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According to Greek myth, Narcissus died because he was obsessed with his own reflection. After 50 hours researching and testing vanity mirrors for this guide, I can relate. Vanity Mirror
Thankfully, the long hours I spent gazing at my own reflection had a more useful result. We found four great vanity mirrors that reveal you just as you are—plus, they have good lighting and magnification to help you with all your daily grooming tasks.
This mirror delivers a superb blend of functionality and looks, offering both a standard reflection and a magnifying attachment. But it’s not cheap, and it doesn’t come with a wall charger—just a cable.
This mirror offers most of the same features of our other picks: multiple light settings, magnification, and a decent battery life. But its design lacks finesse, and its materials feel cheap.
This mirror lights up when it senses your face, a touch panel lets you easily control the brightness, and it has three different magnifications—it's a work of engineering beauty. But it costs a small fortune.
With a compact frame that folds up easily, this close-up mirror is a great travel companion or a good fit in small spaces at home. But it offers only 10x magnification and one light setting.
This mirror delivers a superb blend of functionality and looks, offering both a standard reflection and a magnifying attachment. But it’s not cheap, and it doesn’t come with a wall charger—just a cable.
The Fancii Vera + Lara lighted makeup mirror has a sleek design with elevated details that make it both a great utilitarian tool and an attractive object. The mirror is highly adjustable, offering three dimmable light temperatures and a choice of two views: The main oval-shaped Vera mirror provides a standard 1x reflection, and the small, magnetically attaching Lara has 10x magnification.
The charging port in the back glows to indicate the mirror’s power level but does so gently enough that you can keep it charging in a bedroom without its interrupting your sleep; it comes with only a cable for charging, but it’s compatible with most USB-A wall chargers. And its curvy metallic base, available in three color finishes, looks pretty on a dresser.
However, it requires some assembly and isn’t cheap. (We found that the magical trio of good looks, performance, and build quality was rare to nonexistent among mirrors under $100.)
This mirror offers most of the same features of our other picks: multiple light settings, magnification, and a decent battery life. But its design lacks finesse, and its materials feel cheap.
The low-priced 8-inch Amztolife Lighted Makeup Mirror has all the essential features you could want in a budget makeup mirror, namely light, magnification, and adjustability. Its light (in three temperature tones) is bright and easy to use, with just one touch button for control.
The mirror swivels all the way around (360 degrees), so you can adjust it to most angles, with one side of the mirror at the standard 1x and the other at 10x magnification.
However, the mirror’s charging cable sticks awkwardly out from the side of the mirror surface, and the port doesn’t accept typical USB cables—if you lose the DC charging cable that accompanies the mirror, you may have a hard time finding a replacement. Some reviewers have also raised concerns about its longevity.
This mirror lights up when it senses your face, a touch panel lets you easily control the brightness, and it has three different magnifications—it's a work of engineering beauty. But it costs a small fortune.
The Simplehuman Sensor Mirror Trio is the most luxurious mirror we tested, with a price tag to match.
On one side, the mirror has a 5x magnified view; on the reverse, it presents a standard view with a 10x insert along the bottom. The mirror automatically lights up when your face nears it, and then it dims when you move away—a cool feature that also helps the battery last for five weeks (maybe more) of regular use.
The light has two temperature options, bright daylight and warm candlelight, each with touch-adjustable brightness. The mirror’s metal body (which is available in three finishes) looks well made, and its five-year warranty is the most generous of all our picks.
With a compact frame that folds up easily, this close-up mirror is a great travel companion or a good fit in small spaces at home. But it offers only 10x magnification and one light setting.
The Simplehuman Sensor Mirror Fold offers the same five-year warranty and motion-activated light as our upgrade pick but in a tinier, more travel-friendly body.
It comes with a carrying case so you can protect the mirror surface and store your charging cord on the go, and it charges via the very common Micro-USB standard.
However, the reflective surface, which measures just 5 inches in diameter, may be too small for some people’s everyday use, and it provides only a zoomed-in 10x view and a fixed brightness and temperature setting for its light.
You can find scores of makeup and vanity mirrors, of all varieties, including magnified and non-magnified; 1x, 5x, 7x, and 10x magnifications; lit and unlit; and battery powered, corded, or rechargeable-battery powered. You get the point.
