Glitz, Glam and Summer Sparkles

Spring beauty conjures up images of soft pastel nails and eyeshadows in shades of lilac, baby blue, and quartz, but summer has an entirely different feel.  While you can’t go wrong with the ever-popular bright shades and neon, this season throw it back to the 90s with a touch of glitter!

Unlike your days of glitter roll-ons, applied rather generously everywhere, a few strategic sparkles feel modern and special; ideal for all your summer daytime fêtes, BBQs and steamy, romantic nights.

To get that stand-out, fully committed to glitter look, use a coarse glitter like NYX Professional Metallic Glitter or MAC’s Glitter and color block it across the lids.  At Tadashi Shoji, the models wore a fierce glittery color-blocked eye that begged to be noticed.  Looking for something a touch simpler? A glitter wing in a bright shade begs to be noticed.  Take a cue from Bollywood actress, Aishwarya who rocked some purple glitter on the Cannes Film Festival red carpet last year.  The touch of sparkle gave her a little something extra and tied in perfectly with her gown.  However, you don’t need to be headed to a film festival to rock this look, this style could easily add some color and va-va-voom to a simple LBD or even a basic tee shirt and jeans.

Or take your lids in another direction with a finer glitter and an old-world Hollywood feel like Selena Gomez did at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival.  Makeup artist Hung Vanngo complemented Gomez’s cherry pout with Marc Jacob’s See-quins Glam Glitter Eyeshadow in “Flashlight” and a heavy-handed winged eyeliner.  This more delicate look is a great way to get that shine if you’re looking for something a bit more subtle.

Full glitter isn’t easy to wear, but if you don’t plan to eat, drink, kiss anyone, move or really do anything else … it looks amazing, another option along those same lines is a metallic foil for an over-the-top dramatic effect; just check out the stunning lips at Jeremy Scott!

To take your pout over the top, dab some loose glitter across your lips.  Now you can use a gloss with glitter for a touch of shine (we recommend checking out NYX Professional’s Glitter Goals Liquid Lipstick), but if you’re looking for a stronger, full glitter effect, nothing beats a little glitter glue and some very coarse glitter.  Makeup influencer and YouTuber, Julia Salvia always wears a strong glitter glue and finishes with a setting spray to avoid ending up with glitter all over her teeth.  In need of a great glitter adhesive? Check out NYX Professional Makeup Glitter Primer or Urban Decay’s Bondage Weightless Makeup Adhesive.

Looking to really take it up a notch?  Glitter tresses will certainly turn a few heads; just ask “Game of Thrones” star, Sophie Turner who rocked a silver glitter do on the Met Gala red carpet earlier this month.  That was a few weeks ago and her silvery strands still have us talking!  To create the slicked-back look, hairstylist Christian Wood combed back Turner’s hair to form a clean wave and sprayed the top of her head with Wella Stay Firm Workable Finishing Hairspray.  Wood then mixed Wella Sculpt Force with silver and clear glitter, creating a paste that he painted onto the starlet’s hair with a small makeup brush.  To make sure it lasted throughout the night, he then set the glitter, again using Wella Stay Firm Workable Finishing Hairspray.

With so much inspiration, it’s time to get your glitter on.  After all, a little sparkle is the best accessory for that new golden tan!

-Janine Silver