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Nanoleaf LED face mask review: fantastic value for money, but only by cutting some corners

TechRadar Reviews - Wed, 10/15/2025 - 17:30
Nanoleaf LED face mask: One minute review

Light therapy is all the rage, with claimed benefits to reduce fine lines, acne and even skin conditions like rosacea, and a new brand has entered the fray in famed smart lighting brand, Nanoleaf. The immersive lighting brand’s all-new LED light therapy face mask offers seven light therapy modes (red, green, blue, cyan, yellow, purple and white), offering deeper penetration with near-infrared light (NIR).

There are perhaps quite a few better-suited parties than a smart home brand to wrangle the complex world of beauty, and that might just show in the soft landing of Nanoleaf’s first-ever LED light therapy face mask. Don’t get me wrong; I liked the device, but some refinements to its offering could have nudged it into a slightly higher score.

For instance, it lacks the cool product identity of Shark’s CryoGlow LED face mask, but it also doesn’t quite match up in the specs department. I’ll go more into depth in the performance section of this review, but in short, Nanoleaf’s light technology is just shy of recommended peak performance wavelengths across the board, and features some colored light therapies that haven’t been extensively studied that I wouldn’t want to evaluate without some research to refer to.

(Image credit: Future)

That being said, being a tech-first company does come with certain benefits, and Nanoleaf has clearly given some thought to how we use our devices. Unlike the CryoGlow and several other hard-shelled LED face masks on the market, Nanoleaf opts for a flexible silicone mask with cutouts for the eyes, nose and mouth, making it comfortable to wear and more easily portable.

Plus, you can detach the remote (which doubles as the battery housing), which means you can easily stow the mask in a suitcase when traveling, and it won’t bend or bruise as a result of being squeezed into your hand luggage.

As for the results; they’re not dramatic, but neither are the results I’ve seen from higher-grade LED face masks. If you want a value-focused LED mask, Nanoleaf will deliver, with some added frills you might not want or need. It’s a solid travel-friendly backup to a pricier model, too, if you’re an avid light therapy fan; but if you want to maximize results, you’re best off stretching your budget for a more effective mask.

(Image credit: Future)Nanoleaf LED face mask review: Price and availability
  • Announced and released in early 2025
  • Costs $249 / £129 / AU$249
  • Affordable among LED face masks

The Nanoleaf LED light therapy face mask has a list price of $249.99 / £129.99 AU$249, though it’s worth highlighting that it's often listed at $199.99 in the US (which was its pre-tariff pricing). It can be purchased directly from Nanoleaf as well as third-party retailers such as Amazon.

Out of the box, the Nanoleaf LED light therapy face mask comes with eye socket cushions, the rechargeable controller, the charging cable, and velcro straps.

Nanoleaf is offering a much more affordable mask than much of its competition by cutting some corners when it comes to specs. My recommendations for the product are to use it as an entry point into light therapy, or as a travel-friendly stand-in for a more expensive and fully featured mask; that said, its US price is a little steep.

  • Value score: 4.5/5

(Image credit: Future)Nanoleaf LED face mask review: Design
  • Flexible silicon
  • Detachable remote
  • Face fit will vary

Made from medical-grade silicone, Nanoleaf’s LED light therapy face mask offers a flexible form factor that’s nice and lightweight at just 258g. In use, it’s fairly comfortable; I found the eye holes to be too narrow and the mouth cutout to be too low, but for some, this won’t be an issue. The face fit otherwise is relatively good, though it’s pretty far from my chin.

The mask comes with silicone eye-socket cushions, which make the mask slightly more wearable and help to block out as much light as possible to protect your eyes during use; though some still seeps around. Its adjustable velcro head straps are fairly effective for keeping the mask in place, although if you have particularly silky hair or a lack thereof, it can slide around a little too much for my liking.

Image 1 of 3

(Image credit: Future)Image 2 of 3

(Image credit: Future)Image 3 of 3

(Image credit: Future)

On the underside of the mask are its 108 four-wick LED bulbs (432 LEDs total), which work across the mask's various light therapy programs to deliver results.

