Rant & Rave: Glitter Eyeshadow
Tell us what you love and hate about...
Glitter Eyeshadow
I love the concept but am not so keen on the removal nor the wear (without a good adhesive primer/base!). The removal, though, keeps me from wearing it that often by choice.
— Christine
I just don’t have circumstances where I’d use it; I venture into ‘really shimmery’ territory only now and then as it is. Were I to have an opportunity, I’d probably not use it anyway because of the hassle factor.
I love shimmer, but I leave true “glitter” shadows to instagrammers who only have to look good for one shot. It looks pretty, but it never stays where it should and I hate fallout. Undereye sparkles look messy!
The LIT glitter base works wonderfully. I can put glitter on at 7:30 in the morning & it stays in place until I wash it off around 6:30 or so at night.
https://www.litcosmetics.com/collections/glitter-base/products/clearly-liquid-glitter-base-4ml
Agree! I was just about to mention the LIT glitter base. LIT cosmetics lives up to all its claims. I used to have a video of swatches on my hand that I briskly rubbed with my finger under running water. Virtually NO glitter transfer with that waterproof base. A bit pricey but they have plenty of colors AND sizes, and that base is magical.
I rarely use glitter. I like shimmer and shine but dealing with glitter is really a pain and there really isn’t anywhere in Montana that calls for a full out glitter fest.
I love the look but the removal is such a PAIN. Would only use on special occasions, at least until a brand comes out with a glitter remover 😛
I like very sparkly eye shadows that only require primer; if the chunks are so large that it’s literally glitter and requires adhesive, that’s too much work IMO unless you were a performer or something.
Rave: I love how beautiful it can look when I do a spotlight effect on my mobile lid or as a transformer over eyeliner! Just so pretty how it sparkles! My favorite ones are UD Moondust. ?
Rant: Removal at the end of the day. I don’t care how well I clean it off, there will still be particles left, and not necessarily near my eyes, either! Plus, it’s not exactly comfortable removing it, because I suffer from dry eyes and they are a bit sensitive, too.
Rant: Messy to use, lots of fall out, and hard to clean up. Often with powder glitter shadows, the glitter is not really bound to the base. I usually go for super-shimmery over glittery.
Rave: They look really pretty and are a fun change of pace. My favorites are ColourPop’s, because the glitter is bound to the shadow really well, and I don’t have the mess and fallout that I do with others.
What’s the best primer you’ve used for straight glitter? I use Pixie Epoxy for glitter shadows which works alright.
Lit’s!
I don’t really do glitter. Too messy. Shimmer yes, glitter, not so much unless it’s for a super special occasion in which I pull out my mini MAC pigments.
I love it. It makes me happy.
It often looks messy and frankly it looks silly on anyone over age 25. I’m sure I’ll get flamed for that because this is, after all, a makeup blog and a more adventurous crowd makeup-wise, but the truth is most people think you look silly wearing glitter after a certain age, and it’s certainly not appropriate in any professional setting.
I agree that it goes against conventions of professional makeup, but disagree with the implication that flashy, fun makeup is silly looking on people firmly into their adult years. Similar to things like short skirts, I’m uneasy with it being somehow more acceptable on someone very young than on someone who is more mature (both in years and outlook).
I wouldn’t flame you, but I did want to say that it is sometimes a virtue to care less about what others think is silly and care more about what pleases yourself.
Usually hard to remove and fall out 🙁
No way for all the same reasons others mentioned, just not worth the trouble when shimmers look great and are easy to work with and remove.
Fallout, fallout, fallout, especially the type that defies removal – you can’t brush/swipe it away and about the only way to remove it from your under-eye area is with a loop of sticky tape (and sometimes, even that won’t do it). Fallout that continues to snow down all day (even after you’ve taken care of the mess during application) is the WORST
Raves – none for me, I don’t use glitter eye shadow at all
Rant: I would be terrified of getting one of those little glittery bits in my eye – it could really cause some damage and eyes are more precious than glitter eye shadows.
The glitter eye shadow train left my personal station decades ago, if it ever even had me on a stop. 🙂 Nope not for me.
Not worth the hassle for me. Shimmers and metallics? Totally. Glitter? Nope, nope, nope. I’m really more of a matte gal anyway. Plus I always do my base first, a habit that I am unwilling to break for glitter.
I like em! I use a tack cream base, then gently pat the glittery shadow ontop; and as long as Im careful I get little to none fall out!!
I use a lotiony, non foaming cleanser to remove my makeup, and i massage that into my skin and eyes at the end of the day, and I never have ended up with irritated eyes!
I don’t reach for it often, but I’m pro-glitter. I’m also quirky in that a little bit of fallout often doesn’t bother me (from UD Sidecar e/s, for example) and can even add to the look in a kind of undone, glam rock kind of way.
I probably will never wear glitter. I’ve never worn it and I’m pretty sure I never will. It’s too much for me, and in real life outside of Instagram, it looks tacky (in my opinion).
Glitter is my middle name.
Wish more high end products have good, small tiny glitter sparkles.
I love the look of glitter eyeshadow on people of any age. I really liked the little pot of glitter dust that came with the Too Faced × Vegas Nay Palette; just a tiny little dab over any eyeshadow had a really pretty effect. Now that I’ve been reading this thread I’m going to try to find it so I can wear it today!
I am not too keen o the look on myself and I am wary of getting flitter in my eye as I have contacts.
I really have no use for glittery eye shadow, not at my age. I have no need at this point in my life to look like a disco ball.
I love UD Sidecar and Chopper. They look beautiful on. But I don’t wear them because of fallout. I can’t stand glitter on my face.
Rave: I love glitter so very much. I can’t help it!
Rant: The fallout and extra work associated with preventing fallout (setting spray on the brush, glitter glue, etc). It’s also not suitable for some settings/occasions.
Rant (of a different kind): I’m 38, not on Instagram/YouTube, live in the southern US, and I’m a mom…And not a one of these is a compelling reason to give up glitter, at least for me. If you’re not comfortable wearing it yourself, that’s great! You should absolutely wear what makes you feel good…Just forget the arbitrary age-based standards and don’t worry about what’s on my face, aiight? ?
My favorite glitter shadow I use is the Touch in Sol duo I got from Sephora. The metallic cream base and glitter topper have such a fine grained sparkle that it still looks flattering on my 45 y.o. eyes. And zero fallout! I also have a liquid moondust from UD that i like but it has a bit more fallout. At least it is still delicate. I think it’s just chunky glitter that is best left to the young ones.
I love the look and I love how shiny you can get glitter shadows with a glitter adhesive/primer (I won’t use them without and I don’t know how anyone else does…) I don’t like the fallout and I don’t like that the glitter ends up all over my face when I try to remove it at the end of the day with a wipe.
I despise glitter. I have some very lovely eyeshadows that have the most amazing base, highlights, etc., but also have some glitter, and when I’m putting them on, and then looking at myself throughout the day, there’s this exhausting ping-pong effect of love-hate between the base and the glitter. Emotional whiplash — it’s exhausting. And btw, I’m not talking about chunky glitter, which I won’t come within a mile of, I’m talking about fine, even very fine, glitter.
I wish there were such a thing as a glitter magnet that I could wave above my eyeshadows and suck the glitter out of them. 🙁