How to Pull Off Glittery Makeup

Last night I went for drinks with one of my former editors, the very talented A.

A. met me inside the candlelit Charlotte Street Hotel bar wearing a gorgeous tartan dress and even more gorgeous sparkly golden eyeliner. It was très festive, but completely casual. (The snow falling outside the hotel’s big paned windows made the whole scene just so Christmas-y.)

Back to the glitter eyeliner — I was so glad to see it. I’ve been championing glitter since I was a wee one, and as I grow older, I’m continually dismayed to see so many of my contemporaries throw the sparkly stuff by the wayside. Some of them I genuinely think feel glittery makeup is no longer age-appropriate. (BOR-ing!) Others I suspect fear they won’t be able to pull it off. Sad, because just looking at something sparkly puts me in a better mood. (Honk if you feel the same.)

I think the secret to making glittery makeup look covetable (and not insane) is really about the other products you wear it with. Whether it’s glittery lipstick, eye makeup, blush or nail polish you’re contemplating, balance it out by keeping the rest of your makeup super-casual. Why, take my friend A. for example.

Last night A. revealed the contents of her makeup bag to me — an exercise that tells you more about a person than a Proust Questionnaire — and she showed off a pretty neutral selection of au natural, fresh-looking stuff (The Balm Stainiac, MAC Lip Erase, etc.), complemented by the addition of the fabulous golden Urban Decay Heavy Metal Glitter Eyeliner in (what I think was) Midnight Cowboy.

To get that pretty, ethereal look, A. had clearly used all of those nice neutrals, and then adorned her fresh-faced look by tracing the Urban Decay Heavy Metal Glitter Eyeliner along her top lash line. When you saw her, you noticed her pretty skin, smile and eyes, which were lit up by bright, shining, gossamer-like thread of teeny-tiny sparkles. She looked amazing, and she completely illustrated how glitter can be bold without being overwhelming.