This beauty trend blossomed over the holidays (for obvious reasons) now that New Year’s has come and gone, it seems to be sticking around. The trend is glitter eyeliner aka glitter liner.
As opposed to just bathing your entire body in glitter, this beauty trend focuses on the simplicity and power of a perfect cat-eye liner. Then you take it to the next level by making the cat-eye out of 100% glitter. (Biodegradable glitter, if you’re a true champ!)
via Lani MUA
Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve noticed it becoming more and more acceptable for grown adults to rock glitter on their eyes. Considering we’re also currently amidst a 90s revival which includes everything matte, this seems noteworthy. The glitter cat eye, in particular, is so incredibly wearable that, depending on the color, you could definitely sneak this into a daytime work look.
Personally, the majority of my life has been spent avoiding glitter. I was a raver in the early 2000s and that… was a time of great glitter abundance. It left a bad taste in my mouth (and it wasn’t just the rave). These days, I’m planning parts of my life around whether or not I’ll be able to wear glitter. I use any excuse to throw something sparkly on my face. I’m the most reflective grocery shopper you will ever see.
via @leabelle_
My personal favorite way to rock a glitter cat eye: pat loose glitter shadow over still-wet liquid eyeliner. Ta-da. Glitter liner. Alternately, using something like Fyrinnae’s Pixie Epoxy would also work really well. All you need is something to lock down those pigments, and there are a lot of products that can do that for you.
If you’d rather pack on glitter the professional way, you’re in luck! Cosmetic brands from high end to drugstore are clamoring to release the best glitter liners, lip toppers, shadows – you name it. Naturally, some brands are using this surge in glitter-admiration as an excuse to inflate prices on freakin’ glitter.
via Sani Sayer MUA
There are some products that have combined the perfection of glitter, duochrome, and shimmer finishes with clever products and application techniques. Those are the products I’m most interested in. Anyone can order cosmetic-grade glitter from makeup supply stores online, but creating a product that inspires you to use it in new ways is what makes a product amazing.
As far as glitter eye looks go, glitter liner is rather elegant. It’s minimalist makeup at its gaudiest, and it goes with everything. Plus, it can easily be amped up to become instantly more dramatic and formal, or kept simple to add a little bit of shine to an otherwise casual situation.
Popular High End Glitter Liners
These are the glitter liners and glitter eye makeup products that we’re made to believe are the “best of the best.” That’s why we should pay upwards of $40
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Urban Decay Heavy Metal Glitter Liner, $20 at Sephora
Before I learned that tarte’s Pro Glitter Liner was half off, this was the glitter eyeliner I was looking at the most. I still kind of like it more for a few different reasons, one of which is the color selection. Distortion, the iridescent white glitter, makes me want to throw $20 bills at Sephora. The coolest part of these liners is that they’re just glitter. There’s no opaque or even partially sheer base. These liners let the glitter shine (literally). They’re fine on their own, but they really shine when they’re layered over black eyeliner.
Makeup Forever Aqua Liner Diamond Liners, $23 at Sephora
I’ve never tried any of Makeup Forever’s products, but I hear fantastic things about their foundations. They also have this Aqua Liner in about 400 different colors and finishes, so I feel like it’s safe to assume that people like those, too. These are the “Diamond Finish” eyeliners, and it seems that they have a color base with same-color or multi-color glitter mixed in. $23 is pretty steep, even if the color selection is really solid. There are too many affordable drugstore options that are similar to this for me to justify the price.
Natasha Denona Star Liner, $29 at Sephora
This is a two-step glitter liner system starts with an opaque, thin liner in a nail polish-like bottle with a brush in the cap. Then, you top the liner with matching glitter. It catches the light really well, and the colors are pretty, but… meh. This brand creates some of the most expensive makeup I’ve seen in a long time. The brand was started by a makeup artist and YouTuber named Natasha Denona, and in addition to this two-step glitter eyeliner system for nearly $30, you can pick up her $236 eyeshadow palette, or if you’re a little low on cash, her $169 eyeshadow palette. I’m definitely not her target market.
Affordable Drugstore Glitter Eyeliners
Here’s where things start to get really exciting.
There are nearly way more drugstore glitter eyeliners than there are high end popular liners. Frequently, they’re rated even higher than the more expensive ones. Plus, glitter liners are way less painful to try when they’re inexpensive.
NYX Liquid Crystal Eyeliner
I put my trust into NYX on a daily basis and have yet to be disappointed. For less than $5, take your pick of these very moondust-esque colors. This formula is seemingly similar to Urban Decay’s Heavy Metal liners, and they also look extra good layered over black.
See it in action: How to Use NYX Crystal Liquid Liner by BEETABEAUTYTV
Where to get it:
Ulta, $4.59
NYX Cosmetics, $4.50
Amazon, $4.49
Beauty Plus Salon, $4.50
House of Beauty World, $4.95
NYX Glam Liner Aqua Lux
This version of NYX’s glitter liner errs more on the metallic side of the spectrum. That being said, the colors are extremely reflective, and give the same effect as a glitter liner. Plus, it’s waterproof!
See it in action: NYX Glam Liner Aqua Lux Review & Swatches on Coffee & Makeup
Where to get it:
Ulta Liquid Liner, $10 at Ulta
These glittery additions are part of Ulta’s liquid eyeliner color palette. There are only four colors right now, but that’s enough to get a little collection started! They also happen to be the most expensive, though, so there’s that…
See it in action: You can’t. Literally no one has reviewed this, as far as I can tell! I am dying to see it… Maybe it’s up to me!
BH Cosmetics Glitter Liner
This formula seems like a glitter suspended in a clear adhesive, so this one might be best when used with other shadows, liners, or pigments.
See it in action: BH Cosmetics Glitter Liner Introduction by BH Cosmetics
Where to get it:
BH Cosmetics, $8 $5.50
Amazon, $7.95
Makeup Academy, $8.51
LA Colors Glitter Liner
I’ve heard a lot about L.A. Colors, but have yet to try them. The fact that they have an orange glitter liner available makes me really excited, in addition to the other great colors in this line.
See it in action: L.A. Color Glitter Eyeliner Swatches on Kazzii-x-
Where to get it:
BeautyJoint, $1.75
Walmart, $5.11+
Amazon, $6
Hard Candy Walk the Liner Glitter Eyeliner, $6+ at Walmart
(4 Pack available in stores only for only $5!)
The Walk the Line eyeliner range is pretty large, and there are some truly stunning glitters in there. My favorite is definitely Dive Bar – that holographic blue beauty on the far right. It’s a little more expensive at $10.17, but I want it so bad, I’d pay $10 just to make it stop.
See it in action: Hard Candy Walk the Line Eyeliner Review by Glamorable
Sephora Colorful Waterproof Glitter Eyeliner, $12 at Sephora
The eyeliners in Sephora’s Long-Lasting Eyeliner range have three different finishes, sadly only two shades are glitter finish. The others are matte and “shimmer,” whatever that means. (Probably pearl finish, Lindsay, not tough to figure out.) Here, you have my high school colors, black and gold. It looks like there’s some holographic glitter particles in there based on the out of focus review photo below. I like!
See it in action: Sephora Long-Lasting Liquid Eyeliner Review on She Likes to Pretend
Glitter Eyeliner Makeup Tutorials
Glitter Eyeliner Inspiration Photos
https://www.instagram.com/p/BO5v7qIApRE/?tagged=glitterliner
Header image via @thebrandyalexander
