Mirror Mirror on the Wall, Who’s the Fairest of them All? IKEA probably has the answer. The Motivational Mirror, recently trialed at a London store, gives each person that stands in front of it a compliment. The mirror uses “next generation Kinect motion sensor technology combined with complex coding” to help it decide what to say. It has a male and female voice, and says confidence-boosting phrases such as ‘Wow, have you been working out?’ and ‘That’s a magnificent beard’ (presumably this applies only to men.) And in the Scandinavian home-design version of boorish males at a building site, the mirror will even wolf-whistle at you.
According to IKEA, research suggests 68 percent of people are critical of their appearance when they look in the mirror. Myriam Ruffo of IKEA Uk & Ireland says, “We all know how that first look in the bathroom or bedroom mirror can determine whether we have a good or bad day. That’s why we thought – wouldn’t it be great if the mirror actually told you something positive for a change!” This is all wonderful, of course, except the mirror is not actually for sale at the moment. Still, after hours of hauling yourself around IKEA, looking at the bizarre furniture and trying to pronounce the names, maybe stopping at the mirror and being told you look fabulous is much needed.
