friday Sale ...
Replying to @Feer8aRddz my lighting set up as a makeup artist & content creator 💘 #lightingsetup #filmingsetupmakeup #ringlight #lightingtips #lightsformakeup | TikTok
04:52
Best Budget Studio Lights for Creators in 2025! NEEWER 2Pcs LED ...
Reddit
reddit.com › r/beauty › what is the best light/lightbulb to use for makeup application?
r/beauty on Reddit: What is the best light/lightbulb to use for makeup application?
October 12, 2020 -
I’m talking specifics here - warm light vs cold light, LED vs standard bulbs etc etc.
I find that I turn up to work sometimes and it’s a little off when I catch myself in other lights. (Specifically when trying to cover blemishes or blend foundation down my neck). My bathroom doesn’t get adequate daylight (I know daylight is best), and I work shifts so am often up before dawn anyway.
I can’t find a definitive answer on this through researching online.
I’ve looked at the Hollywood-style mirrors with the bulbs down the edge but I find that they wash you out and diffuse too much.
Has anyone else considered this and if so, what solution did you come to?
Top answer 1 of 18
90
For a moment I really thought you were using a light bulb to put foundation on
2 of 18
37
I got a simple human mirror used on ebay about 3 years ago. I LOVE it for doing my makeup. It's magnified with bright light (it seems more neutral to me?) and it really helps me get the details of my makeup better. I do have a wall mirror hanging above my vanity so I can do normal distance checks as well. I will say that it will show every single detail of your skin so don't fixate if you do end up getting one.
GLAMCOR
glamcor.com › pages › mua-recommendations
Makeup Artist Recommendations – GLAMCOR
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR MAKEUP ARTISTS Sold out The ELITE X has won the hearts of makeup artists for its bright LED lights and easy assembly. With five brightness settings, this flexible LED light is perfect for precise beauty applications. A lightweight, portable lighting studio is a must-have ...
Impressions Vanity Co.
impressionsvanity.com › tips and tricks › the right glow: selecting the best light bulbs for makeup
The Right Glow: Selecting the Best Light Bulbs for Makeup
January 17, 2025 - Professionals often favor LED lights because they come in a range of color temperatures, and for makeup, the best light bulbs are Frosted LED bulbs and Clear LED Globe bulbs.
Spectrum
spectrum-brand.com › home › the spectrum blog › the spectrum blog
Choosing the Best Lighting for Makeup Application | Spectrum
October 17, 2023 - The Spectrum Aurora ring light is an LED light perfect for makeup artists, hair salons, brow specialists, lash specialists and tattooists. It is used during studio or salon work and photography, too.
Reddit
reddit.com › r/makeupaddiction › light for doing make-up
r/MakeupAddiction on Reddit: Light for doing make-up
December 16, 2023 -
Hi,
I am genuinely struggling doing make-up during the winter months because our light is usually quite bad. Surely I can't be the only one with this issue - what lights are you using, that comes closest to real world lights? Cost isn't as much of a factor, I just want to be able to do my hobby again instead of stopping for half a year!
Top answer 1 of 5
13
I actually use my SAD light to do my makeup. It serves two purposes, especially in winter: it provides a great light for makeup application, and it gives me the light I need in our dark winter months.
2 of 5
7
I would suggest a ring light, it usually has a cool, neutral and warm. Alternatively, If available in your area but much more expensive, I have some Philip's Hue stripe that my SO glued around a mirror and you can change the colors, warmth etc at will.
Philips Hue
philips-hue.com › en-ca › explore-hue › blog › lighting-for-makeup
How to create the best lighting for make-up | Philips Hue EN-CA
Fluorescent lights are, arguably, the most unflattering light for makeup. They're the bane of any makeup artist's existence — they highlight flaws and hide your best features. LED lights are the clear winner. Energy efficient and often dimmable, LED lights are bright enough to give you a clear view of your face while providing even lighting.
Published June 17, 2024
Reddit
reddit.com › r/wled › best btf strip for diy makeup light for vanity? sk6812 or ws2812b?
r/WLED on Reddit: Best BTF strip for DIY makeup light for vanity? SK6812 or WS2812B?
April 4, 2023 -
For my girlfriend's birthday, I'm making her a light to go atop the mirror on her vanity, because it's in a corner of the room that doesn't get great light and she's always struggling with that. I think it'd be cool to make her something that she can control the brightness and temperature of, and will also serve as a project to get me a little more familiar with the world of DIY LED/WLED, as I have some other projects in mind.
It would be about a 1m-long strip. I'm thinking that 90-144 LEDs/m might be best to allow for high brightness while she's doing her makeup/hair. I'll be using this diffuser channel and this preloaded WLED controller (I'm not ready to build my own yet tbh).
My question is, what's the best strip for this application? I'm waffling between SK6812 and WS2812B. I know the SK has a dedicated white LED, so that might be better for her uses, since she'll mostly be using whites when she's doing her makeup and hair. But there also seems to be a lot more information and resources out there about the WS. Since this is my first time doing an LED project, I'm going to need all the help/info I can find lol. SK6812 works just fine with WLED, right?
I'd also take recommendations for a power supply for each strip lol. I was thinking this one should work for 1 meter of the SK6812.