As the controller houses a lithium-ion battery, much like those for many light therapy masks, it’s unsuitable to be stowed in hold luggage during flights. This is where Nanoleaf’s understanding of tech-related lifestyle requirements is a benefit – you can unplug the controller to carry it in your hand luggage and stow the mask itself in your hold bag, making this one of the best LED face masks for travel.

  • Design score: 3.5/5

(Image credit: Future)Nanoleaf LED face mask review: How it works

Nanoleaf’s LED light therapy mask has seven preset light therapy routines that address different skincare goals. However, it’s worth highlighting that there are very specific color wavelengths that have been studied and identified as potentially beneficial in skincare, those being blue (415nm), red (633nm), and NIR (830nm). In Nanoleaf’s LED face masks, these three treatments all fall just outside of the recommended range for peak performance. That doesn’t mean they won’t work, but as a budget mask, you shouldn’t expect it to provide quite as good results as a pricier model with better LEDs.

The only other direct color included is green, and the rest are combinations of these primary LEDs. These settings, including green, lack clinical evidence for efficacy and studies into potential risks, so use at your discretion. The mask is FDA-cleared, however, meaning it has been approved as safe for use by US regulators, but not for its efficacy.

Nanoleaf claims the mask offers the following treatments and benefits, each paired with an 850nm wavelength NIR:

Lights, wavelengths and benefits

Red

640nm

Stimulates collagen production and improves circulation to promote skin repair and reduce fine lines and wrinkles.

Green

520nm

Soothes sensitive skin, minimizes redness, and boosts lymphatic flow to reduce swelling.

Blue

460nm

Evens skin tone by reducing pigmentation of scars and age spots.

Yellow

640nm + 525nm


Calms irritation and redness to promote a refreshed, brighter complexion.

Cyan

460nm + 525nm

Kills bacteria and reduces oil production to treat and prevent breakouts.

Purple

640nm + 460nm

Combines red and blue light benefits to promote overall skin healing and reduce general skin imperfections.

White

640nm + 525nm + 460nm

Stimulates cellular activity across multiple layers of the skin to allow deeper penetration of skincare products, maximizing their effectiveness.

Nanoleaf recommends using the mask for 5-10 minutes three to five times per week, depending on your skin’s needs, and says that with consistent use, “a noticeable improvement in skin texture and tone should be visible after 4 to 6 weeks.”

(Image credit: Future)Nanoleaf LED face mask review: Performance
  • Various treatments for different skin needs
  • Battery life sufficient
  • Decent results, but needs consistency

I tried two full cycles of Nanoleaf’s face mask in my testing: the blue and red light treatments, so I had a more solid comparison point against Shark’s Cryoglow. Worth highlighting up front is that these results are never permanent; all light therapy masks require continued regular use to reap the benefits.

Its red light therapy for inflammation reduction seems promising, and if that’s your priority, this more affordable mask might just be the best way to treat fine lines and wrinkles. After a 4-week cycle with four treatments per week, I noticed some small improvements to fine lines and repair to skin damage.

Blue light, for me, didn’t seem to work nearly as well, and I’d say overall there are better masks that offer more immediate results for acne sufferers; for me, I think my skin benefits from having room to breathe during treatment, which this skin-tight model doesn’t afford. After four weeks of use, my acne didn’t show any discernable changes as it had with the Shark Cryoglow, but there are of course ample outside factors that color results here.

As I’m writing this review I’m trying out the Cyan mode, as oily, acne-prone skin remains my biggest skincare challenge, but it’s too early to say if I’m seeing any significant results; however once again I feel the mask’s closeness to my skin might just negate any benefits from the light therapy here, as I’m often more oily after a treatment than before.

Where the Nanoleaf loses the most points is in comfort. It’s made of malleable silicone, which does make it more travel-friendly, but it’s a lot less enjoyable to wear. It gets a little warm under there, and especially given that I did some of my testing through sticky UK summer heat, that has made for some unpleasant me-time. It’s a bit loose around the jaw, too, and the velcro straps do slip around some.

As you can see, the mask sits naturally about 1cm lower on my face than where it should (Image credit: Future)

The eye holes are also too small, meaning the light can leak out a fair amount, which isn’t the best thing for your eyes. Add to that the fact that, for my face at least, the holes don’t quite line up, particularly around my mouth, and this ill-fitting design can lead to further discomfort.

