I am the queen of putting on makeup in strange places and with little time. I’m literally (not literally) always putting on makeup while traveling. I couldn’t tell you how many times I’ve done my eyebrows in the passenger seat of my boyfriend’s manual Honda Civic SI, lurching as he shifts gears, waiting to pass the next streetlight to make sure my arches are even. Or how many times I’ve spontaneously decided to go outside, rushing to complete my winged eyeliner despite being in an unlit parking lot. In the club bathroom, I’m the person wearing her lipstick as blush while clutching a tube of mascara between her teeth. At a festival, I’m constantly plagued by my ADHD-fueled time blindness, rushing to get ready in my tent before we have to leave, using the mirror I smuggled in to make sure my glitter is sparkling correctly. I even taught a class to my WIRED colleagues on how to prepare in a time-crunched time. I am, for better or worse, that girl.
So it makes sense that my party elf ways lead me to try out That Girl’s latest innovation. I’m talking about lighted makeup mirrors. They illuminate your face so you can see it from all angles (and in some cases, they have magnification that will show you every pore whether you want to see it or not). You’ll be able to use the power of See Right to ensure a flawless finish, whether you’re opting for intense contouring, a smoky crease like it’s 2016 again, or simply want to make sure your lined lips aren’t overly lined. obvious. These are my favorites.
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About CRI (Color Rendering Index)
Some lighted makeup mirrors have specific CRI (color rendering index) measurements. It is a way of measuring how well artificial light can imitate natural light (such as daylight). The scale goes from 0 to 100, with 100 being the perfect indication that colors appear the same as they do in natural sunlight. I think that’s good to know, but ultimately your environment will affect your makeup application more than a mirror’s CRI score (if it’s listed). Placing your lighted makeup mirror in front of a window or in a well-lit area will give you an equal idea of how your makeup looks in any room. Once I’m done doing my makeup, I usually check the lighting schemes available on any mirror to make sure it looks good in all of them. So, in a nutshell, a high CRI is a good indication of a mirror’s color accuracy, but it’s not the only thing you should be concerned about.
I completed my usual makeup look (shiny nude eyeshadow, winged eyeliner, lots of blush and highlights, penciled brows, heavy mascara) using each of these mirrors at least twice: once in a dark setting and once in the light natural of the day. . I tested every lighting mode and fully ran every battery at least once.