Illuminated makeup mirrors: which one to choose?

In professional studios, stylists apply makeup in stages and periodically look not only at the model herself, but also at her reflection in the mirror. It turns out that it is more convenient to evaluate the result and understand how others will see a person from the outside. For the reliability of such a result, both the quality of cosmetics and the make-up itself, as well as the competent organization of the working space and the correct selection of a mirror, are important.

It should have a perfectly flat surface and not distort the reflection. However, mirror surfaces designed specifically for makeup have another trick - backlighting. It is she who largely decides how well the make-up will be applied.

The best lighting for applying cosmetics is daylight, but in practice no one wears makeup on the street.Professional stylists do not like to work with incandescent lamps that are attached to a make-up mirror, as their light spectrum is most closely located in the warm light range, which makes the reflection of the makeup not clear and reddish. Fluorescent lamps are sometimes used, however, they also have disadvantages, therefore LEDs have been and remain the leader in this field. It is they who give illumination in the spectrum as close as possible to sunlight.

Makeup mirror surfaces can have different parameters in shape and size. Such a mirror can even be full-length, but more often it is for applying make-up in beauty studios that medium-sized oval or rectangular mirrors are used.

If you decide to purchase an illuminated mirror for your home, it is important to decide on the model and choose the place of its future placement. This will depend on how you fix it.

Before buying, first of all, it is this factor that you need to pay attention to. The next step is form. Here, the very location of the mirror in the living space is important. There are such types of these products:

• magnifying;
• manual;
• sensory;

• dressing table;
• tricuspid, etc.

When choosing a mirror with lighting for the bathroom, the best solution would be to buy a wall-mounted large rectangular or oval vertically elongated mirror. Lighting in this case should be as close as possible in the spectrum to daylight, which provides LED and halogen lamps.

When buying a mirror surface for the hallway, with its sufficient size, you can not save on free centimeters and choose a large full-length mirror with illumination around the entire perimeter, which will make it possible to see every detail not only in makeup, but also in clothes.

But in the bedroom such a dimensional product is useless. It is no coincidence that the bedroom was previously equipped with a boudoir, where a lady could fix her makeup or prepare for going out. Now it is enough to purchase a dressing table and put an oval or round table product on it with a warm spectrum illumination that is uniform around the entire perimeter.

When choosing a mirror with backlight, it is important to focus on its size. When choosing a wall mirror, whose height is 120 cm, you need to place it so that you can see your reflection up to your knees, with a product size of 60 cm - to the waist, 40 cm - to the chest. The classic solution is a square shape measuring 50 by 50 cm. Such mirrors are most often used by professional makeup artists, and these are also the most convenient options for home use.

A mirror with such dimensions is rather bulky, so it is better to place it on the wall. If you need a make-up mirror with lighting on the table, it is better to opt for the size of a rectangular object 34x17 cm or square - 11x11 cm.

It has already been noted above that various types of lamps are used to illuminate mirrors. Let's take a closer look at this issue:

• Incandescent lamps are the most budgetary lighting option. These are ordinary lighting fixtures that were used in every home before the invention of energy-saving lamps. They do not differ in long-term work, quickly burn out and are quite fragile.Currently, such lighting is becoming less popular and is being squeezed out of the market by more practical options.
• Halogen lamps are ten times more durable than incandescent lamps. This is a good solution when placing a mirror in the bathroom, as such lamps are resistant to moisture.

• Fluorescent lamps have a light spectrum that is as close as possible to sunlight. A significant disadvantage of such lamps is their flickering effect. With prolonged contact with such lamps, the eyes get very tired and start to hurt. The performance characteristics of these lamps are very worthy - up to 100 thousand hours of operation.
• LED backlighting (LED) is the most modern and popular type of backlighting. The web has the most positive reviews of this particular way of lighting makeup mirrors. LEDs are incredibly durable, their lighting spectrum is bright, but pleasing to the eye. In addition, the lamps themselves look aesthetically pleasing, so mirrors with such illumination will fit into any interior.

At home, you can also apply makeup with high quality, but even if you have practiced many times and honed your skills, you need to take into account such a factor as light. Surely any girl faced such a problem - at home the makeup looked great, but as soon as you go outside, everything changes: the eyeshadow has a completely different shade, the foundation is applied unevenly, the blush is too bright. Why did it happen? Everything is simple - improper lighting when applying makeup.

Natural light is the simplest and yet the best lighting option. If you don't want to buy an illuminated mirror, it's best to place a simple mirror near a source of natural light when applying makeup, i.e. in front of a window. But this option is not possible if you need to apply makeup late at night, for example, before a party. Additional lighting devices in this case are vital.

Artificial lighting should have a high color rendering index (CRI). The optimal color rendering index (CRI) of lighting fixtures for applying makeup should be over 80, and for maximum realism - 100.

In addition to the color rendering index, it is equally important to use diverse lighting. It is not enough to use only the overhead light. Most likely, you paid attention to the fact that very bright top-lit mirrors are used in fitting stores. Such light emphasizes all imperfections on the skin. Of course, such lighting is used in booths not at all to disappoint you and develop complexes, but to to emphasize the play of light and shade on the clothes being tried on.

At the same time, using only top lighting when applying make-up, the light will form shadows under the eyes, on the chin and under the neck, which will distort the real picture. Will not give the desired result and only side lighting.