Battery life, at least, is more than sufficient; it lasts around three hours (enough for around 15 10-minute treatments) on a full charge, and recharges in just over an hour.

Despite some moderate results from treatment and mild discomfort, Nanoleaf’s mask is, at its price point, a solid performer and a great choice for those first-time light therapy users.

  • Performance score: 4/5
Nanoleaf LED face mask review: scorecard

Category

Comment

Score

Value

A fairly affordable mask for its relatively good specs.

4.5/5

Design

Not the most comfortable, but travels well.

3.5/5

Performance

Noticeable results, but not peak effectiveness

4/5

Nanoleaf LED face mask: Should I buy it?Buy it if...

You’re looking for a travel-friendly mask

With its detachable battery and controller unit, Nanoleaf’s LED face mask is much easier to travel with than some alternatives.

You’re on a budget

Nanoleaf’s LED face mask is a great budget option, especially if you can find it on sale.

Don't buy it if...

You want peak power and performance

With some of the light therapies falling outside of recommended wavelengths, you’re not getting peak performance from this mask, though it’s by no means bad.

You want a relaxing spa companion

Sure, beauty is pain, but I’m not sure self-care needs to be uncomfortable, and this mask can run pretty hot, and may not fit your face comfortably.

(Image credit: Future)How I tested

I tried two full treatment cycles using Nanoleaf’s LED face mask with the scientifically backed Red and Blue light therapies in order to assess how well it performed over time.

Through my daily use, I was able to consider the comfort, design features and benefits for the device, but I also compared it against my experience with the Shark CryoGlow.

I’ve been testing beauty products for four years, informing myself on the latest trends and research in order to provide reliable, relatable recommendations based on my in-person experience.

First reviewed October 2025

Categories: Reviews

Nanoleaf LED face mask review: fantastic value for money, but only by cutting some corners

TechRadar News - Wed, 10/15/2025 - 17:30
Nanoleaf’s first foray into the world of beauty has produced an affordable, versatile and easy-to-use LED face mask, but it's not without its flaws.
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TechRadar Reviews - Wed, 10/15/2025 - 16:00
Epson Lifestudio Flex Plus: One minute review

The Epson Lifestudio Flex Plus follows up on last year's Epson EpiqVision Mini EF22 portable projector, but this time, Epson is leaning far more into the lifestyle aspect of the design with a more extensive fabric wrap, colorful LED underlighting, and a funky monopod stand.

Under the hood, the Epson Lifestudio Flex Plus offers a sizable upgrade over the EF22 thanks to the 4K projection system, but otherwise still uses the same 3LCD tech and has the same 1,000 ISO lumens brightness spec.

It’s nice to see the 4K resolution since larger images really benefit from it. But picture quality with the Lifestudio Flex Plus otherwise isn’t terribly impressive, with weak contrast, minor ghosting and motion hiccups, and a brightness level that really requires a dark room.

As for the rest of the package, having only one HDMI port is a limiting factor and the built-in Sound by Bose speakers provide just average sound quality. And even though the stand allows for flexible aim, it doesn’t offer anything that other examples of the best projectors with built-in stands don’t.

While the $999 price tag puts the Epson Lifestudio Flex Plus on the affordable side for a 4K projector, it still has to square off against the oft-discounted price of the brighter, more colorful JMGO N1S Pro 4K and the slightly brighter, slightly more expensive, but more versatile Hisense M2 Pro.

Epson Lifestudio Flex Plus review: Price & release date

The Lifestudio Flex Plus has built-in lighting that can change colors and lets it do double-duty as a mood lamp (Image credit: Future)
  • Release date: September 2025
  • MSRP: $999.99 / £1,149.99 / around AU$1,536

The Epson Lifestudio Flex Plus has just launched, and it lands with a retail price of $999.99. Given its newness, it’s unlikely to see any considerable discounts in the near term. This puts it in a tough spot as it has to face off against pricier rivals like the JMGO N1S Pro 4K, which has a retail price of $1,999 but has seen discounts as low as $1,099 since its launch.

