The Makeup Tool I Consider Essential If You Wear Glasses

If you need glasses to see your makeup clearly, you already know the problem.

You need your glasses to see what you're doing, but you can't exactly put on eye makeup with your glasses on.

That's you and me, babe!

This became much more of an issue for me as my close-up vision changed. Eyeliner, brows, mascara, blending around my eyes, I needed to be able to see what I was doing without having my glasses sitting on my face.

Enter the lighted magnifying makeup mirror.

It's not a particularly exciting beauty tool, but if you wear glasses, I think it's one of the most useful ones you can own.

Why I Use a Lighted Magnifying Mirror

A regular mirror lets me see how my makeup looks overall. The magnifying side lets me take my glasses off and actually see well enough to apply it.

The mirror I use is double-sided, with a regular 1X side and a 10X magnifying side. It's LED lighted, which also solves another makeup problem, trying to figure out what your makeup actually looks like in questionable bathroom lighting.

I use the magnifying side when I need the detail and the regular side when I want to see my whole face.

That second part is more important than you might think.

How Much Magnification Do You Need?

You can find makeup mirrors in all kinds of magnifications, from around 3X up to 15X and even higher.

More isn't necessarily better.

I use 10X, but what works for me may be stronger than you need. If you only need a little help seeing up close, something like 3X or 5X may be plenty. If you have more trouble with close-up detail, you may prefer 7X or 10X.

One thing I would not do is try to match the magnification number to the prescription on your readers or eyeglasses. They aren't equivalent measurements.

The goal is simply to find enough magnification that you can comfortably take your glasses off and see what you're doing.

And then there's the downside.

Too Much of a Good Thing

There is something slightly dangerous about seeing your face at 10X magnification.

Suddenly you can see everything.

You may notice a spot where your makeup looks a little cakey. Blend it if it needs it, but before you start attacking it, flip the mirror around, put your glasses back on and look again.

Does it actually look cakey?

Or did it only look that way because you were examining your skin at 10X?

Everyone's skin looks different under that kind of magnification. You're seeing texture, pores, tiny lines and individual hairs that nobody looking at you normally can see.

This is where I have to remind myself to keep some perspective.

Don't Go Looking for Things to Fix

The mirror is supposed to help you put on your makeup.

It is very easy to turn it into an inspection tool instead.

You see an eyebrow hair you hadn't noticed. Then another one. There's a clogged pore. There's a spot. What is that?

Before you know it, you've been sitting there for ten minutes examining things you didn't even know existed before you turned the mirror around.

Worse, magnification can tempt you to start picking and squeezing things that are better left alone.

That's when it's time to step away from the mirror.

Or, as I sometimes think of it, step away before you make yourself crazed. ;-)

The Lighting Matters Too

I prefer an LED-lighted mirror because good lighting makes makeup application so much easier.

The one I use has adjustable brightness and different light settings, although I don't think you need to get carried away with features.

What I really want is enough clear, even light that I can see what I'm doing.

That's especially helpful around the eyes, where shadows from overhead bathroom lighting can make things harder to see.

Don't Get Too Close

Even with a magnifying mirror, you don't need to have your face right up against it.

I generally like to have about a foot of space between myself and the mirror. It gives me enough room to use brushes without knocking them into it, which is surprisingly easy to do.

I'll move closer when I need to see something particularly small, but I don't stay there for the entire makeup application.

Besides being easier to work that way, a little distance helps keep me from getting too interested in every pore on my face.

Always Do the Glasses Test

This is the part I think matters most.

Once I'm finished with the detailed work, I stop looking at myself magnified.

I flip to the regular side of the mirror, put my glasses back on and look at my makeup normally.

Sometimes something that looked like it desperately needed fixing at 10X looks perfectly fine once my glasses are back on.

That's the view that counts.

I want my makeup to look good when I'm talking to someone across the table, looking in a regular mirror or walking around in daylight.

Nobody else is seeing my face at 10X.

I shouldn't judge it that way either.

If You Wear Glasses, This One Is Worth Having

There are plenty of beauty tools I could live without.

My lighted magnifying mirror isn't one of them.

I use the magnification because I need it to see the details without my glasses, and I use the regular side to make sure I'm not losing perspective about what my makeup actually looks like.

For me, 10X works well. You may need less. I'd choose the lowest magnification that lets you comfortably see what you're doing, along with good LED lighting and a regular mirror on the other side.

Then use the magnifying side for what it's intended for, putting on your makeup.

If you find yourself studying a pore that suddenly appears to be the size of a crater, flip the mirror over.

You're done. ;-)

Shop My Lighted Magnifying Makeup Mirror

This is the style I use, a double-sided 1X/10X LED-lighted makeup mirror. I've linked my mirror, along with my other makeup favorites, below.

Shop This Post

Large Lighted Makeup Mirror

 

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