I gliterally can't.

Whether you’re getting ready for a football game, a music festival, sorority bid day or, idk, PRIDE, glitter can be a great addition to your look. A little sparkle can instantly turn any outfit from drab to fab. That being said, it’s important to know what you’re getting yourself into with such a bold and potentially messy accessory. I’ve created the ultimate guide to glitter to help enhance your look (and confidence) at your next event:

Prep & maintenance

1. Style your hair

It is important to know where your hair is going to fall when you begin applying glitter. If you skip this step, you are more likely to ruin your sparkly look and spend the entire day pulling glitter-covered strands of hair off of your face/arm/chest etc.

2. Apply your makeup

Apply your makeup as you normally would; you can add glitter on top later. If you plan on adding some glitz to your eyes, do this before your mascara and eyeliner, but after your eyeshadow. Pro-Tip: a cream-based eyeshadow will work best!

3. Add glitter

If you are doing multiple sections of glitter, begin with your hair, then start at your feet and work your way up to your face. You can mix a loose glitter with any hair gel to get the perfect sparkle-head look. Dip a clean makeup brush in vaseline or a glitter-application product and run it carefully over the section of your body that you want to shine. Be precise, as this should hold the glitter almost exactly in place. Using your finger or another clean brush, apply glitter. Touch up the edges simply by gently wiping away the excess. Pro-Tip: wipe leftover glitter from your hands on another part of your body and you will get a light, abstract style that’s fun, flirty and will last all day.

4. Set

Use your usual setting spray and you’re ready to go!

How-to for 5 simple looks

The Classic Highlight

• Skip highlighter on one side of your face (I usually do the right)

• Apply glitter where your highlighter would have been

The Over-Under

• Apply glitter in an arch about a quarter inch over one of your eyebrows

• Repeat about half an inch below the opposite eye, following the shape of your bone with a slight downward curve

The Eyepatch

• Apply glitter in a large, abstract shape around one eye

• Optional: outline with a colored eyeliner

Glitter Brows

• Mix glitter into brow gel

• Work into brows with a clean brush

• Add detail with individual pieces of shaped glitter

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Glitter Freckles

• Using a small brush, apply dots of your glitter-application product of choice across your cheeks and nose

• Use tweezers to carefully place pieces of chunky glitter one by one