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Guys – don’t stop reading! Applying makeup is an important step in most women’s daily routine. Trust me, starting the day off on the right foot is important – to both your wife and your woman buyers.

I wear makeup everyday and I have been applying for decades. In high school, I had a desk in my bedroom with a magnifying makeup mirror sitting on top. This allowed me to not only see (lifelong glasses wearer), but also allowed me to exit the bathroom for my brothers to use. It also kept me out of the steam that builds up in a small bath with a weak exhaust fan.

This habit continued through college and my first two homes. But when we had a chance to build a custom home in the early 90s, I had designed a primary bath with his/her sinks and a makeup area in between forty-five degrees to the sinks. While there were ample mirrors in the bath, I still needed a lit magnifying mirror sitting on the vanity. Ah – but in the nineties, such mirrors needed a power cord so we drilled a hole in the quartz countertop so the power cord could reach the outlet below.

Storage vs Knee Space

Not all women need to sit while they apply their makeup. A working mom friend of mine once said she never had time to sit down to put on her makeup as she was always running late for something. She leaned in until she was inches from the mirror and looked almost as contorted as some yoga poses. Her bathroom was small, so she cherished the drawer stack storage between the vanities for the storage instead of the knee space.

Makeup and 55+ Women

Unfortunately, as we age, the eye lens thickens. This thicker lens allows less light to pass through, so women over 55 will appreciate more light in the bathroom. That thicker lens is also less flexible, making it harder to focus on close up things – like applying eye makeup. This means your 55+ buyer will want more light and magnification!

When Guy and I downsized as 55+ buyers, I was acutely aware of my diminishing eyesight. So, my makeup vanity had a window in front of it. I had long ago figured out that a mirror 24” away from my face was worthless for applying anything other than lipstick. Instead, I opted for natural light. By then, the magnifying mirrors had become more sophisticated and were cordless – only occasionally needing to be charged. Brilliant! It was even motion activated so the light came on when I sat in front of it.

Have Your Cake and Eat it Too

In our new townhome, we have a smaller bath, so I wasn’t about to give up the storage in the drawer stack. To accommodate my daily makeup ritual, we added a backlit mirror for extra light. This face-level lighting is more flattering than coming from directly above. We also added the magnifying mirror mounted to the wall. It too is cordless with a battery that has yet to be recharged. Turns out, I got the storage and the magnification I desired without having to sit down.

If you are in the business of selling homes, you know that it can be the little details that win over a homebuyer. Women make up the majority of home buying decisions in the household, so putting extra thought and care into their makeup routine could be one more reason for them to come back!