Let's Bring Back the Compact Mirror (2025)

Let’s face it: It’s going to be a mask on/mask off kind of summer. Even post-vaccination, there will be situations when your mouth and nose will need to be covered, especially when indoors (though you will be removing your PPE to drink rosé, to dine, and smile—finally, visible smiles!—at the re-awakening world). Such a perpetual mask striptease, however, does invite the hazard of smudge. Not to mention the mask indents, red marks, and maskne that you might want to touch up in order to prepare your face, to borrow from T.S. Eliot, for the faces that you meet.

May we suggest a solution? The return of the compact mirror. The little portable looking glass, easily stashed away in a purse, has become something of a throwback—especially in this era when we can simply check our reflections in our phone screens. But isn’t a small, slim, circular compact so much more elegant? It turns a makeup touch-up into a sophisticated gesture; to hold a compact and peer into it feels worldly, grown-up, chic. Think Holly Golightly in the back of a cab, touching up her lipstick; even Fran Drescher’s Nanny, again a relevant style icon, brought panache to the post-prandial tooth check in her frequently whipped-out mini-mirror.

Interestingly, mirrored compacts first came into fashion in the Roaring 20s, when applying lipstick or powder in public became an act of derring-do, a flapper’s middle finger to the stuffy and outmoded mores of yore. As we hover on the precipice of what many believe (and hope) will be a redux of that hedonistic and wildly social era, it seems apt that we once again adopt this rebellious, but incredibly useful, accessory.

Feeling inspired? Here are just a few of the prettiest petite looking glasses you could possibly pull out of your purse.

Gucci Westman's graphic lip palette provides a truewow effect when you open it—and whether you choose to paint your mouth or not, the object itself is an absolute delight.

A natural, flattering bronzer in a pretty blue Gucci compact may be all you need this summer.

This compact says that you love art enough to surround yourself with it all the time, even in small ways—like carrying this petite mirror, inspired byThe Villageby Fernand Léger. Created to honor the Metropolitan Museum of Art's 150th anniversary, 100 percent of proceeds will be donated to the venerable institution.

Another collector's item from Lauder, this limited-edition Year of the Ox compact comes complete with refillable Double Wear powder.Can there be a more striking, or celebratory, way to powder your nose?

If there's one thing we've learned from the Zoom era, it's that light matters. This smart LED mirror simulates natural sunlight, and provides 3x magnification so you can be ready for anyclose-up.

Guerlain Rouge G lipsticks are theepitome of throwback glamour:as the bullet slides out, a small mirror pops up, allowing you to perfect your pout while dazzling onlookers. This diamante-studded case can be matched with any shade in the collection.

A quick face-check, but make it Chanel. (Also one of the softest, prettiest highlighters you can use).

A discreet compact mirror thathangs from your neck in a minimalist Hermes leather sheath.Need we say more?