Many years ago at my fairy-themed eighth birthday party, I was sprinkled with fairy dust – tiny, iridescent pieces of glitter that evoked magic and wonder amongst my friends and I. I took home a jar of that fairy dust, conveniently available for sale, and it sat on my bedroom shelf for many more years than I’ll admit. Glimmering, sparkling, magical luminescence – and so my love for glitter was born.
Glitter in beauty, however, hadn’t been seen amongst mainstream brands for a while, with the exception of Bobbi Brown’s excellent Sparkle Eye Shadow which remain a favourite. So when Stila released their Magnificent Metals Glitter & Glow liquid eyeshadows I was in store, swatching away, faster than you can say fairy dust.
These highly glittered, liquid eyeshadows are just beautiful. In a myriad of colour options – my favourite is Smoky Storm – and with doe-foot applicator, incorporating this sparkle into your everyday look couldn’t be easier. I asked the in-store makeup artist to show me how to best wear these, for someone who is neither fourteen years old, nor walking a catwalk. She applied a light layer of a nondescript taupe base eyeshadow (not dissimilar to your bronzing powder) to sculpt out a little definition to my eyelid, and then applied the Stila product straight from the applicator all over my lid and tapping it in with a fingertip. She rounded out the socket/crease shape with a little extra powder eyeshadow for more definition, and that was it. I was left with a whimsical, wearable, glittery eye look that wasn’t overtly playful or dramatic but gave me the same flurry of fun that my old fairy dust evoked. This is grown up glitter.
Since my first purchase I have built up a little collection of my favourite neutral shades. Smoky Storm is the perfect neutral bronze – not too warm, not too grey. Smouldering Satin brings in a touch more pink, and Kitten Karma a more coppery, rose gold hue. But it is Molten Midnight that I’m loving lately; a black eyeshadow base with gold and silvery glitters that I especially like applied just to the base of my lashes as a striking liquid liner against an otherwise simple eye makeup look. It’s a great way of experimenting with a little glitter if you haven’t caught the full fairy dust bug just yet.
Find Stila at Mecca