How to do glittery eye makeup 

Sparkly eyes are always popular because they add a lot of glitter and glamour to your look. Here’s how to get the best out of the glittery look.

As an eyeliner

There are several glittery eyeliners on the market but some are better than others. It’s best to choose one with a lot of glittery particles in the gel. Some cheap brands only have one or two sparkles here and there which don’t give a really good result.

To get the best results, keep your eye closed until the eyeliner is dry; if not you might find yourself with a smear of glittery eyeliner on your eyelid and that will mess up your whole look.

To make your own with glitter particles, (be careful to only buy those that are specifically designed for makeup so that you don’t irritate your eyes), there are three options.

1) You can line the eye with a creamy eyeliner pencil or creamy eye shadow and then, with an eyeliner brush, apply the glitter particles over it. The particles will stick to the pencil line as long as it is creamy enough.

2) If you’re using classic eyeliner, dip the brush in the eyeliner, then in the glitter particles and apply on the eyes. The disadvantage of this technique is that you’ll have to rinse your brush each time so that you don’t add glitter to the pot or tube of eyeliner.

3) Some eye primers are available in cream or gel form (like Eye Primer by LA Splash). This is a good option for mixing with glitter particles. Be careful with cream eye primers, as some of them are too opaque so the result will not be very interesting. Choose one which is completely transparent when it dries.

4) You can find some clear gels especially made to mix with glitters (like Brillantine by Lili Rouge).

As an eyeshadow

You can always use glittery eyeliner as an eye shadow. For a uniform look, put some glitter on your finger by “rolling” your brush over it, then pat onto your eyelid. If it doesn’t show enough, let it dry and then apply a second coat.

If you apply loose glitters directly to your skin, they won’t stick, and the particles will fall onto your face or into your eyes. It’s really important to get them to stick properly.

So start with a base. You could use a creamy pencil or shadow that you apply all over your mobile lid or apply a generous coat of creamy eye shadow base and don’t let it dry. Then you can apply the glitter with a brush or by patting with your finger so that the particles adhere to the lid.

You could also spray a fixing product directly on the eyelid (keep your eyes closed) or on a synthetic-bristled brush which you can sweep over the lid and then apply glitter. Fixing sprays usually contain an ingredient which acts as an adhesive so the glitter will stick well.

I always recommend that you spray on this product at the end too so that your makeup will last longer.

If you want to apply some regular powder eyeshadow before the glitters, it is very important to use an eyeshadow primer before. So the steps would be : 1. Eye shadow primer, 2. Powder Eyeshadow, 3. Glitter base (translucent gel, translucent eye shadow primer or fixing spray), 4. Glitters. Or you can replace steps 3 and 4 by mixing the clear gel with glitters on your hand before applying them. The result will be less glittery (the glitters will be less concentrate on the eyelid).

Where to apply glitter

The best places to apply it are at the roots of the upper lashes, the inner corner of the eyes (top and bottom) and also in the centre of the mobile lid. Don’t apply it all the way under your eyes unless you’ve also applied it on the upper lid too. This goes for any eyeliner or eye contour pencil.

The sparkly look is ideal for a party, a ball, a wedding or why not use just a light touch for everyday?