I advocate the use of glitter wherever and whenever possible.
Boring resume? Add glitter! Food a little bland? Add glitter! Hairdo too dull? Add glitter!
Those are all actually terrible examples of when adding glitter would be appropriate. Don't ever add glitter to any of the above situations. Glitter's harder to remove than a red wine stain or an STD, but I assure you, you want it much more than both.
I think you'll especially want the new Lime Crime Zodiac glitters. Lime Crime's made a huge name for themselves in the nail world with their Les Desserts d'Antoinette collection, but they're about to break through with some awesome glitter as well.
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| Photo courtesy of Lime Crime |
The Zodiac collection is 13 unique glitter colors based on the different signs of the zodiac, including the lesser-known 13th sign, Ophiuchus (which I'll admit I've never heard of before).
The glitters come in little pots. After you unscrew the lids of each pot, you'll find a little shaker with three little holes. This is to manage the amount of glitter distributed when you open up the lid. If you've got Bare Minerals makeup, it's a similar concept. For what I used the glitter for, these little holes were more of a hindrance than a help, so I pried off the shaker portion of the lid. It easily comes on and off if you'd rather just dip your nails or brush directly into a full pot of glitter. Advertised as an eye makeup though, I can see why the shaker is ideal.
The glitter in the collection is very fine, and all consistently sized. For this reason, it's absolutely essential you apply with paper underneath your work space, pre-folded to dump extra glitter back into the pot when you're done. Also, be prepared to find glitter on everything and everyone you interact with for the next week. I'm not sure if my coworkers think I've taken up a second job as a Vegas dancer yet or not, but I do come to work wearing glitter I didn't intend to. Hazard of the trade I suppose.
Each pot retails for $12.99, or you can buy the entire set of 13 glitters for $129. I'd say that's too expensive for some damn glitter, but I can see that this is high-quality, makeup grade glitter. Craft store glitter isn't as fine, and the colors aren't mixes as most of these are. Even those that aren't mixes are definitely high-end.
For the swatches of this, I thought I'd stick to nail art. Loose glitter is trickier to use than glitter polishes, but it provides a much different effect as well. I wanted to showcase a few designs that really play to the loose glitter's strong suits. I'll show you three ways to wear loose glitter tonight, and three more again later, so stay tuned for Part 2.
The first glitter is Leo.
Leo is the most self-explanatory glitter I recieved, but it's also my personal favorite. I love gold glitter, and I love the look I created with it.
Blu from Zoya made an awesome base color to contrast with Leo. I've seen and drooled over several half-moon manicures using gold glitter online before, and I love the pastel paired against the gold.
To achieve this look, I cut small rounds out of strips of tape, and used the remaining tape over the base of Blu. That left only the half moon section near my cuticle exposed. I quickly applied a layer of top coat, removed the tape, and then dipped my nails into the pot of Leo. After letting it dry for a minute or so, I brushed the rest off with a soft, dry brush, and picked the rest off as best I could. The rest was removed with Photoshop. I'm telling you...harder to remove than stubborn belly fat!
Next up is Sagittarius.
Sagittarius is a lovely hot pink glitter. It's not opaque, so you can see through it unless it's densely packed like it is within its pot. I decided to use it along with Crema de Limon (Lime Crime), Escaping Reality (China Glaze) and Raven (Zoya) to create some girly leopard spots. It created a 3D effect on my nails, with a slight bump where the glitter was placed. (You can see that 3D effect on my thumb.) The leopard spots were all done freehand using Chalkboard Nails's leopard print technique. It's almost as if Lime Crime intentionally created these glitters to beautifully complement their polishes. ;)
The last glitter I'm showing you in Part 1 of the Zodiac glitter is a surprising color. It's not your typical glitter mix, but Scorpio is gorgeous in its own right.
The Scorpio mix reminds me a lot of the way black opal looks. Opal is the birthstone of the month of October, and the latter part of October makes up the first part of the Scorpio astrological sign. So, that's my guess for the inspiration behind it. Of course, it could just be because it's pretty. It's mostly blue, but there is holographic all throughout its mix, so it can appear green and teal in some light. It acts a lot like a flakie, without the flakes.
I decided to use it as an angled french manicure accent. It's used over Mirror Mirror (ORLY). This look was done similarly to the half moon. I covered the majority of my nail with two pieces of glitter overlapping one another. The exposed area was a wide V-shape at the tip of my nails. Once again, I applied a little top coat to the exposed area, then peeled the pieces of tape off of one finger. I dipped my nail into the pot of Scorpio and then tapped the excess off as best I could. Whatever remained was lightly brushed away with a soft brush and a dry angled brush I usually use for cuticle cleanup.
That's all I have for you for Part 1 of the Lime Crime Zodiac glitter review. Part 2 will be coming soon with Ophiuchus, Aquarius, and Aries.
Do you have a favorite glitter in this set? What's your favorite technique for applying loose glitter? Is there a technique you'd like to see me try for the other three colors?
You can buy these three glitters, as well as the other 10 beautifully mesmerizing colors in the Zodiac Collection at the Lime Crime online store.
These products were sent to me by Lime Crime. The reviews are based entirely on my experience with the products and were in no way influenced by anyone.
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