Updated September 2026 by the team at The Lighting Outlet, who answer vanity light questions from Australian renovators every week.
Shop the range: browse all vanity, mirror and bathroom wall lights
Quick answer: choose an IP44 rated LED bar about two-thirds of your mirror's width, mount it 50mm to 100mm above the mirror, and pick 4000K cool white (or a tri-colour fitting) for honest makeup and shaving light. If you have 150mm of wall either side of the mirror, a pair of sconces at eye level gives the fewest shadows. Every vanity light is hardwired, so a licensed electrician installs it.
With a huge range of vanity styles, colours, sizes and brands on the market, it can be hard to know where to look first. You will need to consider aesthetics, but there are practical points that matter more than most people expect: the length of the bar, how far it sits off the wall, its IP rating and the colour of its light. Most vanity lights will give you enough light to shave or do your makeup, but they certainly are not all equal.
Here are the things we ask every customer before we recommend a fitting, followed by our current top picks.
What is a vanity light (and is it the same as a mirror light)?
A vanity light is a wall light fitted above or beside a mirror so that light lands on your face rather than on the ceiling. Mirror light means the same thing. You will see "mirror light" used more for the slim LED bars that sit on the wall just above the glass, and "vanity light" for the whole category, including sconces and orbs. The range breaks into three families:
- LED vanity bars. A slim horizontal fitting mounted above the mirror. The most popular choice because one bar lights the whole mirror evenly and suits ensuites with no wall either side.
- Sconces and orbs. Individual wall lights mounted either side of the mirror at eye level. The makeup artist's choice because light from both sides removes the shadows under the eyes and chin.
- Hollywood strips and LED strip. A row of globes framing the mirror, or a backlit "floating" mirror built with bathroom LED strip in an aluminium profile behind the glass. See our Hollywood mirror lights.
Above the mirror or beside it?
Most vanity lights will be positioned on, beside or above the mirror. The choice comes down to the room as much as to taste, and these are the points that decide it:
- Wall space. Sconces need about 150mm of clear wall on each side of the mirror. If the mirror runs wall to wall, a bar above it is the answer.
- Vanity cupboards. If your mirror is part of a shaving cabinet, work out which way the door opens and make sure it will not hit the light. A protruding orb beside a cabinet door is the classic clash, and a bar mounted in front of a cabinet has to clear the door too.
- The depth of your mirror. A light should not cast a shadow onto the glass. If your mirror sits off the wall, choose a bar that also projects or overhangs the mirror, which is often the case with more traditional styles.
- Who uses the mirror. Growing children, and anyone particularly tall or short, change where the light should sit. There is a standard height for vanity mirrors and lights, but think about your own household.
- Double vanities. One long bar across both basins, a 600mm bar over each, or a bar above plus a pair of sconces if you want the premium result.
What size vanity light do I need?
This is the question that sends the most vanity lights back to us, so measure first. A bar should be roughly two-thirds to three-quarters of the mirror's width and never wider than the vanity cabinet below it. The size word on a listing (Small, Medium, Large) means something different on every range, so buy off the length in millimetres.
| Mirror width | Bar length | Or sconces |
|---|---|---|
| 450mm to 600mm | 400mm to 450mm | One pair, small |
| 750mm to 900mm | 600mm | One pair, medium |
| 1,000mm to 1,200mm | 800mm to 900mm | One pair, medium or large |
| Double vanity, 1,500mm+ | One 1,200mm bar or two 600mm bars | Two pairs, or one bar plus one pair |
Two more measurements matter. Projection is how far the fitting sticks out from the wall, and it is in the spec sheet rather than the filters. Base plate size is smaller than the fitting, so if you are centring a bar over an existing junction point, ask us for the base plate dimensions before you order.
How high should a vanity light be mounted?
