Happy Holidays,
everyone!
This is a re-post from 2011, but according to my blog stats, it’s one of my
most popular posts ever! Enjoy…
Ah, glitter! Where would
we dancers be without it? No doubt you've heard this saying before:
"Glitter Is The
Herpes Of The Art World"
I'm not sure who
originally said this, but like Herpes, glitter is certainly the gift that keeps on giving-it gets
all over everything, and stays embedded no matter how much you try to get rid
of it. It sticks to you, your significant other, your pets, your furniture. In
fact, I don't even think comparing it to Herpes drives home the point of how
much glitter pollutes everything it
gets near.
I prefer this saying, which
I made up myself:
"Glitter Has More Of
A Half-Life Than Uranium!"
What was once the sole
domain of pre-teens and strippers, glitter is now a performance mainstay for
all types of dancers...as well as gymnasts, cheerleaders and gals who like to
sparkle on the dance floor during a night on the town.
And now that the Holidays
are upon us, glitter is EVERYWHERE.
Glitter looks lovely
under stage lights, it will highlight your every movement and make you look
like a fairy dusted fantasy. It can be applied to the skin , and even on top of
the stockings on your legs - or body stockings, if you wear them. There are
many types of commercial body glitters available; they come in sprays, oils,
and in little solid waxy bars as well as in the “sprinkle on” type. However, I
prefer to make my own body glitter
mix; it looks much better with my coloring, and it also saves money!
On your face and
especially around your eyes, you must wear cosmetic glitter. In the old
days glitter was made of metal flakes. Now, glitter is usually made of some
type of copolymer plastic. The individual cosmetic glitter flakes are laser
cut, in shapes that are are oval and/or rounded, not square or octagonal the
way most craft glitter is cut. When used on your face, this will reduce (but
not prevent!) any injury, should the glitter get into your eyes. Also, some
craft glitter is still made of metal.
How do I know this? I am
so glitter-obsessed that I actually have a friend who was a biology
student at Berkeley look at many types of body glitter, craft glitter and
cosmetic grade glitter under her microscope! I sent her lots of unlabeled
glitter samples, and she told me what shape they were and what they were made
of…it was extremely educational!
But back to making your
own body glitter and saving money by doing it- since you will not risk
potential injury by using craft glitter on your body, there is no need
for you to buy expensive, pre-made body glitter.
Buy a few different
colors of regular, inexpensive craft glitter, the kind in the big shakers, then
mix them up in a jar and pop it into your gig bag, along with a small container
of hand lotion or body cream. When you want to glitter up, just mix the two
products in the palm of your hand and apply it liberally to your skin.
For my own body glitter
mix, since I am fair-skinned, I use equal parts of lavender, opalescent pink,
iridescent white, gold and silver. If you have skin that is darker, you might
want to also mix in shades of bronze, orange, opalescent yellow and copper.
Deeper colors of glitter
such as dark reds, purples, black, blues or greens tend to look ashy and
strange onstage, so stick to a mix of shades that enhance your natural skin
tone.
Insane as this may sound,
I also think glitter is a great exfoliant! When you wash it off in the shower,
it totally helps to slough off any rough or dead skin cells.
A word to the wise:
though glitter looks great in motion ( such as in performance, on film or
videotape) but in still photos, but it can appear gritty and make your skin
look bumpy, unless you are photographed from very close up, so think
about doing some promo shots without it, then adding on the sparkles... or just
saving it for performances.
Oh, and be prepared to
sleep in a bed full of pixie dust, because that’s exactly what you’ll be doing
post-show, even if you showered the moment you got home!
I’ll say it one more
time: do not use craft glitter on your face!
Now get on out there and SPARKLE!
If you’d like to purchase latest
book, Showgirl Confidential: My Life Onstage, Backstage And On The Road and
have me sign it for you, or for a gift, click here: http://www.princessfarhana.com/book_showgirl.htm
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