The mirror is the muse of many, be it authors, poets, artists, or musicians.

Today, we have brought you a collection of mirror quotes from insightful minds to change the way you see its reflective surface. 

What do you see when you look in the mirror?

The mirror has an early history, dating back to 6000 BC in Anatolia, otherwise known as modern-day Turkey.

Mirrors have been constructed from many different materials including stone, copper, and bronze.

Metal-coated glass mirrors, which are most commonly used today, were first produced in the first-century A.D in Sidon, modern-day Lebanon.

Since its initial production thousands of years ago, many have been inspired by mirrors, whether conceptually or literally. 

Below is our collection of mirror quotes to highlight the many ways that the great minds around us view mirrors. 

You might also like these self worth quotes and sayings to boost your confidence.

Mirror quotes about perception

1. “My job has always been to hold a mirror up to nature.” – Tom Hanks

2. “Let us be grateful to the mirror for revealing to us our appearance only.” – Samuel Butler

3. “I think it’s important to hold a mirror up to society and yourself.” – Ricky Gervais

4. “If art reflects life, it does so with special mirrors.” – Bertolt Brecht

5. “Look in a mirror and one thing’s sure; what we see is not who we are.” – Richard Bach

6. “Every man carries with him through life a mirror, as unique and impossible to get rid of as his shadow.” – W.H. Auden

7. “We look into mirrors but we only see the effects of our times on us – not our effects on others.” – Pearl Bailey

8. “Who sees the human face correctly: the photographer, the mirror, or the painter?” – Pablo Picasso

9. “The world is a great mirror. It reflects back to you what you are.” – Thomas Dreier

Mirror quotes that will change the way you think

10. “A man’s manners are a mirror in which he shows his portrait.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

11. “Our environment, the world in which we live and work, is a mirror of our attitudes and expectations.” – Earl Nightingale

12. “I know that mirrors give us a false sense of confidence. I continued. The reflection that we see every day has nothing to do with how others see us. The glass lies.” – Rasmenia Massoud

13. “I’m a mirror. If you’re cool with me, I’m cool with you, and the exchange starts. What you see is what you reflect. If you don’t like what you see, then you’ve done something.” – Jay-Z

14. “I learned, when I look in the mirror and tell my story, that I should be myself and not peep whatever everybody is doing.” – Kendrick Lamar

15. “I used to live in a room full of mirrors; all I could see was me. I take my spirit and I crash my mirrors, now the whole world is here for me to see.” – Jimi Hendrix

16. “We only see what we want to see; we only hear what we want to hear. Our belief system is just like a mirror that only shows us what we believe.” – Don Miguel Ruiz

17. “The mirror can lie. Doesn’t show you what’s inside. And it, it can tell you you’re full of life. It’s amazing what you can hide just by putting on a smile.” – Demi Lovato

You might also like these perception quotes about truth and reality.

Mirror quotes about self-love

18. “Never look down on yourself when the whole world turn against you, just look in the mirror then you’ll find out that you’re not alone. That person you see in the mirror is your reflection, it shows that even if everybody ignore you it will always stick around with you.” – Usman Ismaheel

19. “Smile in the mirror. Do that every morning and you’ll start to see a big difference in your life.” – Yoko Ono

20. “I had to fight, a lot of years, to be really proud of the person I see in the mirror and really love this person.” – Jonathan Van Ness

21. “Stop saying these negative things about yourself. Look in the mirror and find something about yourself that’s positive and celebrate that!” – Tyra Banks

22. “I used to look in the mirror and feel shame, I look in the mirror now and I absolutely love myself.” – Drew Barrymore

23. “It’s really important to talk to yourself and look at yourself in the mirror and love who you are.” – Lilly Singh

24. “You decide how to show up, and you’d better come correct: the way you look, what you say, how you act and react. No excuses! Get in front of the mirror and own what you see. You may have to drag your fabulousness out of hiding, but it’s there.” – Alyssa Edwards

25. “When I was around 18, I looked in the mirror and said, ‘You’re either going to love yourself or hate yourself.’ And I decided to love myself. That changed a lot of things.” – Queen Latifah

26. “There’s nothing more, nothing better in life to wake up in the morning, look at yourself in the mirror, and feel comfortable with yourself and who you are.” – Caitlyn Jenner

27. “Do you want to meet the love of your life? Look in the mirror.” – Byron Katie

28. “Nobody needs to prove to anybody what they’re worthy of, just the person that they look at in the mirror. That’s the only person you need to answer to.” – Picabo Street

Mirror quotes about life

29. “Mirror should think longer before they reflect.” – Jean Cocteau

30. “Mirrors don’t lie. They only show a part of truth. A broken mirror can enlarge a face up to a dimension of a small planet. A problem of reflection? A point of view.” – Lara Biyuts

31. “Everybody else needs mirrors to remind themselves who they are. You’re no different.” – Jonathan Nolan

32. “Whatever may be their use in civilized societies, mirrors are essential to all violent and heroic action.” – Virginia Woolf (see more quotes from Virginia Woolf)

33. “Mirrors are ice which do not melt: what melts are those who admire themselves in them.” – Paul Morand

34. “The mirror is a powerful tool because it forces you to deal with yourself on a deeper level.” – Mickalene Thomas

35. “The mirror is my best friend, because when I cry it never laughs.” – Charlie Chaplin (see more Charlie Chaplin quotes)

36. “No matter what’s behind us in the rearview mirror, it’s always about what’s next.” – Dabo Swinney

37. “Life is a mirror and will reflect back to the thinker what he thinks into it.” – Ernest Holmes

38. “The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows.” – Sydney J. Harris

39. “The face is the mirror of the mind, and eyes without speaking confess the secrets of the heart.” – St. Jerome

40. “A true soul mate is a mirror, the person who shows you everything that is holding you back, the person who brings you to your own attention so you can change your life.” – Elizabeth Gilbert

41. “Everything in your life, every experience, every relationship is a mirror of the mental pattern that is going on inside of you.” – Louise Hay

42. “I love mirrors. They let one pass through the surface of things.” – Claude Chabrol

43. “The best mirror is an old friend.” – George Herbert

Also check out these motivational RuPaul quotes that will help boost your self confidence.

