DIY Vanity Puck Lights

     I wanted to write about vanity lights.

I'm at a time in, ahem, 'life' shall we say, when my eyes don't see as clearly as I want them to, and I need more light to see things these days.

But in applying makeup which I do on occasion, I do need to see.

My habit has been, for too long, to take a small hand held mirror and take one item at a time outside into the sun, apply it then come back in both to cool down and dry off, then for the next item.

 


It has always been inconvenient and uncomfortable to have to do this outdoors for proper light.
I have a beautiful vanity I could not actually use because there was no lighting for it and I didn't "think" to do something about this until recently. It wasn't until I was perusing some internet thing when I came across lighting DIY's for vanity's by some very innovative young ladies!! who I simply adore......and learned that what I was missing, lo and behold, was lighting my own vanity! duh.....and duh again.

I was very intrigued on how to do this in of course the simplest, most effective and least expensive way. I'm very into little work and little money but total impact, tough criteria but it happens and does work for me.

I saw some very creative ways of adding lighting from the simplest being just draping up white string lights to buying some vanity light units and rewiring them for extension cord use, which is very popular for that professional vanity look. I mean some of these ladies are totally serious with their organizing and I sooooo love them for it!

The string lights didnt give me the light of the sun to see what I need to, and the vanity light units and rewiring seemed like too much work, you know......the goldilocks thing, too soft or too hard but there is always a middle. Then I had a eureka moment.

A week before, I had been doing yet more fine tuning in this house, seeing that I'm still here :-/  and I realized the places that annoyed me were the little dark corners like the closet in my bedroom and the single one for this house, the middle closet. I had dark areas also beneath the kitchen sink.

Back in the day we had those lights that you push and were battery operated and needed no wiring and were really useful but didn't really give enough light. I was using those, still......in this day, decades later lolol....... but they do take up too much battery power and I don't like having to constantly replace anything gimmicky like that or that is not green and sustainable.
I looked into easy lighting online and saw they make new puck lights of all types and though they used batteries they used led bulbs which extended the life of them, so they said. I thought to experiment because trying to configure other types of lighting for closet and cabinets got complex so I had to go with the simplest and puck lights it was.
I went to Lowes and found the cheapest ones to experiment with, sensor lights and a 3 pack of puck lights for $10.00 and put them beneath the cabinet and in the hall closet and my bedroom closet. I love the strength of the lights, they are easy to use and put in, literally a minute with those sticker backs and they light up my life in all those little dark corners which are no more! Eureka! Love love love. I only need the light for a few seconds at a time, and so far they have been great.

So when I ran out of ways to find good and easy lighting for my vanity, I opted to try the puck lights there too. I had an extra pack and tested it and the lighting with just 2 lights on either side of the vanity mirror was perfect, however they were facing me and glaring me in the eyeballs, and they were obnoxious, I couldn't tolerate the glare, these were not meant to have in ones face, but to be directed at the thing you need to see, but not looking into the lights. This was not going to work, I needed frosted bulbs.
ok Universe..........!! .......I could not keep doing my makeup the way I had been as in this heat of South Florida humidity, whenever I went out even just for a minute the humidity caused me to perspire so putting on makeup out there and carrying items out there and back was just miserable and I had a perfectly beautiful vanity for this purpose and I wanted to use it! hello!?  I mean watching some of those gorgeous ladies on youtube putting on their makeup is inspirational and their tours of their vanity tables, rooms, etc are amazing.

 Back to the drawing board and I didn't find anything simple and this was now becoming too much work. So I said, I need these lights to be frosted but I cannot find easy lighting with frosted bulbs, what if I can make these frosted? Well as it happens whilst in Lowes earlier I remember as I was walking out of the store turning my head and my eyes landed at eye level on a can of frosted spray paint for glass projects etc, cute, it registered and I continued out the door. I went home and tried to hook up some lights I had gotten but it didn't work and those things needed to be returned and I was getting annoyed......this vanity lights project had to be concluded now.

