Selfie Ring Lights: Are they worth it + Where to buy

Hi guys, I'm back with another "Are they worth it" post, and this time I'll be talking about an item that's been super hot on Instagram recently: Selfie Ring Lights!

I've always known about ring lights and how YouTubers use them for makeup tutorials:

I've also heard of the famous Kardashian phone case that has a built in light:

In a way, the selfie ring light is kinda of a hybrid of those two. I first saw these ring lights on Miyake's Instagram. I was like OMG what is this new contraption do I need it will it make me look fab?

They're basically portable ring lights that you can either clip onto your phone or even your camera!

The selfie ring light that Miyake was promoting was from an SG shop called Beautylighting.co. Here's the original one that she was holding:

It has 3 brightness levels, requires 2 AAA batteries and can clamp onto objects not thicker than 15mm.

There's an upgraded version that comes in pink and blue as well:

They come in crescents instead of rings and have 5 lighting modes:

1. Skin Smoothing in common use

2. White and Cold Light

3. Natural Lighting 

4. Yellow and Warm Light

5. Rembrandt Light

So many lighting modes 🤔 Anyway this one doesn't run on batteries but can be charged with your phone cable (which is more eco friendly and convenient in my opinion.

I was so intrigued by these lights. First, lighting is a must for selfies and sometimes you just can't help but find yourself in a dark situation *lol*. Second, I thought maybe I can use this as a substitute for a ring light when I film videos!

As you can see, the ring lights on Beautylighting.co are a bit pricey, going at almost S$20 and S$40 respectively.

I did a bit of researching and found cheap alternatives on Lazada:

My budget for this was RM40 and I found this light blue cable charged one that only cost RM35 including shipping:

I ordered it on October 14th and since it was shipping from abroad, it arrived on the 23rd.

It came in a small box that included a short wire, some instructions and the selfie ring light itself.

The one I got has 3 light settings (like Miyake's) and can be turned on/off and adjusted through the button at the back.

It can also clip onto gadgets up to 27mm thick.

Here are a few test shots of me using the light in my room so I can see if it really does help and if it's worth it.

Lil' disclaimer, I photoshop almost all my photos but I didn't photoshop/adjust anything in the photo above (and below). Setting 1 is great because the light hid some of my eye bags and totally brightened up my face. Setting 2 & 3 were super bright and although they look quite similar, you can see that I look a bit fairer in Setting 3.

Sample #2:

The light does make my skin appear smoother and its overall easier to edit because the photos with the light are sharper.

This one below was taken at about arms length at Setting 2 + editing. Although I did have foundation on, it was easier to edit this than the one without the light.



Here's a GIF to show you guys the difference in lighting:

and here's another of me just staring at myself haha:



I added some highlighter on my cheeks + edited this one below (taken at Setting 3). The effect looks so nice homg.

I don't really go to clubs or raves but I think this would be a great tool when taking pictures. Keep in mind that although the lighting in my room was bad, there was still light and I was BLINDED. I can only imagine the shock of turning this on while you're in the dark.

I've also been using this as a light for my mirror. It a good DIY alternative for a makeup vanity mirror and it really helps me see my face better, apply makeup better and see where my stubble/beard/eyebrows are so I can pluck them out.

The ring light eventually dims down as it loses its power, so what I do is I plug it into my powerbank.

Is it worth it?

I love how sharp my images look! If you don't already know, I'm a camwhore, and an edit king on top of that. If you look at my Instagram, I take most of my selfies outdoors where there's lots of light. Light is the number 1 most important thing for me when it comes to editing because bad lighting will totally make a photo grainy and your edit will look unnatural. P.S you'll look damn chio if you use this light when you're wearing makeup! Just blend your foundation well and make sure you don't look like your wearing a mask (like I do below haha)



For RM35 I think its a great toy to play with. It's cheap, does its job and even has a bit of multipurpose functions. I'd definitely recommend any photo-loving teen (or adult) to get one, but don't spend over RM60 on it please. Extra battery life and features like color adjustment are helpful but I don't really think they're necessary.

Also, I don't think they can replace the real big ring lights that YouTubers use. These are way too small and the light (although its super bright) is not bright enough)


Where to buy?

As I mentioned, I bought my light from Lazada! I'm not sure why but whenever I buy products like these they always either only have 1 stock or its sold out, so I can't link you guys to the exact one I bought :(

You can find all the selfie lights on Lazada by clicking here!



And that was it for my review of selfie ring lights. I quite like these "Are They Worth It?" kind of posts, and I know you guys too! (The previous one about Anello bags had quite a lot of visits)

If you guys want me to feature any current trending item, do comment or message me and I'll see if I can get my hands on them.

As always, thanks for reading and see you all in the next post!