I'll admit it, I am absolutely in love with glitter. That's just one of the many reasons I was drooling all over the makeup in the movie Sucker Punch - so many of the girls had gorgeous, glitter-encrusted eyes. Thus it should come at no surprise that whenever I see a glittery new product, I snatch it up as fast as possible.
The NYX Glitter Gel comes in twelve shades of glitter, ranging from your basic whites and silvers to lime green and bright pinks. Personally I think NYX packaging is adorable, and I love that it's simple and looks effortless, but still comes off as cute. The color I have is Silver Lake, which is an iridescent transparent glitter with pink, blue, and green shimmer. It seems to be one of their more versatile shades, because the glitter itself is hard to see unless the light is reflecting off of it, whereas with a blue or green glitter you would see the specks of glitter on your face even without the light shining on it. It smells vaguely like very sweet cereal to me, but more "chemical-y" if that makes sense - but unless you were applying the gel very close to your nose the smell is not very apparent and fades quickly.
One layer of this product gives a subtle sparkle (the picture above is
way more than you would ever need to use at once) - this is not something designed to be used for a heavy layer of glitter, like in an eye makeup look (that should be fairly obvious from the packaging, which states it is for face, body, and hair). I have worn it a few times by dabbing just a small amount over my cheek highlight, and I've gotten lots of compliments on how "sparkly" I look. You can also layer the gel to get a more intense glittery look, if you so desire, although I definitely would not recommend using too much glitter on the face.
Once dry, the glitter adheres to the skin fairly well, and unless you're constantly rubbing at the area where you applied it, it should stay for quite some time. I haven't actually used it on my hair because I don't typically wear glitter gels or temporary colors or things like that in my hair, and I would probably mess it up somehow. (Plus, my scalp gets dry in the winter and I don't want it to look any flakier than it probably already does.) But the gel isn't too thick, so it seems like it would apply to the hair nicely.
Rating: 5/5
I deliberated this rating for a while - I wasn't sure if I should lower the score and reserve a perfect score for truly exceptional products, or leave it at a 5/5 because there weren't any real negatives for me to deduct points because of. In the end, I left it as is, because while it's not the single best product in the world, it still performs exactly as it is intended to.
Recommendation: The NYX Glitter Gel does everything it promises to do - not much more, but nothing less, either. I wouldn't say it's a
must buy, but if you want something to add subtle sparkle to your everyday (or nighttime) makeup, this is a fabulous deal for $6. I would definitely recommend the Silver Lake color, since it is subtle, yet buildable.
XOXO, Ally