Epson Lifestudio Flex Plus review: Specs

Screen sizes supported:

30-150 inches

Brightness (specified):

1.000 Lumens

HDR support:

HDR10, HLG

Display technology:

RGB LED, 3LCD

Smart TV:

Google TV

Connections:

1x HDMI (with eARC), 3.5mm audio out, USB-A, USB-C (supports 100/140W PD input)

Dimensions (H x W x D):

7.5 x 7.5 x 9.7 inches (190 x 190 x 246mm)

Weight:

8.8 pounds (4kg)

Epson Lifestudio Flex Plus review: Design & features

Ports include HDMI with eARC and USB-C for powering the projector with a portable battery pack (Image credit: Future)
  • All-in-one system
  • Integrated stand with a unique lamp feature
  • Quick, automatic adjustments

Epson has attempted to make the Lifestudio Flex Plus a bit more than a simple piece of tech. While the main portion of the projector is a little box that’s pretty typical of lifestyle projectors, it sits on a unique pole stand that allows for flexible aim and raises it to showcase the bottom-mounted LED lamp.

With taps on the top of the projector, the lamp switches its lighting scheme, offering some fun and colorful light shows or settling into a basic white. It’s a kind of fun gimmick, though with ambient light being the enemy of dimmer projectors, it’s also an odd choice. Even more odd, there’s no controlling the LED lamp with the remote, so you’ll have to touch the projector if you want to turn it off while watching.

The projector has a stylish design with a fabric wrap on its lower half and a wood-grain top, leaning more into accent furniture than a typical piece of tech. Still, it looks a little awkward standing on its monopod leg.

The stand is functional with a sturdy base, easy rotation, and a 105-degree vertical tilt. This lets you aim the projector straight up to project on ceilings (though it requires moving a small plastic panel on the rear that doesn’t serve much purpose other than aesthetics). The stand can also tilt down slightly if you need to project from a high-up place.

While it’s nice to have an integrated stand, this one doesn’t prove as helpful as some of the others I’ve seen lately. The Hisense M2 Pro’s stand, for instance, provides similar vertical shifting but also allows the projector to flip upside-down, which is even more convenient for projecting from high places than having the ability to tilt down, as it can avoid keystone adjustment.

The Epson Lifestudio Flex Plus can make it easy to get up and running. It has automatic focus, keystone adjustment, and obstacle avoidance. This squares the image with the wall and crops it into the available space on your wall or screen. Cropping the image this way isn’t entirely ideal, as it sacrifices resolution and overall brightness in the process, but it’s quick and convenient if you move the projector around often.

Though the Lifestudio Flex Plus doesn’t have an internal battery, it does encourage portability with its small size and ability to run off a USB-C charger battery pack with 100-140W of USB PD output.

The projector features an eye-protection feature to avoid harming anyone’s eyes, pets included, if they walk in front of the projector’s path. While many projectors have similar features, on the Epson Lifestudio Flex Plus, they are quick to activate and conveniently pause video playback so you don’t miss a beat.

The Lifestudio Flex Plus integrates Google TV for easy streaming, and with Wi-Fi 6, it can get a consistent, high-speed connection. Google TV was generally responsive during my testing, though it had the occasional hitch when loading up video. The system includes its own stereo speakers as well for a complete all-in-one package.

If you don’t want to rely on the Lifestudio Flex Plus’s built-in streaming and speakers, the projector’s single HDMI port supports HDMI eARC to send out audio. There’s a 3.5mm audio port on the back as well, and a USB-A port to play back local media. If you plan to connect a game console to the projector, ALLM is supported, which automatically switches the projector to a low-latency Game picture mode.

The Lifestudio Flex Plus comes with a basic remote. It has the standard Google TV control wheel, which makes navigation pretty simple. Brightness and volume controls are on their own pill-shaped buttons that make them easier to locate. There are also a few app shortcut buttons and an input-selection shortcut, though that might as well just be a shortcut to HDMI. The remote doesn’t include any backlighting, which makes it harder to use in a dark home theater environment.

  • Design & features score: 4/5
Epson Lifestudio Flex Plus review: Picture quality
  • 4K resolution
  • Limited brightness, color gamut, and contrast
  • Some motion handling issues
Image 1 of 2

The projector's color balance is natural, but blacks can look elevated in dark movie scenes (Image credit: Future)Image 2 of 2

(Image credit: Future)

The Epson Lifestudio Flex Plus is a fine projector, but it doesn’t offer a remarkable home theater experience. With a brightness level that hits just 1,000 lumens, it’s simply not up to the task of delivering a dazzling picture, and it especially struggles with ambient light. To make the most of the Epson Lifestudio Flex Plus, you’ll need to turn out the lights and get blackout curtains or use it at night.

