Its a fear we all have: we're standing in the club, looking as hot as we can without looking like a hooker, and we reach up to scratch our eye. The glitter that we had affixed to our upper lid gets in our eye, and suddenly, we're looking through a pair of scratched-up dollar store glasses. Your life is ruined, the choir of Heavenly Angels stops singing, and you're screwed.
The thing is, I'm 25. I've been a member of the Glitterati for about 2 years now (if not a little longer), and my corneas are fine. So, here we are, at 1am on a Tuesday, and I am posting to you about glitter: my favorite subject. Granted, I've heard it said that "glitter is the herpes of the craft world," and I will attest to that. It gets everywhere, and in the end, you find glitter in places that glitter should never be. But, I LOVE glitter. Glitter in my hair, on my face, on my arms, on my legs, on my chest ... EVERYWHERE. I just love it. I love the reactions from the people around me, and my favorite sentence is, "I wish I could wear things like that."
My response? You Can.
There is no reason you can't wear that glitter, my friend. There is no reason that you can't take some eyelash glue and affix a little star to your face, and surround that thing with so much glitter, you'd think Liberace tap-danced across your cheekbone. Now, while glitter does have its limitations ("Rusty Starlight, Lawyer" while covered in glitter isn't too professional) there is no reason you can't have a night look with glitter.
Here are my tips for using glitter:
1) Use an adhesive. There are dozens on the market, but these are the ones I hear the most about. I haven't used a couple of them, but they get rave reviews from those who've used them.
- The Fix from Medusa's Makeup
- Duo from MAC
- Lash Grip Eyelash Adhesive
- She Laq by Benefit
- Saliva.
After a day of work, and spending time with my husband, here's how my glitter looks:
See that? All that glitter? It's been there since ten o'clock yesterday morning. It's one am right now. A thin layer of The Fix and a few smudges of glitter goes a long way, and its still there. I could rub it off if I wanted, but my hands don't go near my eyes.
2) Brush off the excess.
I think the greatest advice I ever got was from a drag queen I had met here in town. She told me, "Honey, if you think you have on enough, it's not enough." Having said that, there is no shame in taking a big brush (Kabuki, a big round blush brush, whatever) and dusting off a little of the excess. No evil glitter Fae is going to come out of the nowhere and rip your fingers off your body if you dust a little of it off. I use more because, to be honest, I like that it gets everywhere. If that's not your thing, that's fine, but don't knock it 'til you try it.
3) If you happen to be frightened of getting glitter in your eyes, put it below your eyes. Use it on your cheekbones or use it somewhere else. If it is something that will seriously keep you up at night, don't use it.
4) Don't touch your face. I cannot stress this point enough. If you are going to be putting on any makeup, be it glitter, or eyeshadow, or mascara, or anything of the sort, make sure you have the presence of mind to not touch it. Not only are there all kinds of germs on your hands, but there could be things that get transferred to your hands from others, and you do not want that in your eye.
Humans are nasty, gross, awful, disgusting creatures. The things people do in the privacy of their own homes would make you retch until you died of dry heaves. If you think about that, and then you think about how many people a day go through your place of work, or the club, or the grocery store, or the restaurant, and they drag their fingers across things just the same way you do... Yeah, stew on that for a minute. Disgusting, isn't it.
5) Last, but certainly not least, let go of your inhibitions about glitter. Granted, on those days I wear a nice, deep Forest Green glitter around my eye, it looks like somebody punched me, and I look in the mirror at work and say to myself, "Dear Lord, woman. What were you thinking?!" and that color of glitter gets banished to the fiery depths of Craft-Land. If you have a nice, subtle color, or you're not afraid of looking like somebody punched you in the face, go for it. Go big, or go home.
Lots of silly, ridiculous, cliche lines in this, I know, but you'll get past it.
My point is, when it comes to craft store glitter, if you do it right, it'll be 'outta sight.' And, if you do it right, not only will it be a stunning look when tied together with your shadow, mascara, and whatever else you choose to do, it will be complimented and enjoyed by those around you.
Lastly, if you do it right, it won't get in your eyes. All you need to do is trust in yourself and in your ability to keep your hands away from your face, and you'll be fine.
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