The best bathroom vanity light bulbs

Read CRI before anything else

Color rendering index, or CRI, is how faithfully a light shows colors compared with a reference source. At a vanity, it decides whether foundation matches, whether a shave looks clean, and whether you look well or gray. Three of these bulbs publish CRI 90; the fourth publishes 80.

The difference between 80 and 90 is the reason to change bulbs in a fixture that already works. It is also why dedicated makeup mirrors make so much of their CRI figures.

Lumens, not watts

With LED bulbs, watts tell you what you pay, not what you see. The “60-watt replacement” on the box is a brightness equivalence; the number that matters is lumens. Every bulb we recommend gives 500 lumens. A three-bulb vanity bar fitted with them gives about 1,500 lumens in total.

Warm or daylight

2700K is warm white, close to old incandescent bulbs. 5000K is daylight white. With CRI held at 90, neither is more accurate; they are different moods. The practical rule is to match the rest of the bathroom, and never mix color temperatures in one fixture.

G25 is a shape, and your fixture decides it

G25 means a globe 25 eighths of an inch across — about 3-1/8 in. Check that your fixture takes a medium base and has room for a globe that size. Some fixtures specify a shape: Kohler says its Memoirs sconce “works best with type G light bulbs”, while its Artifacts sconce recommends a T10 tube. The fixtures are covered here.

Check the fixture’s maximum too. Kohler’s Orime sockets are rated at just 9 W; every bulb here is under that.

What they cost to run

At three hours a day — GE’s own basis — and the US average of 18.34 cents per kWh, a 5-watt Reveal costs about $1 a year. A 5.5-watt Refresh or Relax is about $1.10. A four-bulb vanity bar is about $4 a year. The Classic LED saves you about 30 cents a bulb, and costs you half the light.

Dimming

All four are sold as dimmable. On a dimmer, the switch needs to be rated for LED loads, or you may get flicker or buzz. That is the switch, not the bulb.

If you rent

This is the most renter-safe lighting upgrade there is. Every bulb here rates Safe on our install rating: no tools, no wiring, and the old bulbs go back in when you move. More no-tool upgrades are here.