Finally the idea came to me of that can of frosted spray paint my eyes glanced on by pure chance, and I went back to Lowes, returned a surge protector cord that did not work for a previous set of lighting, and bought that can of frosted paint, went home, took out my 3 puck lights and sprayed them, and in twenty minutes I had perfect lights for my vanity. I put on the sticky back and voila, lights, but nothing glaring at me in the face. I'm loving it.

Previously the puck lights would show 3 strong led points of light that were glaring. Now they are soft, obscured, frosted, bright and perfect.
 

What a joy to be able to sit here in this little corner and put on makeup without walking in and out of the house for light, sweating and waiting to dry before going out again, back and forth.


 





But now I can sit at my vanity and do what I need to in the coolness of home.

About what I have and use:

I will list some of what I can here.
The vanity was from Big Lots, a couple years ago, I haven't seen them lately but they may still have them.....it comes with the bench. I got it in white but chalk painted it in a very soft grey.

The makeup organizer holds everything I use and I just got it 2 weeks ago from Bed Bath and Beyond for $22.00. It has a little drawer, and is just the right size for my vanity. I used to keep everything in the drawer but having to keep opening it for items and then moving in to see in the mirror was not practical, so now I keep what I use on top in the organizer. Stores are now supplying all sizes and shapes of organizers for every need possible in places like Marshals, TJ Maxx, Home Goods, etc., all very inspirational.

The roses and cherry blossom stems are of course fake but always look beautiful, from Michaels.

I use beeswax candles and never anything else anymore as I don't want to inhale plastics which is what tea lights and tapers are made of now unless they specify paraffin a petroleum or soy, and they're full of toxic smells. I love the beeswax and light them when I spend time in this room listening to lectures. 

I buy nesting baskets from IKEA a set of 3 for only $5.00, which are a set of 3 different sizes nested inside, each with lids, and I use one for disposal of tissues etc. I use them for lots of things.

My DIY Niacinamide face cream which I write about here is there and I use it every day, it works for removing brown spots which I've also used on my knees with good results too. I will keep making it.

I keep a pink spray bottle filled half with rose water and half aloe vera juice which I use to spray my face twice a day. In the morning it is what I use to ''wash'' my face after I do a facial massage, then I apply an organic plant based serum and then the Niacinamide cream. If I'm going out, I will apply some makeup, ....... or not, depending. A good day is when I only need liner and gloss.
Also there are bottles of pure essential oils which I use as perfume, like pure Rose Otto and Rose Damascena, and Pure Jasmine, Pure Sandalwood, Vetiver, Lime, Patchouli, Rose Geranium and others, and I will use a varying mix of these oils depending on my sense of smell and needs.

I have a dry brush for the face there, and various makeup brushes for powder depending on how much coverage I need for the day.



My makeup style is and has always been the same, very Bohemian, which means, good clean sun kissed skin, dark lined eyes, and nude lips. So my makeup will be a powder or bronzer, kohl liner, lip gloss and lately I need concealer, but not always. Sometimes, I will wear a highlighter on my highest cheekbone spot, maybe blush. My lip glosses are simple by Gabriel Cosmetics, and I use either the "Champagne" which is a neutral beige or "Ambrosia" which is a natural sheer pink. Sometimes I love wearing a lite metallic nude on my lips, so fun, so exotic, also by Gabriel called "Aurora".
I do not need expensive cosmetics, I do not find them better than cheaper ones. I keep things simple. I experiment with some e.l.f. brand and some Wet and Wild stuff, but for liner I always stick with my Maybelline which I soften lightly with a flame and it stays all day no smudge.....all the accessible brands Bohemian Women like. :D:D:D
Don't forget the unfussy long natural hair, with some interest as in a braid, or waves, a huge French Bun, jewels, feathers, leather ties, or beads.....I do all at varying times....... but always relaxed and free.

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