A bathroom mirror is fine for checking your hair. It is not much help for eyeliner, tweezing, putting in contact lenses or getting a clean line when shaving, because you cannot get close enough and the light is usually behind you. A magnifying mirror fixes both problems.
This guide covers the choices that matter: how much magnification, tabletop or wall mounted, lit or plain, and how to fit one in a hotel bathroom.
How much magnification
Most makeup and shaving mirrors are double sided, with a normal 1x side and a magnifying side.
- 3x is the comfortable everyday choice. It is close enough for shaving, eyebrows and eye makeup, and you can still see most of your face at once. The Dolphy 1x/3x wall-mount makeup mirror is made for exactly that: shaving, tweezing and makeup.
- 5x shows fine detail: eyelashes, stray hairs, the edge of a contact lens. It suits anyone whose eyesight makes 3x hard work. The trade-off is a smaller area in focus and less room to move, so you hold your face closer and steadier.
If one person uses the mirror, choose for their eyesight. If a whole household or a stream of hotel guests will use it, 3x or a 1x/5x double-sided model covers the most people.
Tabletop or wall mounted
Tabletop mirrors stand on a vanity, a dressing table or a desk. Nothing to install, and they move to wherever the light is strongest. The Dolphy 8-inch 1x/5x tabletop mirror in black swivels a full 360 degrees to flip between the two sides.
Wall-mounted mirrors fix to the wall beside the main mirror and sit on an arm that pulls out towards you and folds flat when you are done. They keep the bench clear, cannot be knocked into a basin, and stay where they are put. The Dolphy 8-inch 1x/5x wall-mount mirror in chrome is stainless steel and glass, swivels 360 degrees and has an arm that extends up to 13.5 inches (about 34 cm).
A wall mount suits a small bathroom with little bench space, and any bathroom shared by several people. A tabletop mirror suits a dressing table in a bedroom, or anyone renting who cannot drill the tiles.
LED or plain
A magnifying mirror is only as good as the light on your face. With the bathroom light above or behind you, the magnified side mostly shows your own shadow.
LED mirrors have a ring of light around the glass, so your face is evenly lit from the front. That makes a real difference for makeup, where colour matters. The Dolphy 8-inch LED wall-mount mirror in black has a halo light, a 1x/5x double-sided glass, a 360-degree swivel and an arm up to 13.5 inches, and it runs from a standard plug. The Dolphy LED tabletop mirror in silver is the freestanding version, also 1x/5x and plug-in.
Plain mirrors are simpler and have nothing to switch on, which suits a bathroom with good natural light or a bright vanity light already in place.
Before buying a plug-in LED mirror, check there is a power point within reach of where it will sit or hang. For a wall mount beside a basin, bathroom power points and wiring are a job for a licensed electrician.
Size and finish
The Dolphy range uses an 8-inch (about 20 cm) mirror, which is large enough to see your whole face on the 1x side and a good part of it on the magnified side. Finishes include chrome, silver and black; match them to your tapware and towel rails so the mirror looks like part of the bathroom rather than an afterthought.
Fitting one in a hotel bathroom
Magnifying mirrors are one of the small touches guests notice, especially those who wear makeup or contact lenses, or who have left their glasses at home.
- Wall mounted rather than tabletop, so it cannot go missing or end up in a suitcase.
- Mount it beside the main mirror, at a height a seated guest can use as well as a standing one.
- Double-sided 1x/5x or 3x covers the widest range of guests.
- Fix into something that will hold the extended arm; a mirror on a long arm puts real leverage on its wall plate, so use fixings suited to the tiles and the wall behind them.
Looking after it
- Clean the glass with a soft cloth and a glass cleaner sprayed on the cloth, not straight onto the mirror, so moisture does not creep behind the glass.
- Check the arm and swivel joints from time to time and tighten them if the mirror starts to droop.
- Keep plug-in models away from water, and switch them off at the wall before cleaning.
Quick checklist
- 3x for everyday use, 5x for fine detail or weaker eyesight.
- Tabletop to move around, wall mounted to save bench space and stay put.
- LED if the bathroom light is behind you; plain if the light is already good.
- A power point within reach for plug-in LED models.
- 8-inch double-sided glass, in a finish that matches your tapware.
Compare the full magnifying mirror range.