Even in the right conditions, picture quality with the Epson Lifestudio Flex Plus is still just average, though its 4K picture has impressive detail. Color looks fairly natural, though the projector’s color gamut isn’t as wide as with some triple-laser models I’ve tested in recent years. The plus side is that, with Epson’s 3LCD tech, there are none of the rainbow artifacts you’ll find with DLP projectors.

Blacks on the Epson Lifestudio Flex Plus are rather elevated. When watching relatively dark movie scenes, it fails to reach very dark levels, even with active contrast enabled. This harms the overall experience as dark scenes simply lack richness, and letterboxing is all too visible.

The projector also suffers a bit from ghosting. This doesn’t rear its head much in brighter scenes, but it shows up in darker ones. Watching Warfare, it cropped up big time after the IED explosion during the team’s first evac attempt, with the soldiers moving through the explosion of dirt and sand, followed by ghosting trails that made the scene a blur.

The projector's Google TV smart TV interface (Image credit: Future)

Motion interpolation is enabled by default on the Lifestudio Flex Plus. This can be useful in some limited contexts, such as panning shots, but it makes for unnatural motion from people and inaccurate smoothing in animation. Though it’s generally better with the feature disabled, the projector can stutter from time to time during panning shots, even with just light motion.

The mixed projection experience is matched by the middling Sound by Bose speakers. They can put out enough volume to get by in a 150-square-foot room without distortion. But, they suffer from the typical TVwq speaker issue: if the volume gets loud enough to hear the dialogue, the action and music are too loud. Conversely, if the action and music are at the right volume, the dialogue becomes too quiet to hear clearly.

  • Picture quality score: 3/5
Epson Lifestudio Flex Plus review: Value

Epson's remote control is serviceable but lacks backlighting (Image credit: Future)
  • High price tag
  • Price is still competitive for category
  • Performance equivalent to competition

The Epson Lifestudio Flex Plus puts everything you need for a modest home theater into a single, $1,000 package. Its performance is generally good, and while that would have gone a long way a couple of years ago, the portable projector space has gotten incredibly competitive since then.

Rivals from JMGO, Xgimi, Hisense, and Dangbei provide a ton of new options, while older projectors have had discounts. Some of these offer similar features and higher brightness without costing much more, and that reality hurts the Epson Lifestudio Flex Plus’s value.

  • Value score: 3/5
Should I buy the Epson Lifestudio Flex Plus?

The monopod stand provides upward and downward tilt motion (Image credit: Future)Epson Lifestudio Flex Plus

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Design and features

Fun design with a useful stand that makes it easy to aim at a wall or ceiling. It’s an all-in-one device as well, giving you speakers and a streaming platform. While it has its own DC power adapter, it can also run on USB-C power

4/5

Picture and sound quality

Natural-looking color and a 4K resolution. But the brightness and color gamut are underwhelming, an an elevated black level limits contrast. Sound quality too is just average

3/5

Value

While it’s nice to get an all-in-one package, the picture and sound quality isn’t impressive compared to some recent competitors that fall in the $1,000-$1500 price range

3/5

Buy it if...

You struggle with rainbow artifacts
If you look at projectors and see a frequent blend of rainbow colors, you’re experiencing a common issue with DLP projection technologies. Epson’s 3LCD tech avoids this issue entirely. View Deal

You like the style
The Epson Lifestudio Flex Plus puts its best foot forward with a kind of fun and funky look. It’s part projector, part party lamp. View Deal

You want a projector that can run off USB-C power
While USB-C ports are becoming widespread, very few projectors have used it. The Epson Lifestudio Flex Plus is one of the few to let you power it from USB-C, giving you a convenient option for pairing it with a portable battery pack, even if most won’t be able to run it for very long.View Deal

Don't buy it if...

