Glitter brightens holiday faces

By Al Varela

Dear Al: My granddaughter wants glitter makeup for the holidays. What is the proper way to use glitter makeup and is it safe to use around the eyes?

The millennium brought forth an iridescent sparkle to the cosmetic industry that is sure to be around for a few seasons. But, rest assured that the sugar plum fairies are not going to dust today's cosmetics with the glass by products or other old-fashioned formulas from yesteryear.

The trend of sparkle in cosmetics is not limited to eye shadows but is now also found in eye liner pencils, powders, foundation bases and even lipsticks.

My suggestion is for your granddaughter to start with a pale, iridescent base for the eye lid area to add a subtle luster to the eye while at the same time providing a protective layer for the glitter.

Next, I recommend the Herbal Glitter pencil from the Tony and Tina eye liner collection. It comes in three colors including black, brown and grayish blue. Besides defining the eye well, it leaves a very fine glitter dust to give a little glow that will dress up the eyes for the holidays. Best of all it has a natural base of chickweed, chamomile, cucumber and aloe.

A sparkle eye shadow can then be used to complete the look. Poole Cosmetics has created palettes complete with sparkle eye shadows, blushes and lip colors in one easy compact. They have made the combination easy so that each palette can give you a different look. The colors range from pink to gray, to green and even yellow for the holiday season.

Remember to always place the lightest color towards the center of the eye and use the darker color towards the outer edge of the eye to increase the contrast. I would suggest that if your eye make up is going to have the heavier sparkle, then do not use blushes that also contain sparkle. Instead, allow your lipstick to be the iridescent sheen that compliments the sparkling effect on your eyes.

Also available are powder glitters for the hair and skin to really glow from head to toe. All these sparkles should allow you to light up your holidays and make the season bright.

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