Mini Fridge for Bedrooms 4L, Skincare Fridge with Dimmable

I’ve wanted to try one of these little coolers for a while, so was excited to get this.

This particular cooler has been designed to keep make-up cool, and so has a mirror on the front which is actually equipped with a three-stage dimmable rim-light. That’s actually a really nice feature if you’re using it in a bedroom or dressing room, I have to say. You are slightly stymied by the fact that you can’t tilt the mirror up, however.

The big ‘cosmetic cooling’ fad came in because a lot of people were paying a ridiculous amount of money for Creme de la Mer-type creams which, going organic and so limiting their added ingredients, were not particularly to be stored at room temperature–or rather, they could be, but would go off sooner.

Obviously, never store oil-based make-up or creams in a cooler; it changes their chemical makeup irrevocably, and renders them less able to be absorbed by the skin. That means no lipstick in there; it’ll slide over your lips and won’t have any staying power. Eye pencils do well, and keep their tip if they’re cool. Eyeshadow, powders and blushers do better in dry conditions, so better in a drawer than a cooler. And obviously don’t put perfumes in the cooler; they need to be kept at room temperature or compounds will break down – put them in the drawer with your powders. Eye gels (provided they’re not oil based, so no serums) do well if cooled, as do most face creams (non-oil-based). So even if you have a lot of make-up, a small cooler like this may still be plenty big enough, if you do choose to cool things.

I say cooler rather than refrigerator, because of course these small units keep the temperature inside of them 10 to 20 below whatever the temperature outside the unit is. So you’re not going to get ice-cold beers out of this thing or anything like that, if you choose to use it for food. But it will keep it cool.

Also remember that for long-term food storage you need to cool items down to below 5C, which this little fella is unlikely to do. For short-term storage though – a morning or evening, or cooling and storing non-perishable items such as canned drinks, they’re great. I plugged mine in to test it before use when the ambient temperature in the room was 22C, and it dropped to 10C and remained there.

For myself I’ll be storing my new toy under my desk at work, to keep salad or sandwiches (lunch), some dairy-free milk and maybe some chocolate in it, until lunch-time. It’s small and unobtrusive, and economical to run. Perfect!

It also has a heating mode, which will keep food warmer for longer. Plus the manufacturer has very considerately included a cigarette lighter cable, to keep this running in the car. You get a handy plastic shelf to put inside, and a slim rack to fit into the door. Hoping this will prove to be reliably sturdy and serve for at least a year, but if not, I’ll be back to edit this review.

All in all, presently very happy with this.