Free-wave characterization of the electromagnetic properties of materials at microwave frequencies requires that scattering at the edges of the samples and/or holder be minimized. Here, an ellipsoidal mirror is designed and characterized in order to decrease the size of the beam, thereby avoiding the scattering problems, even when relatively small samples are used. In the experimental configuration, both the emitting antenna and sample are located at the mirror focuses. Since both the emitted and reflected (focused) beams are Gaussian in nature, we make use of Gaussian beam theory to carry out the design. The mirror parameters are optimized by numerical simulations (COMSOL Multiphysics®) and then experimentally tested. An experimental setup is presented for dielectric, magnetic and chiral measurement in the 4.5–18 GHz band.