Fire Opal: Sparkly Burnished-Gold Lids (usin Martha Stewart Crafts Glitter!)

I mentioned in an earlier post that I found some of the most gorgeous ultra-fine glitters at the craft store. 

They're from Martha Stewart Crafts, and come in the most beautiful shades. These aren't micro-glitters but they're certainly the same size as most cosmetic grade glitters from brands like MAC and Lime Crime. The best thing is each 1.5oz glass jar costs less than US$10. The shade I'm using today is Fire Opal, a beautiful blend of pale gold and coppery-bronze.

Disclaimer: I'm not encouraging you to pick craft glitters over cosmetic-grade glitters. I personally only choose glitters that are very fine, round-cut and 100% polyester, and I always test to make sure they don't bleed in solvents and on the skin, regardless of whether they are from a makeup brand or a craft store.Always proceed with caution and be your own judge!

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Step 1: First apply a brown base. You can use Maybelline Color Tattoo in Bad to the Bronze, or something like MAC Groundwork. You want to blend slightly past the socket line, and also wing it out at the outer corners, pulling towards the end of the brows.

Step 2: While your base has not dried, quickly use a flat brush to pack glitter onto most of the lid, except for the outermost corners, where you will apply a little dark chocolate brown shadow (L'oreal Infallibale Shadow in Endless Chocolat - the name might be different in the US; any deep brown will do) for definition.

Step 3: With the same chocolate brown shadow, run lightly along the outer 2/3 of the lower lash line for a little definition.

Along the edges of the brown, use a soft peach-golden shade like MAC Gleam or Expensive Pink to gently blend and fade the color.

Step 4: Finish with black mascara!

Quick Glitter Liner: Tips and Tricks

One of the highest-impact ways to wear glitter is as a strip of glitter liner along the lids. It's also relatively simple to do, but can get extremely messy if you're not careful. Here are a few tips to make it a little less painful.
You will need:

• Glitter glue, or clear mascara
• A small gel liner brush
• Q-tips and makeup remover
• Black liner and mascara

1. Some people like to mix the glitter glue with the glitter before applying. I find that wastes a lot of product because some of it will always dry before you can apply it. I like to use the small brush to apply the glitter glue or clear mascara directly onto the skin area, in a strip like you would apply black liner. (Thin at the inner corners, thick at the outer. Don't worry about being too neat at this point.)

Step 2: Then with the same brush, dip into the glitter of your choice (I'm using a bronze-gold called Leo) and dab and coat gently along the glue you applied earlier. You should go over it with two coats of glitter to make sure there are no gaps or patches of skin showing between the flecks.

Step 3: Glitters, like pale shadows, can obscure your lash line and sometimes fall further than you intend. You want to gently pinch away anything that's on your lash line with your finger tips, and then run a black pencil along the inner rim of your lash line to darken it and add some definition back.

Then check if the glitter has dried, and if it has, you can go ahead and curl your lashes and apply mascara. (You can apply false lashes, but do note that if you apply too much glitter the lash strip could come undone in the middle of the day, as it's sticking to the glitter instead of the skin. I prefer mascara for these looks since big lashes can obscure the shine and sparkle anyway.)

Step 4: Now it's almost GUARANTEED that you'd have a mess in the general eye area, with flecks of glitter everywhere. That's fine if you're going for a glitter-dusted look, but a glitter liner always looks more dramatic and beautiful if the skin around it is quite clean.

Here's where you use a Q-tip dipped in a little non-oily makeup remover (or just plain water) and clean up. This is especially useful if your liner shape is far from neat, because all you need to do is wipe firmly to carve out the shape you want, and then reapply concealer just around the edges to get a super-clean line.

A note on the cleansing:

Glitter can be extremely tricky to get off, especially if it's been coated on so thickly right at the lash line. You're almost always going to get some in your eye, which is why you should be careful to use cosmetic grade glitters. 

1. Soak a cotton pad in makeup remover and press it down onto your lids. Hold for about 10 seconds before wiping firmly up and out. (Pulling downwards gets glitter into your eye.)
2. After you remove as much as you can, use foaming wash and running water to get the rest off. Water is the best way to remove most of it.