As a guide, a bar sits 50mm to 100mm above the top edge of the mirror, which usually lands it 1,900mm to 2,000mm from the floor. Sconces are centred at eye height, around 1,500mm to 1,700mm from the floor and 900mm to 1,200mm apart for a single basin. A bar that faces down or slightly forward puts the light on your face instead of bouncing it off the glass. Give these heights to your electrician along with the fitting.
IP ratings
IP ratings are not the most exciting topic, but they are critical for any light fitting that may come into contact with water or moisture, and if your vanity light sits above a basin that means you. IP ratings measure how well the fitting keeps out dust and water. We recommend IP44 rated fittings or higher above the bathroom sink, and IP44 is the rating most of our vanity lights carry. It means the fitting is protected from splashing water from any direction, which is exactly what a basin and a steamy mirror produce.
Two things IP44 does not mean. It is not steam-proof, so keep vanity lights out of the shower recess, away from directly above the bath, and run the exhaust fan. And it does not replace the wiring rules: Australian standards define wet zones around baths and showers, and your electrician confirms which zone the mirror wall falls in. Outside the bathroom, on a dressing table for example, the IP rating does not matter. Read more in our IP rating guide.
Globe colour: warm white, cool white or tri-colour
An important factor when choosing bathroom lighting is colour temperature. For the most natural looking light at the mirror we recommend cool white, 4000K. It is the closest match to daylight, so it is the honest light for makeup and shaving, and we often have customers come back to tell us so. Warm white, 3000K, is softer and suits a vanity light that also lights the room in the evening.
If you want both, choose a tri-colour (CCT) fitting. A small switch on the fitting lets you pick 3000K, 4000K or 5000K after it is installed, so you are never locked in. For the truest skin tones look for a CRI of 90 or higher. Our warm white vs cool white guide shows the difference side by side.
How bright should a vanity light be?
Aim for 700 to 1,200 lumens across a single-basin mirror and 1,600 lumens or more across a double vanity, on top of the room's general lighting. Watts are not brightness with LED, so compare the lumens on the product page. If you want to dim the mirror for a bath, check the fitting is dimmable and buy a compatible LED dimmer at the same time, because a mismatched dimmer is the most common cause of flicker.
Fixture colour
There is a wide variety of finishes available, but the most common is chrome, which matches most bathroom tapware. If you are unsure, chrome is the safe option. Black reads as one piece over a black-framed mirror, brass or antique gold warms up an all-white bathroom, and white disappears against a white wall. Match the light to your tapware and mirror frame first, and if you are still torn, our design team will advise.
Our top vanity light picks
Chosen from what our customers actually buy and keep, with stock on the shelf at the time of writing.
Eglo Pandella 1 LED Mirror Light
The slim IP44 bar we recommend most. Three lengths (400mm, 600mm and 780mm) cover a 600mm to 1,200mm mirror, the profile is barely 40mm tall, and the 4000K light is right for the mirror. Silver or chrome.
From $109.57* · View the Pandella 1
Telbix Foley 60 and Gilson 60 LED Vanity Lights
Telbix's 600mm tri-colour bars in antique gold, black or chrome, IP44, with a CRI above 83. The Foley is a clean cylinder, the Gilson a squarer profile. Both come in 400mm and 800mm too, so a matched pair over a double vanity is easy.
From $125.10* · View the Foley 60 · View the Gilson 60
Havit Vanita LED Wall Light
Four lengths from 400mm to 1,000mm in black or white, IP44, tri-colour and dimmable. The 1,000mm is the one-bar answer for a wide double vanity, and the black version over a black-framed mirror is a favourite with our design team.
From $133.50* · View the Vanita
Eurotech Tiago 900mm CCT Mirror Light
An 18w, 900mm tri-colour bar in chrome or black, sized for a 1,200mm mirror or a modest double vanity. Eurotech is the brand electricians ask for by name, and the 600mm version suits a single basin.
$247.15* · View the Tiago 900
Ore Lighting Cielo Hand Blown Glass Orb
Our own double-glass orb for either side of the mirror: IP44, dimmable, in 130mm and 160mm sizes. Hand blown, so no two are identical, which is the charm. Fit a short 3w or 4w G9 globe so it sits cleanly inside the shade.