You don’t have a dark viewing space
Limited brightness holds the Epson Lifestudio Flex Plus back. If you want a good viewing experience, you’ll need a very dark space, and even then the contrast on this model is weak. View Deal

You want vivid colors
Color on this projector looks natural, but triple laser projectors have a big edge when it comes to color gamut coverage, which especially benefits 4K HDR content. You can find similar models with triple laser tech at competitive prices. View Deal

Your projector placement is strict
This projector’s automatic software adjustments are useful for frequent repositioning, but it doesn’t have optical zoom or lens shift, so you’ll sacrifice resolution and brightness if you can’t set the projector in the ideal spot and have to instead rely on its software correction. View Deal

Also considerComparison: projectors

Epson LifeStudio Flex Plus

Epson EpiqVision Mini EF22

Anker Nebula Mars 3

JMGO N1S Pro 4K

Price:

$999

$999

$1,049

$1,099

Screen sizes supported:

90 to 130 inches

30 to 100 inches

30 to 200 inches

85 to 180 inches

Brightness (specified):

1,000 ISO lumens

1,000 ISO lumens

1,000 lumens

2,400 ANSI lumens

HDR support

HDR10, HLG

HDR10, HLG

Dolby Vision, HDR10, HLG

HDR10, HLG

Optical technology:

3LCD, LED

3LCD, LED

LED DLP

RGB laser DLP

Smart TV:

Google TV

Google TV

Android TV

Google TV

Connections:

1x HDMI (with ARC), 1x 3.5mm

1x HDMI (with ARC), 1x 3.5mm

1x HDMI, 1x 3.5mm

HDMI x2 (1 w/ eARC), USB-A (powered), 3.5mm

JMGO N1S Pro 4K

With its far brighter and more colorful picture, the JGMO N1S Pro 4K is a serious threat to the Epson Lifestudio Flex Plus. It may have a list price double that of the Epson, but recent discounts bring it to a much more competitive $1,099.

Read our JMGO N1S Pro 4K reviewView Deal

Epson EpiqVision Mini EF22

A predecessor to the Epson Lifestudio Flex Plus, the EF22 is still flexible, equally as bright, and has mostly similar picture quality. It may not offer 4K resolution, but as an older model, it should be easy to find at a discount.

Read our Epson EpiqVision Mini EF22View Deal

Anker Nebula Mars 3

If the USB-C capabilities of the Epson Lifestudio Flex Plus catch your attention, then the Anker Nebula Mars 3 may be even further up your alley. Instead of convenient charging for on-the-go use, it has its own built-in battery. For home theater use, it falls a bit behind, though, with just 1080p resolution and a mono speaker.

Read our Anker Nebula Mars 3 reviewView Deal

How I tested the Epson Lifestudio Flex Plus

(Image credit: Future)
  • Tested at home in multiple, real-world viewing conditions
  • Presented the display with a variety of media and formats
  • I have tested numerous projectors and displays over the last half-decade

I tested the Epson Lifestudio Flex Plus at home, in real-world conditions. This saw it faced with ambient light coming in from numerous windows, in-room lighting, as well as ambient noise that both the projector and speaker systems had to overcome. The projector was tested both with a bare, white wall and an Akia Screens CineWhite screen. It was presented with streamed content, both HDR and non-HDR.

My testing evaluates the projector’s performance with respect to its price and competition from other models I and colleagues at TechRadar have tested.

I have been testing projectors since 2021 and displays for even longer.

Categories: Reviews

I tested Epson’s top portable projector, and it’s got a fun design but average performance

TechRadar News - Wed, 10/15/2025 - 16:00
The Epson Lifestudio Flex Plus has a fun, all-in-one design and 4K resolution, but better options are available for nearly the same price.
Categories: Technology

I asked Channing Tatum what to stream after new movie Roofman, and his unexpected pick makes perfect sense

TechRadar News - Wed, 10/15/2025 - 16:00
Not finished riding the Roofman high? I got star Channing Tatum to choose what you should watch next.
Categories: Technology

And the winning Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2025 image was taken with... an eleven year old Nikon DSLR

TechRadar News - Wed, 10/15/2025 - 15:48
The winners of the Wildlife Photographer of The Year competition 2025 have been unveiled, and once again, it’s a set of incredible images. And despite leading brands investing in mirrorless cameras, DSLRs remain a popular choice among the contest's entrants.
Categories: Technology

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