Putting on Body Glitter for a Night of Clubbing

Just fill your tub with glitter, get nude and do a bit of rolling around … chuck on your clubwear and you're ready to go, right? Nuh uh! Not unless you want to look like Mrs Jetson. There are very specific ways to put both face and body glitter on if you’re heading off to a hot night club in London this weekend. We look at some of the essential tips.

1. Choose the right product: Your glitter will be for your face or body. The different formulations are created to account for the likelihood that you'll be wearing makeup on your face, and the different sweat patterns. Face glitter is usually less sticky, because layering sticky glitter on top of makeup is a recipe to look like a pancake.
2. Color selection: Choose the shade of your glitter carefully. Silver and gold glitter are the easiest to match and the least garish. If you come to a night club in London covered in red glitter with a devil's pitchfork in hand, you are more likely to actually look like Satan than just a naughty girl! Use silver with cool-colored outfits and gold with warm.
3. Glitter last: You should actually get everything else on before you apply your glitter. This includes both your makeup and clothes. Almost all body glitters are washable -- check first, and then don’t stress about getting any on your clothes.
4. Pick a theme for placement: A great placement technique for body glitter that is really effective in London nightclubs is to only apply body glitter to the top of your body. Pretend that it has fallen from the sky -- apply the glitter only where it would fall naturally if you were looking slightly upwards, with your arms outstretched. This helps the London nightclub lights highlight it, and stops you from overdoing it.
5. Don’t mix your own: Yes, there are plenty of blogs and advice articles saying that you can mix your own body glitter using Vaseline and craft supply glitter. I say no! You'll be bumping up against a lot of other people at your nightclub in London, and petroleum jelly is not the nicest thing to have smeared all over you by a stranger. Commercial preparations are kind to your skin and considerate of others around you. They often set somewhat, meaning that the glitter isn’t as likely to rub off. Finally, the effect of a commercial preparation is much more subtle, as the grain is much finer than craft glitter.