Top answer 1 of 2
5
For makeup quality white light is of the utmost importance. White light is measured as CRI or color rendering index, the higher the CRI the better. Between the two you mentioned the sk6812 is the clear winner for this project because of the white channel. The sk6812 absolutely works with wled. I would urge you to consider a pure white strip which has high CRI 90-99 as the quality of white light when applying makeup is extremely important. Poor quality (read lower CRI) white light will not allow the makeup to show the actual color and tone of the makeup, so makeup applied at a vanity with poor CRI will look totally different when lit with sunlight or other high CRI light sources. I have the sk6812 warm white connected to a DigQuad running wled and it works just fine but for makeup you might consider a neutral white. There is a strip that does only white but can do warm, neutral or cool whites on command but I don’t remember what it is called. My understanding of analog LED strips is they are not individually addressable but have the highest possible white light CRI. My recommendations would be the following in order of best to worst: The ultimate would be two strips and two controllers; an analog controller with a white ultra high CRI analog strip plus a digital controller with an RGB digital strip. This way she can have perfect light for applying makeup and colors for decorations and ambiance. The best digital would be the digital controller and the white only strip that can do a range of white temperatures (the one I can’t remember the name of) Good would be the sk6812 probably neutral white (but that is a guess on white temperature) Bad would be the ws2812 which can only produce white light by having all three RGB going at the same time. Because the RGB LEDs are physically separated and only produce their specific color the white they produce is frankly terrible. I hope this helps and doesn’t make thing much harder for you. Happy birthday to her and props to you for coming up with such a thoughtful gift.
2 of 2
1
As someone else has mentioned, for doing makeup then quality of the light is absolutely important. I’ve looked at doing some LED lighting at the vanity area where I do makeup and this is the strip that I’ve thought about using. Note that it is not digitally addressable as you simply cannot find a high quality CRI addressable strip, they don’t exist. I have gledopto zigbee controllers for these. https://a.aliexpress.com/_mq4owKo
Aidot
aidot.com › blog › post › best-light-to-do-makeup
What's the Best Light to Do Makeup?
March 29, 2023 - A CRI of 90 or above is ideal for makeup application, as it provides accurate color representation and allows you to see the true colors of your makeup. LED lights are a popular choice for makeup application because they are available in a range ...
Happystartsathome
happystartsathome.com › best-lighting-for-makeup-application
Best Lighting for Makeup Application | Seriously Happy Homes
August 25, 2023 - That gives you the same awesome all-around lighting as a ring-light used for many makeup application videos. Some people find them to be kind of glare-y, and they aren’t cheap, so if you’re in the market for this kind of upgrade see if you can find one to try at a showroom or hotel. In the image below you can see me in the same hotel bathroom where they had both recessed downlighting and integrated mirror LED lighting.
The Makeup Light
themakeuplight.com
Best Makeup Lighting | Daylight Makeup Light | The Makeup Light
For your professional work, The Makeup Light's Pro Line of LED light panel and kits and accessories keeps your work in the best light.
Philips Hue
philips-hue.com › en-us › explore-hue › blog › lighting-for-makeup
How to create the best lighting for make-up | Philips Hue
Fluorescent lights are, arguably, the most unflattering light for makeup. They're the bane of any makeup artist's existence — they highlight flaws and hide your best features. LED lights are the clear winner. Energy efficient and often dimmable, LED lights are bright enough to give you a clear view of your face while providing even lighting.
Published June 15, 2020
Elstead Lighting
moonlightdesign.co.uk › home › blog › blog
What is the best lighting for makeup application? [And what to avoid] - Moonlight Design
May 8, 2025 - Lighting warmth is measured in Kelvin (K) and varies from glowing candlelight (less than 2,000K) to pure, blue-sky daylight (10,000K). The best lighting for makeup application sits between 4,800K to 6,000K, a level of white lighting that isn’t ...
Quora
quora.com › Should-I-buy-a-ring-light-or-LED-panel-as-a-makeup-artist
Should I buy a ring light or LED panel as a makeup artist? - Quora
Answer (1 of 3): Makeup artists are usually trying to change skin tones so that they look natural under the high intensity lighting used for film and TV. Bright makeup lights also show up uneven skin tones and minor blemishes so they can be corrected before the actor/presenter gets onto the set. ...
Makeup by Ana B
makeupbyanab.com › home › pro series: lighting for makeup artists
Pro Series: Lighting For Makeup Artists - Makeup by Ana B
May 31, 2023 - ... 1.VILTROX L116T LED Photography Kit 2.Pixel Panel Light, 2 Pack LED Studio Lights 3.GLAMCOR Multimedia X Portable LED Lighting Kit 4.Neewer 2 Packs Dimmable Bi-Color 480 LED Video Light 5.NEEWER LED Selfie Light with Front & Back Phone Clip
Lumina Pro
luminapro.co › beauty corner › what color light is best for makeup application?
What Color Light Is Best for Makeup Application? – Lumina Pro
September 11, 2024 - It has both cold and warm settings, so you can see how your makeup application will look in varied lighting or vlog under a soft, warm glow. This 18-inch ring light has a color temperature of 3200K to 4500K with adjustable brightness. Its circular 432pcs LED lights cast a shadowless light perfect for makeup, videos, or photoshoots.
The Makeup Light
themakeuplight.com › collections › makeup-lights-for-professional-makeup-artists
LED Light Panels | Professional Makeup Lighting | The Makeup Light
Professional artists need professional light. Whether you need LED lights for travel or want to light your home studio, spa, salon, TML has the light you need!
Ilios Lighting
ilioslighting.co › home › lighting tips › lighting tips
What lighting is best for putting on makeup?
July 5, 2022 - A CRI of 100 means that the light ... representation in color. Ideally, for applying makeup, you should be using a light with 95 CRI or higher....
Cameocollege
cameocollege.com › best-lighting-choosing-light-to-apply-makeup
Best Lighting: Choosing Light To Apply Makeup
August 7, 2025 - Natural light, such as sunlight, is often considered the best light for makeup application because it provides the most accurate representation of colors. However, natural sunlight is not always available, especially indoors or during certain times of the day. This is where artificial light sources like LED lights and ring lights come into play.