Kara Del Toro exposes secret behind Instagram influencers’ perfect ‘mirror’ selfies

Theo Salaun
karajewelll instagram selfie

With social media discovering that Instagram influencers’ mirror selfies are apparently faked, Kara Del Toro (known as Kara Jewel on TikTok) has revealed the secret behind mirrorless, perfect ‘mirror selfies.’

The mirror selfie has become a ubiquitous feature of the modern world, as the MySpace bathroom selfie trend of yesteryear has evolved into millions of dollars spent on sponsoring influencers’ Instagram mirror shots.

But, in what appears to be a dystopian revelation of sorts, social media is discovering that the spotless, high-definition selfies scattered across curated IG grids are, in fact, faked. Following a Reddit post on r/Instagramreality, Twitter has joined the confusion — wondering if it’s true that influencers’ perfect mirror selfies don’t actually involve… mirrors.

The person best-suited to answer that question? Influencer Kara Del Toro herself, who boasts over 1 million followers on Instagram (as well as another 1-plus million on TikTok). In a detailed video, she puts all of Reddit and Twitter’s questions to rest — perfect, spotless rest.

As seen in the original Twitter reaction to Reddit’s confusion, people are visibly confused. Reddit’s u/ffrhcp brought the information up, explaining the discomfort they’ve felt after discovering the mirrorless aspect of mirror selfies: “my life has not known peace.”

On Twitter, others responded by saying “what” and, more colorfully, “I swear to god u guys are making this up, bc there’s NO WAY.”

Well, on the contrary, there is a way, and Kara has the expertise to share precisely what that way is. People have dug up an older TikTok of hers, in which she reveals the truth behind these “perfect” mirror selfies: “There is no mirror.”


For a series called “secrets bloggers don’t want you to know,” Kara goes through pictures of her own mirror selfies and explains why the images all look so perfect.

There are never any smudges and there seems to be a mirror in every room because there is no mirror, it’s just a separate phone or camera set up with a timer.

Additionally, Kara shares that the phone is just used as a “prop,” a sentiment that many people seem to understand. Not only are mirror selfies just an incredibly comfortable sight on social media by this point, but holding a phone also means you don’t have to worry about what you’re doing with your hands.

 

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A post shared by Kara Del Toro (@karajewelll)

So there you have it, if you’ve ever wondered why influencers seem to take spotless mirror selfies against every possible background you could think of — it’s not because they have incredible cleaning solutions or portable mirrors.

It’s because they’re not using mirrors. Like the magic tricks at a child’s birthday party, it’s all an illusion.

About The Author

Théo is a former writer at Dexerto based in New York and built on competition. Formerly an editor for Bleacher Report and philosophy student at McGill, he fell in love with Overwatch and Call of Duty — leading him to focus on esports for Dex.