Lighting Comparison for your Makeup Vanity

So I've been frustrated lately with my lack of good lighting in my bedroom, which is where I keep my  makeup vanity. My bedroom only has one window and it faces South so I never really get much sunlight. But incandescent light is usually warm toned and can distort colors.


I went to Target today while running errands and found a lightbulb that looked like it would fit the bill. It was the GE Reveal LED lightbulb ($20) and it advertised itself as a bright white bulb that when compared to incandescent bulbs would "reveal" their true colors. It sounded perfect. It was a lie. This is the worst lightbulb I've ever used. It was actually worse than my Conair lighted mirror. It was dark, cast harsh shadows, and was super yellow. I've never hated an inanimate object with such rage before. I promptly returned it and bought two other lightbulbs at Lowes, a UtiliTech Natural LED Light ($11), and an OTTLite bulb ($6). You can see the results below and figure out which light you prefer.

You can see just how bad the natural lighting is in my room, even with full sun today I can't even get my whole face illuminated. 

The GE Reveal LED light is the worst lightbulb I've ever used. GE has a total fail here. I went right back to the store to return it immediately.

The UtiliTech LED light is nearly perfect, it's natural looking and gives a good amount a light. It could be just a smudge brighter, but this one is the closest to natural light. 

The OttLite bulb was the brightest one but the blue-tone is very strong and it washed me out a bit. Getting a 60watt one may solve this problem.

I really like both the Utilitech and the OttLite. I kind of wish there was an in between version. I think I'll pick up another clip on light and see if I can use both and get a happy medium. Until then I'll use the OttLite because it's actually the closest to the natural light photo.