To get a better sense of what qualities to look for, I interviewed two professional makeup artists: Sheika Daley, a Lancôme Global International Artist based in Atlanta; and Grace Lee, a lead artist with Maybelline New York based in Toronto, Canada. They highlighted a few important considerations.
Using their insights, I narrowed the testing field by reading dozens of makeup mirror reviews. I also surveyed Wirecutter colleagues and makeup-loving friends about what they looked for in a mirror and what models they had already tried. I then selected 12 promising mirrors to test in person, focusing on a mix of magnifying and non-magnifying options, as well as both portable and stationary models. I kept an eye out for mirrors that were pretty to look at, too, since they tend to live on counters and dressers.
During testing, I paid attention to how the mirrors were packaged and whether they were damaged in transit. If the mirrors came with stickers or labels, I assessed how easy those labels were to remove, and whether they left a sticky residue. I took note if the mirrors required any assembly and how sturdily they were constructed. I compared how bright the lights were, cycled through the different temperature and dimming settings, and considered how user-friendly the touchscreens, dials, and switches were. On portable models, I measured how long the batteries lasted, and what they were like to charge. And, by necessity, I spent many, many hours staring at my own reflection.
This mirror delivers a superb blend of functionality and looks, offering both a standard reflection and a magnifying attachment. But it’s not cheap, and it doesn’t come with a wall charger—just a cable.
The Fancii Vera + Lara has all the features we could ask of a lighted makeup mirror, including long battery life, three light temperatures, adjustable brightness, and a close-up attachment that sticks on magnetically.
It’s versatile and adjustable. The Vera + Lara is actually two mirrors: the large oval lit-but-non-magnified Vera and a small 10x magnifying attachment, the Lara. The magnetic Lara sticks only to the upper half of the Vera, but because you can angle the whole thing within a 45-degree range, we found it easy to focus on the lips, brows, or chin there.
You can also use the Lara on its own, as a handheld mirror. (If you prefer just a simple, unmagnified reflection, you can buy just the Vera, but the bundle is usually about the same price.) The light temperature on the Vera toggles between cool, neutral, and warm—good for matching foundation to skin.
It’s user-friendly, and it remembers your settings. For people who hate reading instruction manuals, this mirror is refreshingly idiotproof. The two touch buttons are self-explanatory: Tapping the sun icon toggles through the three temperature settings, holding the power symbol dims or brightens the light, and tapping it turns the light off and on. (Like all our picks, the Vera + Lara comes with a microfiber cloth—good in this case for wiping away the inevitable fingerprints.)
The mirror remembers your latest setting between uses, which is handy if you prefer a particular temperature and brightness combo.
It has a long-lasting battery and automatic shutoff. In our testing, the Fancii Vera + Lara matched its advertised battery life, lasting around four and a half hours on the brightest setting and nine hours on the dimmest. After 30 minutes of use, it automatically shuts off to keep you from accidentally draining the battery.
The mirror charges via Micro-USB cable and can fully charge in about three and a half hours; an inconspicuous charging light at the back of the mirror flashes orange while charging and green when complete. The mirror comes with a two-year warranty.
It’s nice to look at. The pleasing and generously sized oval mirror sits atop a rounded, tubular metal frame, which comes in three finishes (black, chrome, and rose gold). A nonslip base underneath keeps it steady, whether it's sitting pretty on a bathroom counter or a crowded desktop.
The Vera + Lara requires some assembly, namely affixing the base to the mirror with the included mini screwdriver and screws. The small parts may be difficult to handle for someone with dexterity limitations. (Our budget pick also requires assembly, but no tools.)
At around $125, this model is not cheap.
The automatic shutoff may be annoying if you like to take your time; after 30 minutes, you’ll have to press the light back on.
The mirror comes with only a cable for charging—no wall charger—but it is compatible with most standard USB-A chargers or outlets.
This mirror offers most of the same features of our other picks: multiple light settings, magnification, and a decent battery life. But its design lacks finesse, and its materials feel cheap.
You can find a slew of nearly identical mirrors on sites like Amazon, Target, and Walmart that sport convoluted online-branding names. Of all the budget mirrors we tested, the 8-inch Amztolife Lighted Makeup Mirror was our favorite. We can’t yet vouch for its longevity, but its price may be low enough for you to take that risk.