Another factor is the brightness of the lamps. So, the luminous flux having the highest power does not mean that the quality of the applied makeup will be transmitted as reliably as possible.The best solution is soft and not too bright lighting, achieved with light filters and frosted glasses. In addition, LED lamps provide such light, which once again proves their optimal use.

A mirror with light bulbs on batteries will be indispensable when traveling.

It is worth dwelling in detail on the question of choosing the mirror itself, because the reflection transmitted by it depends on the substance deposited on the back surface of the mirror. Different types of coatings not only have different color rendering, but also glare differently, convey shapes and sizes differently. There are four main types of mirror coating. In order of image transmission quality, in descending order, they can be arranged as follows:

1. titanium coating;
2. silver plating;
3. aluminum coating with an admixture of copper;
4. amalgam coating.

• Amalgam coating is the cheapest. This is a very unstable alloy, and in order to give it strength, it is necessary to fix it with a special varnish. Amalgam does not tolerate moisture at all, so such a mirror in the bathroom will begin to peel off after a while.
• The aluminum finish is a bit better, but it's also a budget option. Amalgam aluminum conveys colors, but the image in such a mirror is not the clearest, and sometimes distorted. Such a coating is not suitable for high-quality makeup, so buying such a mirror for a wall or desktop location is a big mistake. It is better to use such a mirror as a pocket option so that you can simply fix your makeup outside the home.

• Mirrors with a silver-plated reverse side are much more expensive than the two previous types.They are highly resistant to high humidity and are incredibly durable. Such a mirror is not so easy to damage mechanically, for example, with a key or a knife. The silver mirror is better than others for applying high-quality makeup.
• The most expensive option is a titanium-coated mirror. It is incredibly durable and most faithfully conveys the image. However, some women say that the titanium coated mirror has a bluish tint to the reflection. It probably depends on the perception of colors by the eye itself.
• If we talk about the chemical composition and generally accepted characteristics of the above elements, then silver-coated mirrors provide the greatest clarity. In addition, such mirrors are resistant to high humidity, temperature extremes and ultraviolet radiation. Titanium coating is the strongest and most durable, but sometimes it can distort the reflection. The most primitive and unreliable in terms of reflection accuracy are aluminum and amalgam coatings of mirrors.

When choosing a mirror, pay attention to its marking according to the distortion class. Mirrors marked M0 and M1 are distinguished by the highest accuracy. For everyday use it is allowed to use mirrors with a marker up to M4. Anything below this level (up to M10) is not suitable for home use, as they give a very strong distortion.

There are 4 ways to place a makeup mirror in a room:

• the wall mirror is mounted on the wall with a reliable bracket;
• desktop has a stable stand for placement on a horizontal surface;
• portable has a compact size, which makes it mobile;
• a universal option - a mirror that is quite large in size and can be mounted on a wall or on a make-up table.

When buying a makeup mirror, you can choose not only standard forms. With desktop options for mirrors, you can experiment with their functionality:

1. Rotating mirrors can rotate 180 or 360 degrees, making half or full rotation around its axis.
2. Mirrors with double-sided reflection on the one hand show the real size of the object, and on the other - with a magnification of several times.
3. Mirrors with an accordion mount are placed on the wall so that you can remove or bring the reflection to the required distance without the help of both hands.
4. If the cabinets and shelves are of sufficient height and look more like a chest of drawers, then they are called boudoir or make-up tables. Medium-height rectangular mirrors with one shelf are practical to place on the wall in the bathroom, where every centimeter counts.

Separately, it is worth talking about mirrors with magnification. Of course, Buying an illuminated magnifying mirror is not the best option because it doesn't really reflect. It can be used as a makeup aid and many makeup artists do this. Shops that sell equipment for beauty salons usually offer mirrors with five times magnification.

In the modern market today you can find backlit mirrors in a huge assortment. Among them, the following brands gained the greatest popularity:

• Beurer is a German manufacturer that has proven the highest quality of its products.They are distinguished by their accuracy of reflection and aesthetic appeal. Many buyers note their strength and durability. The illumination of Beurer mirror surfaces is ideally close to natural light.
• Babyliss - make-up mirrors, available in all possible shapes, sizes and locations. Products of this brand are wall-mounted, desktop, swivel, with a magnifying effect and, of course, with high-quality backlighting. Mirror surfaces are not cheap, but they look very impressive and are able to provide a presentable appearance to any room.
• Ikea - mirror products of the budget price category. Like any other product of this manufacturer, they are distinguished by their concise design, but they are convenient and practical to use and have excellent reflective characteristics without distortion. Ikea mirror lighting provides moderate brightness and even illumination.

The surface must be perfectly flat. To check this, you need to place the dressing room on a horizontal surface, and if it is uneven, it will immediately catch your eye.

In a modern bedroom, you can choose such a mirror with lighting. It will perfectly emphasize the classic interior and will help you to make a high-quality make-up. The backlight in this case should be bright enough.

The cosmetic mirror in bronze looks simply gorgeous. It will suit many interiors. It can be hung both in the bathroom and in the bedroom. The choice is yours.

On this mirror you can see an extraordinary backlight.It is very gentle and romantic. Such a product is suitable for sensual natures.

You can learn how to make a backlit mirror with your own hands from the video below.