Glitter used:

Leo is the more sparkly and dramatic glitter, which I used for the demo, but if it's a little beyond your budget or you need to buy glitter in bulk, I suggest Coastalscents.com's Gold Medallion. (The shade I used was Sahara Sand, purchased a couple of years ago, and it seems the company has replaced or renamed it.)

The color is identical to Leo, though the particle sizes are different.

The one from Coastal Scents is a micro-glitter, which you can use in lotions as well, because it's extremely fine-grained; almost like fairy-dust.

Leo is better for more dramatic statements and nail art, when you want obvious glitter.

Merry Xmas Kiss! Coral Glitter Lip Tutorial

FUN, FUN, FUN and insanely bright! Image taken with flash photography, using MAC Force of Love lipstick and Lime Crime Aries glitter.

I was initially going to do a pure-swatch post for all 13 of the Lime Crime Zodiac Glitters, but figured it might be more fun to actually show you what I’d use each type of glitter shade for.

A note on buying Cosmetic-Grade glitters

Let me first state that these glitters were sent for review. Buying cosmetic grade glitters from makeup brands can be very expensive (upwards of $12-20 for a small jar; MAC being the most affordable comparing weight vs price, and Make Up For Ever the most expensive, with Lime Crime in-between), and they’re not something I recommend for regular use.

I tend to purchase my glitters from glitter distributors and wholesalers like TKBtrading or Coastalscents.com. That said, they don’t always have all the funky shades, and if you are only using a bit each time on special occasions, don’t want to fool around with messy bags, or checking which ones are cosmetic-grade (i.e. fine enough to be eye-safe and non-bleeding in sealants and solvents), then brands like MAC, Lime Crime and Make Up For Ever do offer some nice (but pricey) options in more convenient packaging.

Art and nail supply stores sometimes do have micro-glitters as well, so definitely check there and see if they have more affordable alternatives. Just be careful not to use them in the eye area if they aren’t super fine. For the lips, they might feel less comfortable but they’re fine otherwise.

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Quick fun side-note on Astrology and signs:

I’m not big on Astrology, but I remember an Astrologer friend once told me that our personalities aren’t dictated by our birth signs but a “moon” sign. (If I got the name/term wrong, forgive me!) So as an example, while I’m born an Aries, my moon is in Libra, and I actually behave like a Libran. 

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ARIES

Aries Strength Keywords:

- Independent
- Generous
- Optimistic
- Enthusiastic
- Courageous

Aries Weakness Keywords:

- Moody
- Short tempered
- Self-involved
- Impulsive
- Impatient

To read more, visit Zodiac Signs Astrology!

For the Lip Look today the colorful glitter I’m using today is none other than the first of the zodiac sign; Aries! This is a pinky-coral glitter with bright green and gold duochrome flash. Of course, to get the most dramatic effect, I had to pick a neon-pastel coral pink like MAC’s Force of Love. Mac Viva Glam Nicki is very similar but slightly creamier. Both shades will pop in flash photography because of the neon color pigments in them!

Swatch above was created using just glitter and a little petroleum jelly, so I would not change the color in any way with a colored base.

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Step 1: First apply a super-bright coral pink. No special prep and no lip liner. 

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Step 2: Next using a synthetic concealer brush, I picked up the glitter and gently pressed it over the lip surface. Don’t rub it around because you don’t want the lipstick to end up coating the surface of the glitter particles and turn everything dull. I covered the entire top lip, but kept only to the middle portions of the lower lip for a dimension when the head is turned. 

That’s it!

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A note on Aries glitter (or coral glitter in general):

The fastest way to bring out colored glitter is to use a base or shadow that is a similar color to it. But being a translucent coral shade, a neutral or black base (if you wear it on the eyes) would mask the nice coral base-tone and only bring out the green and gold reflections, so it’s a bit of a waste to wear it that way.

Over coral lips though, this type of glitter shade is fantastic, because it won’t change the color of your lipstick OR show up as obvious dark flecks, and the lip color plays up its coral tones beautifully. You’ll get to see both the highlight shades (green and gold), as well as the base color.