Review | GLAMCOR Riki Skinny Vanity Mirror

Back in February I mentioned a purchase I made in order to receive the Cult Beauty goody bag. It had to be over £170, so it was the perfect time to get something I’ve been eyeing for a long time but never bit the bullet: a makeup mirror. Sounds underwhelming, but a lot of fellow makeup addicts mention that a good quality mirror really makes a difference. So I bought one, hoping to find out what is it that I haven’t been able to see properly yet.

Short answer? Pores.

Long answer: you will never look worse that in natural lighting in front of a good, amplifying mirror, so if that alone doesn’t wipe out your self esteem or scare your soul out of your body, know that you can only look better from there. So by doing an ok job in those conditions, you’ll look like a goddess in that candlelight dinner. That’s the power of a good mirror and good lighting.

I chose the Riki Skinny Mirror because it’s framed by a lot of LED lights that mimic natural lighting, and I needed something that would help me do my makeup at night as well. The version I bought from Cult Beauty comes with two magnetic attachments, a phone clip and a 3x magnifying mirror, and a travel case. The travel case comes packaged in a different box even though it’s part of the same item.

Warning: while unboxing this mirror, you might attract some Apple aficionados. According to sir Fiancé, who was immediately curious when I started to unveil the mirror, the box that it comes with and the whole method of unpacking the product is very “Apple-like”. I wouldn’t know, I never had an iPhone or a MacBook, so I’ll take his word for it.

There are 6 buttons in the mirror: one to turn on the Bluetooth, one to check the battery, a little camera button to take photos once your phone is connected to the mirror through the bluetooth (I’ve tested this, it works), a button to turn the LEDs on/off, and two buttons to control the lighting, to turn up/down the intensity.

The lights come in 5 intensities, starting from very strong to not-even-the-sun-is-that-bright. Seriously, there’s no subtlety to those LEDs. The only reason someone would have a use for the 5th intensity is if they’re sick of being able to see so well.

There is an adjustable stand to set the mirror on, obviously, and a USB charger with three adapters, for the UK, EU and Australia. I really like that they included all three – it could come in handy when travelling. In fact, one major selling point of this mirror is that it’s very travel friendly. I agree. The mirror is surprisingly lightweight (hence the “skinny” in the name, the little show-off) and “compact” for a vanity mirror. Super portable. I would definitely travel with it if I wasn’t so scared to carry a £175 mirror in a bag that would go through airport bag handling.

The travel case is pretty basic. It’s also pretty thin, and fits the mirror quite snuggly. If only has one handle to carry it, sewed to only one of the sides. Not the most comfortable to carry around. Honestly, it looks and feels somewhat cheap. I’m glad it came with the mirror, because I would have been disappointed if I had purchased it separately.

I have only two complaints with this product. The first is that the charger cord is pretty short. In you set the mirror on any regular size vanity, the cord is not long enough to reach a power outlet near the floor. The second is that the travel case is not super practical. There isn’t really a compartment to carry the mirror stand or the charger, so you have to pack those separately or risk scratching the mirror.

I also wish this came with a little microfiber cloth to wipe the mirrors. Not a major necessity, I know, but it would have been nice.

Other than that, I love this mirror. Truly. It works perfectly, it’s the right size to do my whole face, it’s light and easy to take into a different room if the light is better somewhere else, or to store it if I want to free up space in my vanity. The LED lights are great at mimicking natural lighting, and I’ve even gotten use out of the phone clip, to do Zoom meetings with my friends and have the phone at an appropriate height.

Is it worth the price? I’ve only had it for about a month, but if it lasts with all it’s features working correctly for at least 5 years, than yes, totally worth it.

Let me know if I forgot to mention anything or if you want to know something else about the Riki Skinny Vanity Mirror in the comments below.

You may also like

2 Comments

  1. This mirror is quite expensive but I think it’s a good investment for anyone who wears makeup regularly, plus and I’m pretty sure it contributes to a faster and flawless makeup application.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *