If you’ve followed me for a while, you know that I have sung the praises of my Riki Skinny Mirror FOREVER, and with the holidays coming up, I figured it was finally time to do a proper review (in case you were considering buying one as a gift—or, you know, buying one for yourself.)
A quick FYI: they’re currently doing a Black Friday/Cyber Monday promo where the entire site is 25% off. This is the most I’ve ever seen them on sale for.
So here’s the deal with light-up mirrors: there are a LOT of brands who make them. And I will say that before I got my Riki Skinny many years ago, I had tested a bunch of different (cheaper) versions. What I found is…you pretty much get what you pay for.
The cheaper ones either burnt out or broke. I also tried others (like the big round magnifying kind that my mom used growing up) but they were heavy and not portable by any means.
Eventually I bit the bullet and went with the Riki and it was WORTH. EVERY. PENNY. Here’s why.
1. Once you do your makeup with a light-up mirror, you’ll never go back.
It’s a total game changer and gives you a more realistic representation of what your makeup will look like in “real life.”
Not to be dramatic, but there’s nothing worse than doing your makeup in bad lighting, thinking that it looks good, and then realizing you didn’t blend your bronzer or foundation.
2. The LED lights have 5 brightness settings.
Take my word for it—the highest setting is EXTREMELY high. I usually push the button a few times to see which setting is best based on where I’m doing my makeup.
3. It’s very lightweight and portable.
The mirror weighs literally nothing (and it’s extremely thin) so it’s a no-brainer to toss in your bag if you’re going somewhere and in need of good makeup lighting.
On my recent trip to St Barths, we stayed in two Airbnbs and neither had good lighting/mirror situations, so it was a BLESSING that I had brought my mirror with me.
It basically takes up the same amount of space in your bag as a magazine.
4. When I’m feeling lazy AF, I use it to do my makeup in bed or on the couch.
Sorry not sorry.
5. It comes with an adjustable stand, a magnetic magnifying mirror, a magnetic cellphone holder, and a charger.
The package comes complete with everything you could ever need. It’s more like a “mirror kit” than just a mirror.
(On the website you can even choose between 5x magnification or 10x magnification.)
6. You can use it for Zooms, Facetimes, or video calls.
Unless you’re an influencer, you probably don’t want to commit to investing in a big ring light, so the Riki is a genius alternative.
You can use the magnetic cellphone holder to jump on video calls from your phone, or set it up behind your laptop to give you a little extra lighting on Zooms that you do on your computer.
7. It also doubles as a tripod.
This may not be applicable to everyone, but if you need help taking photos (for your Instagram, blog, or whatever) and you don’t have a friend or significant other who is willing to help, it’s an awesome functionality.
I attach my phone to the magnetic cellphone holder and then select my iPhone’s self-timer.
8. Perfect hands-free selfies via Bluetooth.
There is also a Bluetooth function that you can pair with your phone to take selfies, record videos, etc. Great lighting + the ability to be hands-free is a winning combo.
9. The adjustable stand.
The stand adjusts to different heights and angles, and then can be easily removed and closed if you need to pack it away for travel.
10. The mirror holds a 4 hour charge.
So you likely won’t ever have to bring the charger with you on the go.
11. It’s the perfect gift idea.
To be honest, I feel like this type of mirror might not be the first thing we’d buy for ourselves, which makes it the perfect gift to give someone else—or the perfect thing to ask for for the holidays.
Once you have one, I can assure you that you’ll wonder how you ever lived without it!
12. It was one of Oprah’s “Favorite Things.”
And if it’s good enough for Oprah…it’s good enough for me, hunnnay.
Need more gift ideas? Check out my gift guide page here!
This post was created in partnership with Riki Loves Riki. As always, I only work with brands that I genuinely love!
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