Doing your makeup can be a real chore if you don’t have the right tools at your disposal. In addition to a comfortable chair and a good organizational system for all of your products, it’s imperative to have a good-quality mirror that clearly shows your face while you work and prevents eye strain when you’re working on the details.
Depending on your existing setup, you might need a mirror with a light, one with varying angles, or one with a bit of extra storage space. Or, if your workspace is well-lit and has a built-in mirror, you might just need something small and aesthetically pleasing to get a closer look. While some mirrors are tricked out with everything from a rechargeable light to a USB port, others are simple with a much lower price point.
Here, the best makeup mirrors.
Best Overall
Wade Logan Mario Frameless Lighted Makeup Mirror
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The Mario Frameless Lighted Makeup Mirror is not only super helpful when applying your makeup look, but it will also look great whether you mount it on the wall in your bathroom or prop it on the vanity desk in the bedroom. This modern take on the Hollywood mirror looks sleek and stylish and offers better lighting while taking up less space than mirrors with exposed bulbs.
The light strip is LED, so it doesn’t utilize much energy, and the touch sensor is easy to use for adjusting the brightness and color to mirror the type of environment where you spend the most time. The built-in USB port is especially convenient because you can charge your phone while you follow tutorials.
Best Budget
H&M Metal Table Mirror
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The Metal Table Mirror is elegant in its simplicity, and the frame itself won’t take up much space. At 6 inches wide, this mirror is a tad smaller than some of the others on this list, and it doesn’t have any of the fancy features, but it's simple enough to adjust. It's a great choice for those on a budget who want something that gets the job done yet is attractive enough to keep out on display. The frame comes in black, gold, and silver, so you can easily match it to the rest of your décor.
Best Storage
West Elm Modern Resin Stone Vanity Mirror - Polished Nickel
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The Modern Resin Stone Vanity Mirror is a glamorous choice for a workspace that seemingly never has enough room to store all of your products. The white-stone base and the clean, polished frame ensure that it will seamlessly blend into the rest of your décor.
The basket is almost the size of a sheet of paper, so there is plenty of room to store the products you use most for your skincare routine, your essential cosmetics, or your perfume collection. The mirror can swivel 360 degrees, so you can position it to perfectly frame your face. It doesn’t have a light ring, so you’ll have to make do with a separate light source if your space doesn't have a lot of good lighting.
Best Decorative
Anthropologie Penny Ombre Capiz Vanity Mirror
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The Penny Ombre Capiz Vanity Mirror is as much a work of art as it is a helpful tool for your beauty routine. Handcrafted out of capiz shells, gold metal, and hardwood, the sculptural mirror recalls the beauty of a garden of daisies with a touch more elegance.
At a foot tall, it would look just as beautiful as a piece of décor on a shelf as it would on your vanity. Take note that it isn’t adjustable, so be sure to measure how high you need your mirror to be before purchasing to ensure that you’ll be able to see yourself when seated at your desk—or mount it on a makeshift shelf.
Best Wall-Mounted
Zadro 10x/1x Cordless LED Lighted Wall Mirror
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Courtesy of Bed Bath and Beyond
If your vanity is already overwhelmed with products and you simply don’t have any more space to spare, a wall-mounted makeup mirror is your best bet. The Zadro mirror comes in three finishes—chrome, polished nickel, and satin nickel—to perfectly match your other bathroom finishes.
Its dual-jointed arm can be extended to a foot long and retracted to sit snugly against the wall. With the help of a bright LED ring and a 10-times magnification detail mirror, you will be able to pluck your brows to perfection and conceal every blemish with ease. Plus, you can use batteries to power the light if you don’t want any more cords cluttering up your space.
Best Sensor
simplehuman Round Sensor Makeup Mirror with Touch-Control Brightness
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Simplehuman is known for making everyday products more effective than you ever thought they needed to be. With a surgical-grade LED light ring that glows when it senses your face, this 5-times magnification mirror follows that tradition.
The mirror simulates natural sunlight and can be adjusted with the integrated touchpad within a range of 100 to 800 lumens, so you can get a clear sense of what your makeup actually looks like in all types of light conditions. Unlike mirrors that have to be plugged into the wall, this one recharges with a standard USB and can last for up to five weeks before it needs to be plugged back in.
Best Smart
Glamcor Riki Skinny Smart Vanity Mirror
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Bloomingdales
Arguably the best aspect of the Riki Skinny Mirror is the built-in LED lights that give you a daylight-quality glow while you’re putting on your makeup. That way, you’ll be able to clearly see how much product you’re using without overdoing it. If you do your makeup early in the morning, you can dim the lights to one of the four other settings so that you don’t have to squint when you can barely keep your eyes open.
Because the mirror is about the size of an iPad and just a touch heavier, you can easily pack it for overnight trips without worrying about weighing yourself down. The mirror comes with two mounts: The detail mirror helps you see five times closer than you could in the regular mirror, while the phone mount will hold your phone while you make or watch tutorials. You can actually pair your phone and take selfies using the button on the panel at the base of the mirror.
Best Tri-Fold
Flymiro Tri-Fold Lighted Vanity Makeup Mirror
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Amazon
The Flymiro Tri-Fold Lighted Vanity Makeup Mirror is not the most attractive option, but its many features and affordable price make it a steal. The 21 LED lights can be dimmed and brightened by the touch sensor, and they can be powered by either batteries or a micro-USB cord.
The three panels are helpful for getting a full view of every side of your face. If you look to the right, you can see yourself magnified twice on the bottom and three times on the top. Finally, the stand has a 180-degree swivel hinge for adjusting the mirror to the perfect angle and a recess in the base for displaying a few small items.
Final Verdit
Overall, we recommend the Wade Logan Mario Frameless Lighted Makeup Mirror (view at Wayfair) because it's energy-efficient, can be either mounted or propped on a vanity table, and has a modern design that works well with other décor styles. For a more budget-friendly style, consider H&M's Metal Table Mirror (view at H&M), which lacks any bells and whistles but is compact, stylish, and totally functional.
What to Look For in a Makeup Mirror
Lighting
The type of lighting used is a game changer when it comes to makeup mirrors, as the brightness will help you have better precision when applying your look. If you want a mirror with lighting, consider features like adjustability, LED bulbs, and brightness levels. If you already have really good natural lighting in your home, a less expensive mirror with no lighting might be totally suitable.
Style
Makeup mirrors are available in tons of sizes and styles, from minimal designs to more ornate options. If you're placing your makeup mirror on a vanity table or on top of a dresser, it's worth considering styles that have more stylish details to match your décor. If you're placing it in your bathroom, styles that can be mounted on the wall are a great option. Also consider whether you want a tri-fold design to see every angle and investigate how easy adjustments are to make.
Price
The price of makeup mirrors can be anywhere from $10 to $100, more or less, and there are tons of options at each price point. More expensive options tend to have advanced features like lighting, USB ports, and magnifying capabilities, so be sure to consider which elements are most important while you shop.
Why Trust Us
Emily Shwake has been writing about home improvement for The Spruce since 2020. She relies on two mirrors that allow her to get up close while she works on her eyeliner and tweezes her brows to perfection.