A reduced glare projector style headlight assembly (10) comprises a light source (14), a reflector (12) and an optical lens (18). An opaque mask (16) is positioned between the lens (18) and the reflector (12) for creating an upper shadow region in the focused beam pattern (28) to shield on-coming traffic. The mask (16) includes a transition region (32) proximate its top edge (22) for allowing a limited amount of projected light to pass through the mask (16), into the upper shadow region in the focused beam pattern (28). In several embodiments, the mask (16) is applied or otherwise affixed to a transparent substrate (20) which also supports the transition region (32). To combat undesirable chromatic effects, a color filter (38) can be positioned in the light path (26) for disrupting selective wavelengths of light energy. As alternative approaches, the transparent substrate (20) and/or the lens (18′) can be doped with a color filtering material or composition.