Inspirational mirror quotes

44. “There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.” – Edith Wharton

45. “Beauty is eternity gazing at itself in a mirror.” – Khalil Gibran

46.“When I look at myself in the mirror, I don’t see the bad guy.” ― Patrick Heusinger

47. “Don’t stare into a mirror when you are trying to solve a problem.” – Mason Cooley

48. “Hold up a mirror and ask yourself what you are capable of doing, and what you really care about. Then take the initiative – don’t wait for someone else to ask you to act.” – Sylvia Earle

49. “Go look in the mirror and have a talk with your real boss.” ― Bryant McGill

50. “To live in prison is to live without mirrors. To live without mirrors is to live without the self.” – Margaret Atwood (see more Margaret Atwood quotes)

More mirror quotes and sayings

51. “Never pass a mirror without looking at it.” ― Cheryl Blossom, Riverdale

52. “The world is the mirror of myself dying.” – Henry Miller

53. “All sorts of things in this world behave like mirrors.” – Acques Lacan

54. “The world is a mirror representing the divine life.” – William A. Dembski

55. “Everyone is a mirror image of yourself-your own thinking coming back to you.” – Byron Katie

56. “We drive into the future using only our rearview mirror.” – Marshall McLuhan

57. “Good actors I’ve worked with all started out making faces in a mirror, and you keep making faces all your life.” – Bette Davis

58. “It’s like your my mirror, my mirror staring back at me.” – Justin Timberlake, “Mirrors”

59. “I find it painful and angering to look in a mirror.” – Jack Abbott

60. “Family faces are magic mirrors. Looking at people who belong to us, we see the past, present and future.” – Gail Buckley

Mirror quotes to reflect on

61. “The mirror is the worst judge of true beauty”  – Sophia Nam 

62. “What does a mirror look at?”  – Frank Herbert

63. “A beautiful woman should break her mirror early.”  – Balthasar Gracian

64. “Mirrors show us what we look like, not who we are.” – Unknown

65. “Look in the mirror, and laugh at yourself.” ― Bernie Glassman

66. “Only see the truth when I’m staring in the mirror.” – Drake, “Used To”

67. “If you’re searching for the one person who can change your life, take a look in the mirror.” – Unknown

68. “Before you criticize, look at the mirror first!” ― Prathit Mahapatra

69. “The only two words you should ever say to a mirror are ‘Hello, Beautiful.’” ― Richelle E. Goodrich

70. “The person in the mirror is your only competition.” – Unknown

Thought-provoking mirror quotes

71. “And if you can’t see anything beautiful about yourself, get a better mirror.” – Shane L. Koyczan

72. “Mirror becomes a razor when it’s broken.” – Yoko Ono

73. “Looking at yourself in a mirror isn’t exactly a study of life.” – Lauren Bacall

74. “You can’t see the world through a mirror.” – Avril Lavinge

75. “Nobody really knows what they look like. The mirror shows you only what you want to see.” – Terry Wogan

76. “Broken bones can heal, but a broken mirror must be replaced.” – Luke Taylor

77. “I leaned over the sink, closer to my reflection, and stare at myself hard. I don’t know what I see. I don’t even know what I want to see.” – Nina LaCour

78. “I don’t care what people think about me. When I look in the mirror, I wanna like what I see.” – Kat Von D

79. “Film is a mirror. I want to see more filmmakers. We all want to see ourselves.” – Ava DuVernay

80. “When I look in the mirror, I also see a mother and a wife and someone I am proud to be. I see an advocate. I see a survivor.” – Elizabeth Smart

Mirror Quotes To Clear Your Mind

81. “I stare at the mirror as I try to remember who I am and who I am not.” — Suzanne Collins

82. “The pure heart is a spotless mirror in which images of infinite beauty are reflected.” — Rumi

83. “Maturity is when all of your mirrors turn into windows.” — Henry David Thoreau

84. “Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and remove one accessory.” — Coco Chanel

85. “Life is for each man a solitary cell whose walls are mirrors.” — Eugene O’Neill

86. “A game is like a mirror that allows you to look at yourself.” — Robert Kiyosaki

87. “Shadows cannot see themselves in the mirror of the sun.” — Evita Peron

88. “Books are mirrors: you only see in them what you already have inside you.” — Carlos Ruiz Zafon

89. “It’s the spectator and not life, that art really mirrors.” — Oscar Wilde

90. “Water is the mirror of nature.” — Francis of Assisi

When’s the last time you looked in the mirror?

Depending on where you are in the journey of self-acceptance, looking in the mirror could unearth feelings of anxiety and sadness.

To combat those negative feelings, recognize those negative thoughts and take them as just that, thoughts.

They aren’t real and they don’t describe the reality of how amazing of a person you are.

Being kind to yourself starts with self-talk.

Treat yourself the same way you would treat a close friend or a family member.

If you feel a negative comment floating around in your head, attack it with a positive one.

Sometimes, the first step of making a positive change is saying it out loud. 

Did we forget a mirror quote or saying that you love?

Let us know in the comments section below.