The best bathroom vanity lighting

Vanity bars are sold by length and finish. The number that decides whether one works is neither, and published buyer guidance gives it plainly: roughly 700 to 800 lumens per foot of mirror width.

That converts a shopping decision into arithmetic. Measure the mirror, multiply, and you know what the fitting has to deliver before you look at a single photograph.

KGC milky glass G25 - the pick. CRI 90+ at 2700K behind milky glass, dimmable. It gets both of this page's priorities right at once: the color rendering is genuinely good and the diffusion means the bar does not dazzle you at 7am.
Cons: no lumen figure published, only a 40W equivalence; frosting costs a little output; and 40W equivalent is modest per bulb, so count carefully against the arithmetic above.

Sunco clear filament G25 - when the bar is decorative. 500 published lumens at 2700K with CRI 90, UL listed. In a bar mounted above the mirror aiming upward, or a fitting where the bulbs are meant to be seen, this is the better-looking choice with no functional penalty.
Cons: pointed at your face it glares, which is most vanity bars; and no enclosed-fixture rating is stated.

Philips Ultra Definition A19 - if the bar takes standard bulbs. Plenty of vanity fittings use an ordinary A19 rather than a globe. At 800 lumens, 2700K and CRI 95 this is the strongest color rendering on the site and the right answer wherever the shape allows it.
Cons: an A19 in a fitting designed to show globes looks wrong, and it carries no enclosed rating.

Feit R20 - for sealed vanity domes. Some bathroom fittings are closed domes rather than open bars, which is a heat problem rather than a style one. The R20 is damp rated at 450 lumens and CRI 90+, and fits small recessed fittings a BR30 will not.
Cons: 450 lm is low, so a dome needs several or a bigger fitting.

One thing about vanity lighting is worth more than everything above: light from the sides beats light from overhead.

A bar mounted above a mirror throws light down onto your forehead, nose and brow, and leaves your eye sockets, chin and neck in shadow. Sconces at either side of the mirror, at roughly eye level, light your face evenly from both directions and cancel each other's shadows. It is the same two-source principle that makes dual-head task lamps work for close work.

Most bathrooms have the overhead bar because that is where the builder put the junction box, and moving it is electrical work. What you can do without touching the wiring is add light at the sides - the plug-in sconce route is in plug-in wall sconces.

Whatever the position, mind the two ratings. A bathroom is a damp location, and a sealed vanity dome is also an enclosed fixture - different specifications, both frequently needed. They are covered in wet rated vs damp rated and best LED bulbs for enclosed fixtures.