It’s simple to set up and use. Like the Fancii mirror, the Amztolife mirror requires some assembly, but it needs no tools—you just screw the mirror onto the base. And using it is equally straightforward. The light bulb symbol on the mirror is the only “button.” Tapping it moves the mirror’s light through the modes warm, neutral, cool, on, and off. Pressing and holding it brightens and dims the light. Like all our picks, this mirror comes with a microfiber cloth, which is useful for cleaning up the inevitable fingerprints around the touch button.
It swivels 360 degrees, with light at every angle. Unlike our picks from Fancii or Simplehuman, the Amztolife 8-inch mirror swivels all the way around, 360 degrees, so you can adjust it to any angle, with one side of it at 1x and the other at 10x magnification. And its light—in those three temperature tones—is as bright as what you can get from the Fancii and Simplehuman mirrors.
The charging port does not accept typical USB cables, so if you lose the DC charging cable included with the mirror, it may not be easy to replace.
Like the Fancii mirror, this model doesn’t come with a wall charger, as it has a cable only. But it should be able to charge with most standard USB-A chargers.
If you plan on charging your mirror in your bedroom, note that this model’s charging light may be too bright to sleep with. And though you can use the light while the mirror charges, the cable connects noticeably to a port on the side of the mirror.
The metallic finish of the base looks cheap and readily attracts fingerprints.
The on/off touch button, which also controls brightness and temperature, is only on the 1x side, so when you’re using the magnified side, you have to flip the mirror to adjust the light.
Several Amazon reviews complain that the battery fizzled out after about six months to a year of use, or that the mirror’s light would start turning on at random times without being touched. We haven’t run into any of these issues, but we’ll be keeping a close eye. This mirror also has no warranty.
This mirror lights up when it senses your face, a touch panel lets you easily control the brightness, and it has three different magnifications—it's a work of engineering beauty. But it costs a small fortune.
The Simplehuman Sensor Trio is an expensive piece of tech—perhaps more tech than most people need—but it’s like something out of Star Trek.
It looks great—and you’ll look great in its reflection. The Sensor Trio has a large reflective surface; at 8 inches in diameter, it’s the largest overall surface area among our picks. (The company also sells an even larger version, the Trio Max.) One side is 1x with a mini 10x insert; the magnification on the reverse side is 5x. The Sensor Trio is available in three finishes: white, rose gold, or brushed silver.
The light automatically turns on when it senses your face. You can then control the brightness via a touch panel on the side of the mirror. You can also toggle between two light settings—a bright daylight or warm candlelight tone—by twisting a small knob on the side. The touch controls stay in the same spot no matter which side you’re looking at, unlike on the Amztolife mirror, which has buttons only on the 1x side. Like the Fancii mirror, this Simplehuman model remembers your latest setting between uses.
It has an impressive battery and warranty. Because the Sensor Trio turns off automatically when you remove your face from its vicinity (five seconds after you move away, it dims, and then 10 seconds later it goes dark), we had difficulty testing the battery length in hours. The company estimates, and most reviewers confirm, that the mirror’s battery lasts for about five weeks with moderate daily use, and it takes about five hours to fully charge. Simplehuman’s five years of coverage is also by far the longest warranty on any of our picks.
The Sensor Trio was the most expensive mirror we tested.
Some people may not like that the device is motion activated rather than manual. On occasion it lit up when I walked past it, a quirk that several other reviewers also noted. If this bothers you, you can turn the mirror off using the button underneath the stand.
Some reviewers wished that it had a larger range of motion, as it can tilt up only about 25 degrees. Finally, the mirror has a ring around the base that pulses light while it charges; some people may find this disruptive in a bedroom.
With a compact frame that folds up easily, this close-up mirror is a great travel companion or a good fit in small spaces at home. But it offers only 10x magnification and one light setting.
The compact Simplehuman Sensor Mirror Fold is the smallest of our picks, but it’s a great option for travel or for small spaces.
It’s the most travel-friendly mirror we tested. The Sensor Mirror Fold flattens to just 4.5 by 5.7 inches, and it weighs only 1.25 pounds. Unlike the other two travel mirrors we tested, the Conair Halo Rechargeable Tablet Mirror and Deweisn Folding Travel Mirror, it comes with a carrying case so you can protect the mirror surface and store the charging cord. And because it charges via Micro-USB, you probably already have a drawer full of backups should you leave the included cable behind in a hotel room.
It’s height adjustable. It’s the only mirror we tested that allows you to adjust it to two different heights, by flipping the mirror over. This flexibility is especially useful when you’re traveling—and it may spare you from having to prop the mirror on a pile of books to place it level with your face.
