Welcome back to Worth It, our weekly seal of approval on noteworthy launches and bespoke collaborations in the worlds of beauty and fashion. If it's featured here, consider these investments worthwhile.
The Promise
Glamcor is a big deal. Their lights are responsible for nearly every well-lit celebrity selfie on Instagram; Emma Chamberlain, Kourtney Kardashian, and Kaia Gerber are loyal fans. Beauty influencers galore (seriously, pick one) have tricked out their “glam rooms” with the brand’s famed vanities.
But would you believe me if I told you their $2450 mirror would solve all your makeup problems? That’s exactly what Glamcor’s Socialite Mirror has set out to do. With 648 LED lights powered by a dimming knob that can take the light from 10 percent to 100 percent in seconds, it promises a “crystal clear reflection” and “flawless lighting”—without the scorching heat that accompanies other LED mirrors. The brightness level is adjustable and can go from warm to cool with just a twist of the knob.
The mirror is enormous, roughly 46 inches high and 35 inches long. It can be free-standing or mounted onto a wall—there are convenient keyholes for easy installation. Mine (might) be a little too big for my New York City apartment, but after squeezing it in and seeing it in action for the past three weeks, this mirror has become my most prized possession. Find out why ahead.
Why I’m Obsessed
I’m not a makeup artist. I’m an amateur. Knowing how to do makeup and executing it properly exist in totally different lanes. My daily face has historically comes together in the back of a car, on the subway, or in my poorly lit NYC studio—completely haphazardly by a guessing game of proper placement. Sometimes my bronzer isn’t blended, or my eyeshadow looks like it was done in the dark. It happens. I’m not really a pro.
But leave it to the Glamcor Socialite Mirror to convince me otherwise. I’ve had the best in the business give me tutorials, walk me through the proper placement of bronzer, blush, and highlighter and show me how to place and blend concealer. I know the right types of brushes to use for every formula and how to sculpt my lips with liner. I just, well, get lazy. Yet, nothing inspires me to put learned skills into action more than a shiny new toy.
I carefully removed the sticker from the mirror (I took me a minute to figure out why I looked fuzzy) and turned the knob located on the right side of the mirror up to full brightness. I’ll be honest: It took my eyes a second to adjust and every bit of willpower in my body to resist picking every blemish on my face that was suddenly blindingly prominent. I could see every pore. Every line. Every dark spot. I was staring at my skin in the most perfect, crystal-clear lighting to ever exist.
As I started my routine, I turned off autopilot. I paid attention to how product was laying on my skin, where it was being placed, and if splotchy clumps or patches of dry skin needed extra TLC. I could see what I was doing. Instead of circling my bronzer blush in the general vicinity of my cheekbone, I actually watched where the power laid, ensuring it started just above my ear (at the hairline) and stopped midway under my eye—a tip I learned from makeup artist Vincent Oquendo, who works with Regina King and Jenna Ortega. My blush went strategically above that, blended out to my temples. My highlighter, well, there’s no technique, I just like to use a lot.
The mirror provided the perfect light backdrop to see exactly what I was doing with my makeup. With every step, I was more aware of how products were sitting on my skin, if I had any harsh lines, mascara clumps, a brow out of place, or how my eyeshadow was building. The whole process brought joy back into my makeup routine, transforming it from less of chore to more of a challenge. How professional could I get my glam to look?
I’m not trading in my day job anytime soon, but this mirror may have been key to bringing out my inner makeup artist.