From $90.00* · View the Cielo
Eglo Tabiano 2 Tri-Colour Mirror Light
A 905mm statement bar with a real overhang that throws light forward onto your face, in chrome, black or white with tri-colour switching. It is IP20, so it belongs over a dressing table or on a mirror wall well clear of the shower and bath.
$325.09* · View the Tabiano 2
*Prices are in AUD at the time of writing and may have changed. Also worth a look: Lighting Republic's Orb Mirror lights for beside-the-mirror mounting, and Elstead's traditional chrome and brass bathroom sconces.
Customisation
A guaranteed way to make your bathroom lighting a thing of beauty is custom made LED strip light and profile, cut to fit on or behind your vanity mirror. We specialise in LED strip, so it is a style we know works incredibly well, measured to the millimetre for a sleek finish. The cost usually works out the same as a vanity light, if not less. Email your measurements to design@thelightingoutlet.com.au or fill out our quote form and we will come back with options.
Tips from our team
These come straight from the questions and returns we handle, not from a textbook.
- Measure the mirror, then read the millimetres. A bar that was "medium" online and 100mm too wide on the wall is our most common vanity light return.
- Check the projection against your cabinet door. One customer's bar turned out to be exactly the depth of the medicine cabinet beside it. The fix was a deeper picture-light style fitting.
- Ask for the base plate size if you are working to an existing junction point. Listing dimensions are for the whole fitting.
- Short globes in orbs. A long 5w G9 can touch the glass or show through it. A 3w or 4w LED G9 around 50mm tall is the right one. Browse G9 globes.
- Test a tri-colour switch on the bench before the fitting goes on the wall, so any fault is found while the box is still open.
- Open every box the day it arrives, not when the tiler has finished. Transit damage, wrong items and missing parts need to be reported within 3 days of delivery, and we cannot cover an electrician's call-out for a fitting that was not checked first.
- Keep the base box if a shade is swapped. Our Orb Mirror and Cielo orbs ship as a separate base and shade, and only the shade goes back on an exchange.
- Send us a photo. A picture of the mirror wall with a tape measure across it lets us recommend a length, position and finish in one reply.
Vanity light questions we get asked
Can I use a vanity light over a dressing table or makeup mirror?
Yes, and it is one of the best uses for one. Pick 4000K or a tri-colour bar and, if you can, a CRI 90 fitting for true colour. Outside the bathroom the IP rating does not matter, so IP20 bars like the Tabiano are fine.
Should a vanity light be wider than the mirror?
No. Keep the bar to two-thirds or three-quarters of the mirror's width and never wider than the vanity cabinet. A bar wider than the mirror looks top heavy and lights the wall instead of your face.
How many vanity lights do I need for a double vanity?
One bar of 1,200mm or more, or a 600mm bar over each basin. If you have wall space at both ends, a pair of sconces on the outside edges plus a bar above is the fullest result.
Do vanity lights need to be dimmable?
Not for the mirror, where you want full brightness. Dimming is worth it if the vanity light is also the bathroom's evening light or you like a dim bath. Check the product page says dimmable and use a trailing-edge LED dimmer matched to the fitting.
Can a vanity light be mounted directly onto the mirror?
Some can. Slim mirror lights with a clip or a flat base are designed to sit on the top edge of the glass, and a few orb lights can be fixed through a drilled mirror. Check the installation sheet on the product page, and have your electrician and glazier agree on who drills.
What is the best finish for a bathroom vanity light?
The one that matches your tapware. Chrome is the largest range and the easiest match, black suits a black-framed mirror, and brass or antique gold warms an all-white bathroom.
Ready to choose? Browse the full range of vanity, mirror and bathroom wall lights, filter by width and IP rating, or send us a photo of your mirror wall and we will recommend a fitting.