It’s small but mighty. Like its sibling, the Simplehuman Sensor Trio, the Sensor Mirror Fold uses sensors to detect when your face is near, and it automatically shuts off when you move away. It has the same generous five-year warranty, as well. Aside from the on/off button on the back, it has no other controls, so it’s easy to use. Though it has a smaller mirror surface than our other picks, measuring only about 5 inches across, some of our staffers use it as their daily mirror at home.
The Sensor Mirror Fold is expensive for its size and minimal features. You can’t adjust the temperature or brightness of the light (though its one setting is bright and neutral). This model is also the only one of our picks equipped with just a single magnification option (10x).
As with the Sensor Trio, some reviewers have commented that the Sensor Mirror Fold would sometimes shut off while they were still in front of it, or turn on when they walked past it in the bathroom.
Like the Fancii and Amztolife mirrors, this Simplehuman model doesn’t come with a wall charger, as it’s packaged with only a Micro-USB cable. But it should work with most standard USB-A chargers.
If you want a stationary, large, lighted mirror with no magnification: Consider the Impressions Vanity Hollywood Tri-Tone XL Makeup Mirror, a corded model that’s larger and heavier than our picks. Measuring 19 by 14 inches and weighing nearly 6 pounds, it's meant to sit permanently on a vanity or dresser. It’s also not magnified; it’s just a regular lighted mirror. It proved so cumbersome, however, that no one at Wirecutter would even volunteer to take it. As Simplehuman does for its Sensor mirrors, Impressions Vanity covers its Hollywood Vanity mirror line with a five-year warranty.
If you want a sleek and modern design and don’t care about features: The Blomus Modo LED Vanity Mirror is an elegant piece of equipment that looks beautiful on a counter and is intuitive enough to use that you may not even need to read the manual. Its rechargeable battery lasts for roughly eight hours, longer than those of the Fancii and Amztolife models. However, it has only one magnification option (5x) with no additional mirror on the reverse side, it’s more expensive than the Fancii model and the Simplehuman travel mirror, and you can’t use the light while it’s charging.
Conair’s Double-Sided Lighted Makeup Mirror is nearly identical to the Amztolife model: Both offer three light colors, dimmability, a 360-degree swivel, and 1x and 10x sides. However, this Conair mirror is about three times as expensive and is corded, limiting where you can use it.
The folding Conair Halo Rechargeable Tablet Mirror is travel friendly, thanks to its thin, iPad-like shape and foldable cover, but I found the folding base/cover very tricky to use as a stand, even after reading the manual. When you unfold the base, it extends in front of and behind the mirror to allow it to stand, so using it requires a lot of surface area.
The 1X/7X Conair Oval Double-Sided Lighted Makeup Mirror has a shiny chrome finish and a thick cord, both of which make it look cheap. Also, the light wasn’t bright enough for truly detailed viewing and wasn’t adjustable.
The Deweisn Folding Travel Mirror does what it promises: It folds down to about the size of a small iPad, and it offers three light settings and dimmability. However, you can use it at only two fixed angles, and it wobbled in our tests. Like the Conair Halo folding mirror, it also requires several inches of space behind it since the cover forms the base.
Riki Loves Riki’s Riki Skinny has favorable mentions in many product reviews, but we didn’t see what the hype was all about. Its light was bright, but its rectangular body and plastic stand looked and felt cheap, despite this mirror’s being one of the most expensive models we tested. The Riki Skinny comes with a magnetic phone grip, which may appeal to those who want to record their faces to create makeup tutorials. The Bluetooth function was able to do only one task: Once the mirror connects to your phone, you can press the camera button on the phone to take a selfie.
The Vesaur Lighted Makeup Mirror is similar in performance and aesthetic to our pick from Amztolife, but the mirror isn’t rechargeable—it has to stay plugged in or take four AA batteries. It has no warranty, and it’s usually more expensive than the similar Amztolife mirror.
This article was edited by Daniela Gorny and Christine Ryan.
Dorie Chevlen is a staff writer from Youngstown, Ohio, now living in Los Angeles. She has worked as a copy editor, fact checker, and sandwich maker, but this is probably her favorite gig. Beyond her Wirecutter work, Dorie writes screenplays and contributes frequently to other sections of The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The LA Review of Books, and Slate, among others. She has been called—both flatteringly and not—“a lot.”
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