Skinny mirrors are the stuff of legend. When you find one, you never want to let it go. Whether it's your roommate's hall mirror, or the one in the bathroom on the third floor of your office, skinny mirrors make us feel better about the way we look -- even when we know they're lying to us.

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Now there are several companies out there looking to capitalize off of the desire to see something that might not really be there. Belinda Jasmine is the woman behind The Skinny Mirror," a company that creates mirrors that intentionally trick the eye. The secret is the curve of the glass -- glass with a slight convex bend to it makes everything in it appear skinnier.

But how, exactly, does it work on the brain? The mirror's secret is that our happiness is in part tied to our perceived beauty -- if you think you look better, you'll be happier, which in turn will make you look better. It's a cyclical thing. "'Over time, I felt how it affected my self-image. I stood up taller, felt sexier, and wanted to dress cuter. It was important for me to make this available to individuals so that they too might have an improved body-image," Jasmine told the Daily Mail.

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Jasmine's company, along with companies like The Figure Frame, are banking on the idea that women will want slimming mirrors, even if they know it's a lie. But a skinny mirror is a lie that we'd probably all gladly tell ourselves. After all, "you only look as good as you feel," writes Jasmine on the Skinny Mirror website. "If we can give you extra confidence before you take on the world, we've done our job." [Source]