Who doesn’t love glitter? The way it catches the light in a dim room can cheer up most mildly bad days, but do you reach for it in your make-up bag? Glittery dresses are a staple for every party wardrobe and it looks great in phone cases, but not everyone loves glitter on their face. After all, it can kill a perfectly good bronzer.

This bold eye look demands to be seen, but is it as fun to wear as it is to see on your Instagram feed?

Lucy Partington, Stylist’s beauty editor says:

If Cleopatra had access to a photo booth in East London, I reckon she’d look something like this. I’m not saying that I should be celebrated for my beauty like she was, but the gold sequins and the thick black eyeliner is very on brand for her, right? 

From a distance this looks quite striking, but up close it’s all kinds of messy. It was a fun look to recreate for the photos but for real life I’m not so sure. Cleopatra, sadly, I won’t be coming ’atcha any time soon.

Hanna Ibraheem, Stylist’s beauty writer says:

There’s no doubt about it: this is a beautiful look. But for me, it just wasn’t worth the faff. I covered my eyelids (and eyeshadow brush) in glitter glue, then meticulously pressed loose glitter on top.

At first, I quite liked it – it’s certainly a very striking look – but when I dared to blink, all of the specks ended up in the crease and caused a big mess. Plus, the sharp edges of the glitter started poking into my eyelid. I don’t think I’ll be trying it again.

Ava Welsing-Kitcher, Stylist’s junior beauty writer says:

I really, truly loved this glitter eye. So much so that rubbing it all off with a face wipe and watching my masterpiece smear everywhere caused serious emotional turmoil. I don’t care how uncomfortable it feels or how fiddly it is to recreate – it’s simply spectacular. 

Drawing on a huge empty wing with an eyeliner pen and patting layers of glue and mermaidesque biodegradable glitter onto my lids was stressful, but oddly satisfying. That being said, any longer than 20 minutes with it on would be a nightmare.

Glitter is intoxicatingly beautiful and lights up lives as well as rooms, but the mess and stress involved just isn’t worth it most of the time. Despite this, our love for grownup glitter remains strong – Halpern was one of countless s/s 2019 shows to use it on face, nails and hair. 

Just remember to opt for plastic-free, eucalyptus-based formulas to avoid it entering oceans and harming fish.

Projekt Glitter Eco Face Glitter Set in Rainbow

£13.80, Projekt Glitter

EcoStardust Chunky Blue Biodegradable Glitter

£6, EcoStardust

Revolution Glitter Glue

£4, Revolution

Glossier The Detailer

£6, Glossier