Best Lighted Bathroom Mirrors: LED Mirrors With Lights

The Kohler Verdera takes a different approach from the strip-lit mirrors. Instead of LED bands around the edge, it uses internal light guides, and Kohler publishes the numbers most makers leave out: 2200 lumens with no hot spots or dark spots, 65 lumens per watt, a light of about 3000 Kelvin, a minimum CRI of 90 and an estimated LED life of 59,000 hours.

Under it, skin looks like skin. The light is even across the whole face and slightly warm, which is flattering for everyday grooming, and the high CRI keeps foundation and blush honest. It works with wall-mounted LED dimmers (sold separately), so you dim it from the switch by the door like any other light.

It is 24 inches wide by 33 inches tall, in anodized aluminum with a rust- and chip-resistant finish, and the hang-and-secure system and surface-mount hardware are in the box. It suits a renovation where an electrician is already on site, and a bathroom with good ventilation, since no defogger is listed.

When the vanity is wide, the Amorho is the one I reach for. At 50 by 32 inches it covers a long counter, and it pairs two LED strips, front and back, with a CRI of 90 or more and three color temperatures (3000K, 4000K and 6000K). With 192 LED beads per meter and 24 W of output, it lights a long counter evenly from end to end.

It is also one of the few LED mirrors that backs its water claims with a rating: IP65, on 5 mm tempered glass. The defogger turns on with the power, clears from the center to the sides and switches itself off after an hour. The touch buttons respond even with wet hands, and if the blue indicator lights bother you at night, holding the defog button for three seconds turns them off.

You can use the plug in the box or cut it off and connect the mirror to a wall switch, and it hangs horizontally or vertically with the hooks, anchors and gloves supplied. Hung sideways, it suits a vanity of about 54 to 58 inches; upright, a 36 to 40 inch one.

The Hivone gives you a big mirror without the premium tier. It is 40 by 32 inches with front and back LED strips, and the front light alone is strong enough for makeup and shaving, which is not true of mirrors that rely on a backlight.

The color control is the nicest I have used at this level. A short press steps through warm (3000K), natural (4200K) and white (6400K); a long press cycles smoothly through everything in between, so you can stop exactly where your skin looks right. It dims, and the memory brings back your last setting. The defogger starts quickly and turns off after an hour.

The glass is 5 mm tempered and shatterproof, the title says UL listed, and all the mounting hardware is in the box. Hung sideways it suits a 44 to 48 inch vanity. Ask the seller how it connects before you plan the install.

Most LED bathroom mirrors are frameless. The TETOTE puts the lighting inside a slim aluminum frame, offered in black, gold and nickel, which suits a bathroom with brass or matte black fixtures. The frame also protects the edge of the tempered glass, and TETOTE describes it as waterproof and rust-resistant.

The light is among the best documented here: a CRI of 90 or more, three color temperatures (3000K, 4500K and 6000K), stepless dimming from 5% to 100% and an output of 2800 to 4000 lumens. One touch turns on the front and back light together. Under the 4500K setting, skin tones read true, which is what I want for makeup.

It has a defogging heater with a 1 hour auto shut-off, a memory for your settings, and a French cleat, one of the easiest ways to hang a heavy mirror level. At 22 by 30 inches it suits a 24 to 30 inch vanity.

For a double vanity you want one long mirror rather than two small ones, and the YEELAIT is 60 inches wide by 36 inches tall. It combines front and back lighting with three color temperatures (6000K, 4000K and 3000K), dimming from 100% down to 10%, and a memory for your last setting, so both people at the sink get the same good light.

The anti-fog works two ways: switch it on before you shower and the glass stays clear, or after, to clear the steam; it turns itself off after an hour. The glass is 5 mm tempered in an aluminum alloy frame. It hangs on French cleats, which made lining up a mirror this wide far less fiddly than hole-to-hole brackets.

You can plug it in or have it hardwired to a wall switch, which then controls the light and the anti-fog; YEELAIT recommends an electrician for the hardwiring. It suits a 64 to 68 inch vanity by my size rule and still looks right over a 72 inch double vanity.

The LOAAO is the least expensive mirror on this page and still has everything that matters: front and back lighting, three color temperatures (3000K warm, 4000K natural and 6000K white), a dimmer, a defogger and a memory that keeps your last setting. The listing calls it UL Listed.

I have used the dimmer and all three color temperatures, and they work smoothly; a long press on the touch switch changes the brightness. The defogger clears the steam within minutes after a shower and switches itself off after an hour. LOAAO is upfront that the heating pad covers the center of the glass, not the whole mirror, so the edges clear last.

The glass is 5 mm tempered and shatter-proof, it hangs on two Z-bar brackets, and it can be plugged in or hardwired. It suits a 30 inch vanity hung upright, or a 36 inch vanity hung sideways.