Looking completely different depending on the mirror?

[MiddayMadDog]

Does anyone else have this? I'm late 40's. And depending on the mirror I can look pretty good for my age or utterly awful. It means I have no idea how other people see me. Do they see me as a woman ageing gracefully or a complete Chrone?
Which mirror to I believe? The one mirror in one room in my house in which I look pretty great? Or everyone other mirror in the world in which I look like a worn out, melting face hag? Which is right?!

But seriously, do other people have this? I mentioned this to a male friend and he just looked at me really oddly. I thought he would say, 'yes! I have this too!'

I get this. My bathroom mirror makes my skin look amazing. I have even considered setting up my laptop in their for zoom calls. We don't have particularly fancy lights either but they just seem to hit right.

Lighting.

The lighting in my house is fairly soft. Various sources from different directions, bulbs, natural light. The lighting in shops tend to be harsh overhead lights which highlight any rents in my complexion, deepen every wrinkle, and make every white hair fluoresce.

I have this. The full length mirror in my bedroom I look great in if I stand close to it. Look slim and toned. I I stand the other side of the room I look fat and lumpy in it. I assume it’s the lighting? The mirror in my sons room makes me look super slim so that one is my favourite! The worst mirrors in the world are in Next changing rooms, I always look enormous

Rents? My complexion does not collect rent what it does have is plenty of redness.

So which do I look like to other people?! It bugs me that I don't know what I look like to other people!

I have this too!! I hate my bathroom mirror as harsh sunshine comes in from a big window to my left side and makes me look shocking! I love my kitchen mirror - I look like a goddess . If I looked like an inbetween version of both mirrors to other people, I would be happy.

Downstairs loo mirror is my best friend, I'm a total babe. Then I catch sight of myself in car rear-view mirror and I'm like WTF?!

I look like death warmed up in the mirror in the loo at work. My magnifying mirror always horrifies me! I look half-acceptable in my living room mirror.

@EdgeOfFortyNine

Downstairs loo mirror is my best friend, I'm a total babe. Then I catch sight of myself in car rear-view mirror and I'm like WTF?!

That's me in every mirror but my favourite one - WTAF!

Getting my hair cut in a couple of weeks and dreading being sat in front the mirror!

Crushing isn't it when you see yourself in one and are pleased and then see the real deal.

On analysis I've reluctantly accepted that all the mirrors I look good in are in quite generous light or not in direct light, and are slightly slanted which makes me look taller/slimmer. Or they're dirty which gives a blurring effect

Whilst I do think what I 'actually' look like is the less flattering and clearer option that shows more detail and highlights any imperfection on the skin, I do comfort myself with the fact that other people are hardly likely to be often looking closely at my face in direct light so all being said probably see somewhere inbetween, or don't notice much either way other than a general impression.

Worse mirrors are in changing rooms like M&S. if it’s not the mirrors I will feel like shooting myself.

Different mirrors, even different apps on my own bloody phone! I can change from pretty to troll in seconds depending upon the angle! 😩

So glad it's not just me! If I apply makeup in my bedroom, it looks perfect. If I go in to the bathroom, it looks a horrible, cakey mess

Definitely not just you OP. My DDs mirror which is in a very sunny spot shows up every wrinkle and imperfection. I look hideous in it.

The mirror on my landing is quite narrow so I stand a bit further back from it, and then the frame is only just outside my body which I think makes me look slimmer than I am.

The bedroom mirror I think is more honest.

My favourite is my reflection as I approach my full length black fridge for fattening snacks as it's slightly convex so makes me look super slim!

The weirdest thing I found was the bathroom mirror in one of the previous motorhomes we had. It was arranged on the wall somehow in such a way that it showed you as you really are, the right way round instead of a mirror image. Made putting on mascara etc very interesting
plus it was really odd seeing yourself as others see you.

I realised (after 5 years) my landing mirror is on a slight slant. I look slimmer and taller. I took a photo of me in it and put in FB loads of people commented how good I looked and I realised. Shit! I now use my daughters full length mirror and the reality is harsh 😬

I also found I looked a lot worse than I realised when I got glasses with a new upgraded prescription - devastating

Sadly I have concluded that the bad reflections must be the accurate ones.
I can see how the right lighting can blur the problem areas and make me look better. But not how the wrong lighting can create wrinkles that don't exist, and jowls that aren't really there.