My personal motto is, “Leave a little sparkle wherever you go.” Right now, much to my delight, the trend in makeup is glittering and glowing with holographic iridescence: Shining pots of straight-up golden glitter tinted in every color of the rainbow call out to makeup lovers like me from every counter and drugstore aisle.
Raised on ’90s-style matte makeup, I’ve always been a little timid to wear bright and glittering jewel colors on my lips and lids on the daily. But I took the plunge to use pure glitter on my face and owned it when I met Joy Lorraine, black female entrepreneur, makeup unicorn and owner of Joy Lorraine Cosmetics.
I spotted her, like a beacon, across the floor of the massive convention hall of the International Beauty Show, in all her glittering glory. Decked out in rainbow-glitter eye shadow from brow bones to cheekbones, ruby-red glitter on her lips and sparkling golden skin crowned with a red Afro wig, Lorraine was a vision of the exuberance and joy of playing with makeup.
On the regular, I prefer to keep people guessing as to whether I’m wearing makeup or not, but fashion’s current mood is encouraging all of us to update our makeup routines and shine bright like a diamond.
It’s easier than ever to go out on a limb with glitter—and to actually get it right—using all of the newly formulated pigments and kits put together to keep your sparkle in place.
The Joy Lorraine Cosmetics glitter lip uses three products to set you up for success: a liquid lipstick ($10.80), adhesive ($13) and pot of cosmetic-grade glitter ($9). Adding the cost of shipping, it’s a little pricey, but it’s absolutely top quality and very, very pretty.
(Craft glitter can wreak havoc on your body, so beware: Cosmetic-grade glitter is essential when trying to achieve any metallic-inspired look because it will not scratch your cornea and is acid-free.)
To apply the perfect Joy Lorraine glitter lip, first apply liquid lipstick and blot. Then, with a brush, apply one drop of the adhesive to your lips. Dip the same brush in the glitter and apply to your lips.
My personal endorsement? The glitter does not come off when you eat or drink, and it feels supple on the lips. Do not, however, rub your lips together; it breaks the surface tension of the bond between glitter and glue. But trust me: I had eight hours of fun with my pumpkin-glitter lips.
My advice? Go for the gold. Put on your bamboo earrings or Sade hoops, clap on your metallic reflective shades and let the world bask in your glittering makeup glory. When you’re ready to take it all off, oil-based remover is essential—Vaseline will do the trick.
But Joy Lorraine glitter doesn’t have to stop at the lips. If you want to shine deep into the night and you’re thinking some wild, wild thoughts, take a big, synthetic makeup brush and dust your body down from head to toe.
A little glitter goes a long way, baby.