I've been struggling for months (years?) with finding the best lighting for my vanity. In my room, there are two wall sconces and a hanging light, all in separate corners of the room. Where my vanity is, I've always used a lamp, but have found that lamps just don't give enough bright and full light for doing my makeup and hair, especially at night. I have a small lit mirror, but it really only lights the standing mirror itself, not the whole area, and the mirror is useful for details, but too small to use to put on a whole face of makeup.
I've been wanting the hollywood style vanity lights forever, (the ones that most beauty gurus have, or that you see on pinterest) but most styles are built into the mirror, and run from $100 to $300... Too much.
The other option was to buy a vanity light bar itself, then have to wire it, and I didn't have a spot for in-wall lights where I would have wanted them.
Then, I stumbled upon Lisa Pulano's DIY for plug in vanity lights, and it was perfect! Exactly what I needed: inexpensive, quick, and SUPER easy.
I followed the video exactly...down to the light bars that she used, coincidentally.
Here's what I used:
Lighting bars, $10 each
Extension cords, online it says $3.50 each, I got mine in-store for $1.37 each
Light bulbs, $4.18 for a pack of two **
Command strips, $7 for a pack of 12 strips
(**I bought 60watt originally, and as much as I LOVE how bright it is for doing makeup, it's too bright and will probably strain eyes. Not to mention, I bought incandescents which give off a LOT of heat because while they're cheap, they are NOT energy efficient. I'm saving my pennies for LEDs.)
An important note: the lights go on and off by plugging in/out, so it can be a hastle plugging and unplugging every time you want the lights on or off. I would recommend plugging them into a power strip with a switch on it, like this one.
And here's how it turned out:
I mounted the bars with Command picture hanging strips, so it's easy to bring them to school, then back home.
Command strips are awesome for dorm rooms because they mount almost anything, but come off clean and never damage walls.
The plug is exposed, but this doesn't bother me too much, i just covered it with the stuff that typically sits on my vanity! Pick your battles.
The lighting looks dim in this picture, but in front of the mirror it's bright white light. Perfect for doing my makeup!
All together this DIY took....maybe ten minutes. SO easy!
And the final cost: just around $40!
xo, Genevieve
