Be honest: you wouldn’t wear a short black lace dress to work in the office in the same way you wouldn’t go to an evening party wearing a formal suit. The same goes about makeup.
A certain vibrant shade of lipstick could look dazzling, but there is a proper time and place to wear it if you don’t want to make a negative impression.
There are many different makeup styles and ways to apply beauty products, but probably the most common differentiation is between daytime and evening makeup. It’s important to understand why it’s necessary to separate the two if you want to look gorgeous but appropriate at all times.
What is the Difference Between Daytime and Evening Makeup
Daytime and evening makeup styles are also called “light” and “strong” and you can probably guess which of them is appropriate for the day and for the night.
During your everyday life, you wouldn’t want to put on heavy and colorful eyeshadow and lipstick that is too attention-grabbing. You would want your face to look as natural as possible, while you’re still accentuating your good features.
During the evening there is no natural light, so you would want to put greater emphasis on these features. Since we’re speaking about evening events, you would want your make-up style to be a bit more festive too.
In regards to the color palette, the universally accepted rule is that you should save colors that are too dark or too vibrant for the night, and use more neutral and natural shades during the day.
Now that we’ve covered the general differences, let’s see what are some good ways to achieve both of these looks.
Achieving a Light Daily Makeup Step-by-Step
Daytime makeup would fit any outfit, hair color, and hairstyle, as the main idea is that it looks as natural as possible. Get a good skincare routine for the morning to make sure that your skin will always look good without having to apply too much makeup.
Apply a primer and then a gentle light foundation. If you have dark circles or any blemishes and spots that make you feel insecure, cover them with concealer.
If you want to create a glowing look, use a bit of highlight on your cheekbones and in the inner corner of your eyes, but be careful not to overdo it. Choose a lighter version, instead of one that’s too shimmery.
For the eyes, you can go simply with mascara or use an eye pencil or a thin eyeliner that’s not too dramatic. You can also apply eyeshadow, but make sure you’re choosing nuances that are more neutral or vivid. Dark smokey eyes are a night thing.
If you want to emphasize your lips, use a muted lipstick tone or apply your favorite lip gloss and you’ll be ready to go.
A general rule about daytime makeup is to put the emphasis either on the lips or on the eyes. Don’t use eyeshadow with colorful lipstick but choose one area to place the accent on.
How to Ace the Evening Look
The evening is the time to flaunt the smokey eye look, the dazzling bright lipstick, or a dramatic eyeliner style.
Don’t be afraid to play around with highlighter and glow your face up to become the star of the evening. To create more definition, add some bronzer under the cheekbones and to the sides of your nose. Blush is also accepted here.
If you’re going to apply eyeshadow, now is the time to rock colorful palettes with two or three colors. Shiny metallic nuances like silver and gold also fit in perfectly for an evening look. You can spicy up the smokey eye effect by also adding glitter.
When using colorful makeup for the evening, it’s crucial to make sure that the nuances you choose for the eyes go well with the lipstick shade.
If you’ve always wanted to try fake lashes on, now is the time to do that too.
How to Quickly Transition from Day to Night Makeup
It’s not really necessary to remove your daily makeup and completely redo it in order to go to an evening event. You can make a smooth transition by using your daytime makeup as a base.
If you’ve applied a primer and a quality foundation, it will stay through the day, and in the evening, you would only have to add some accents like a heavier eyeliner or eyeshadow, and only change your lipstick to a more saturated nuance.
If you want to get a more sculpted look for the evening event, you can safely add contour and highlights to your daily foundation.
If you have oily or dry skin, however, it’s good to wash away your daily makeup and treat your skin before changing to an evening look.