All that Glitters....

With the festive season fast approaching, the inevitable deluge of sparkle and glitter has started - this time of year is known for its excesses and makeup is no exception.

On a personal level, I have somewhat mixed feelings about glitter. Get it wrong, and you look like a tweenager who has been at the dress-up box. Get it right, and the results can be stunning.

One of my favourite glitter products has to be the Rouge Bunny Rouge Quartz Eyeliners. I have two shades - Tigers eye essence (dark, but not quite black base, infused with gold and copper microglitters) and Anthracite essence (deep black with silver shimmer). These are simply the most grown up and subtle way of "doing glitter" I have come across. Needless to say, they come at a price - they are £27 each, however I defy you not to love them.

At a more affordable level, I was super surprised by the recently released GlamCrystal liners from bargain brand Collection 2000 - the glitter is obviously chunkier that the RBR version, but its not too chunky. And they are so well pigmented - the vast majority of drugstore glitter liners I have swatched or purchased are at best patchy, with the glitter staying on the brush, and not going onto the eyes. Not so with these bad boys, and at about £3 a pop, you can afford to play. They come in 14 shades and are available at Boots, Superdrug, and a lot of UK supermarkets (I picked this lot up at my local Tesco on a 3 for 2 makeup offer). One word of caution with these - some of the shades (Le Freak in particular) leaves a stain on the skin!

Sleek makeup, have also released a range of "Glitter Dip Its"- glitter liners in 8 shades, which come in at £3.49 at Superdrug. I was sent the shade "Rebel" a purple in a clear gel base to try. These are similar in pigmentation level to the Collection 2000 liners. The brush is slightly thicker and shorter, so you may be able to get more precise results with the Collection 2000 ones...

Top Row - Left to right - RBR Tiger eye essence; RBR Anthracite essence; Sleek makeUP  glitter liner in Rebel

Bottom Row - All Collection2000. Left to Right - Hustle; Dancing Queen; Le Freak and Night Fever









Barry M have also recently taken the glitter look a step further with the introduction of their Glitter Lashes. These come in a range of six shades, and are £4.95 each. They come in a touche eclat style dispenser, except with a twisty bit, rather than a button to dispense the glitter gel. Designed to be dabbed onto the ends of the lashes, or painted over black mascara for more impact. A nice idea for the festive season, but I suspect once the post Dec 25th hangover kicks in, thse may be forgotten about til next year... I was sent a sample in gold, which looks like this on the lashes;

I was actually pleasantly surprised with this product - the lashes do look a bit clumpy, but the glitter effect is actually quite pretty, a lot more subtle and a lot less chunky than I anticipated...

It goes without saying that Barry M have a full range of glitter-tastic (yeah, I said it, I went there) glitter dusts, glittery lipglosses, glitter pencils and coloured mascaras, so if glitter is your thing, you can't go far wrong with a quick trip to their nearest counter.

Of course Christmas lashes are also worthy of a mention - Illamasqua's Birthday lashes, beautifully sweeping drama, ambellished with either gold or silver diamonte - these beauties sold out in a day on most counters - if you can get them, then do!

In addition, if you can get to a Shu Uemura counter at the moment, most of them offer a bespoke lashes service at the moment, in which you select your favourite set of lashes, as well as your favorite colour crystals. Your lashes will then be personalised with your crystals, and you can also have them applied on counter to flutter your way home...

Of course, who says glitter has to be limited to the face? The Body Shop have added shimmer to one of their top sellers - an LE coconut shimmer body butter is currently on offer (and you can get it for free if you spend £25 in store). This adds a subtle pale shimmer wherever used. In a similar vein, Palmers cocoa butter is also available in a Body Gloss formula, which adds a similar effect

Sleek have also recently released another glitter product "All that Glitters". These retail at £3.99 (currently on 3 for 2 at Superdrug), and are available in Gold, Tinsel (silver) and Cranberry (red). I was sent a pot of gold to review. I have to say, at first dab, I wasn't too impressed. They are basically clear slippery feeling gel(they have a silica feel to them), with a LOT of glitter suspended through it. I had no idea what use they would be - glittery gel daubed on the cheekbones? I can't really see myself rocking that look. But on second thoughts, if you are planning to bare a flash of collar bone this Christmas, then this would be a very pretty way to embellish... (At this point, I sigh loudly to myself and wish I was one of those waif like girls who could turn up for my turkey dinner in a strapless dress and a pashmina.... sadly, its not to be for me. Not this year anyway *sobs and resolves to turn over a new leaf come January 1st*)

 The picture above, is what the gel looks like when applied, the pic on the left is what it looks like rubbed in... As I don't have a penchant to show my collarbones (this would require a strapless bra, which would be an impossible engineering problem with my bad boys, I'm not sure whether I would actually buy this myself. But if I was a slim young thing.....



Glitter nails also deserve a mention... I am a massive fan of black nail varnish (I like Boosh, by Illamasqua - a lot of people swear by Barry M's black, however to me, this is not a true black - its obvious when you rest your hands against black trousers...) topped off with a glitter polish. So many glitter polishes are available in both drugstore ranges, and high end ranges. Black topped off with a red or purple glitter is especially stunning...

My tips?

• Keep it to one area - while a flash of glitter on the eye, or a sparkle on the lips or collarbone is lovely, glitter lashes, liner, lips, nails and skin all in one go will look ott, and lets face it, a little tacky. 
• Don't take it too seriously, and have fun.
  
• This is one trend where the drugstore ranges are king - of course, if you happen to be a regular glitter wearer, then you might want to go high end. But most of us will rock the sparkle over a couple of weeks of partying, and then ditch it (speaking as an aged 30 old fart that is... I fully appreciate that younger makeup lovers can get away with far more glitz than I can)
• If facial sparkles seem a little too scary for you, have a look for body lotions with added shimmer to get in the christmas spirit without feeling like you are competing with the tree... 
• Be prepared to spend AGES soaking nails to get glitter nail varnish off without scratching your nails. Also be prepared to find bits of glitter well into January. Once glitter takes root its harder to shift than *insert name of STI here*
• Special caution for contact lens wearers - take them out before you attempt eye makeup removal, unless you want to br getting through all your spare sets of lenses in a week... 

MizzWorthy xxx

The declaration - The following products were sent to me for blog/review purposes - The RBR liners in Anthracite and Tiger eye essence; Sleek Makeup Dip it glitter liner in Rebel, and All That Glitters in Gold; Barry M glitter lashes in Gold.