Some girls were just born with glitter in their veins! (Barry M Fine Glitter Dust)

Member Name: missixty

Product:	Barry M Fine Glitter Dust
Date:	21/02/08 (639 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Versatility, last for ages, look great

Disadvantages: None really, if you spilt it it could be messy but I never have

As you may know I am a huge fan of Barry M when it comes to experimenting and creating different eye make up looks. I have a huge selection of their Dazzle Dusts for creating vibrant colour (and also some natural ones too) and adding shimmer and I have both Glitter Stacking pots for when I really want my eyes to sparkle. Somewhere in between these two products come there Fine Glitter Dusts.

The Glitter Dusts are in a small pot that looks the same as their Dazzle Dusts. They are a fine powder like substance, much like the Dazzle Dusts, and they aren't actual glitter like with the Glitter Stacking pots. As the title suggests these are made up of fine glitter, around the same size of the dust in the Dazzle Dusts, much smaller than actual glitter. I actually bought my Fine Glitter Dusts before I had seen the Glitter Stacking Pots, and although they don't create an effect like the Glitter Pots, they are a great product in their own right, and add yet more versatility enabling you to create lots of different looks.

To apply they are very similar to the Dazzle Dusts. For a soft look apply dry with a fluffy eye shadow brush, for a stronger look apply wet with a flat eye shadow brush, and for ultimate effect mix with a little mixing medium (1 part glycerine, 3 parts water) . All these methods work great on their own, but applied over an eye shadow primer potion (Urban Decay's Primer Potion is mine, and most peoples, favourite) the effects are intensified even further, and will last through almost anything.

When applying these products to the eyes if you are not careful then some can 'fall' onto your face as they are loose powders. There are a few ways of combating this. One is, if you are going for a matte look, brush excess loose powder onto your cheeks, and then if any colour falls on this it will simply sweep away with the powder. If you aren't going for a matte look on your face this isn't going to work but holding a tissue over your face will ensure the powder falls onto the tissue rather than your face. I find to be honest, although a little weird to get used to at first, one of the best methods is to simply get creative with your eyes first before the rest of your make up, wipe the rest of your face clean with a wipe and then apply your face make up working around your eyes.

Some of the Glitter Dusts are suitable for use elsewhere other than the eyes. There are seventeen shades available and whilst some are definitely for the eyes, others are more multipurpose. There are Iridescent shades which are an almost white colour with different coloured irredescent glitter flecks in, depending on the colour. Iridescent Gold and Iridescent Pink would both be good for using as a highlighter. There are also silver and gold dusts that could be used wherever on your body to create a party look. There is a crimson/pink shade that could be mixed with lip gloss or a little lip balm and used on the lips. As well as these there are shades that I can only think of being used exclusively on the eyes, including colours such as; Emerald Green, Bright Blue, Aqua, Lavender, Purple and Midnight Blue.

Of the seventeen shades available I currently only own two. These are Blue Iridescent and Midnight Blue. When I initially bought these products and tried them out for the first time I was a little disappointed. I had expected them to be all glitter in the colour I had bought, whereas this is not the case. Midnight Blue, which I had expected to be a very dark blue glitter, was actually more like a very dark blue dazzle dust, with flecks of silver glitter in it. Much like Midnight Dazzle Dust with silver glitter added in. Similarly the Blue Iridescent rather than being purely iridescent blue glitter was more like the Blue Iridescent Dazzle Dust (an almost white blue) with some Blue Iridescent flakes of glitter added to it.

This was initially a disappointment but once I had accepted them for the products they are, they were great, they were just different from what I had expected.

The look the two different shades give are completely different. My favourite of the two is the Blue Iridescent, which when applied with mixing medium becomes like no other eye make up I have ever used. It is actually like painting UV onto your eyes. It turns into paint like substance and the colour it paints on is vibrant, catches the light and actually is the colour of UV. Applied wet it doesn't actually look glittery, you can't see any glitter in it, just this amazing unique colour and effect. Applied dry the effect is completely different, much softer, and glitterier and gives a pale background with UV glitter flecks in it. Because of it's light colour when applied dry, I've found that if you apply something just under your brown bone that is soft like a highlighting pencil or cream eyeshadow, and then dab this dry over it, it creates an amazing highlighter. It is also great just used dry for the part of your eye above your eye lid, but below your brown bone. The thing I love so much about this one is how dramatic the difference is when applied in different ways, it really is stunning for creating different looks. It also shows up really well on camera, especially when it has been applied with mixing medium.

The Midnight Blue colour is not as stunning as the one above for me. It is a really nice product still but hasn't completely wowed me. It gives a very dark smokey look with flecks of glitter in it but the look between applying it wet and dry doesn't vary so much as the one mentioned above, it just makes it a stronger colour when applied wet.

Personally I think the Iridescent shades are the ones that can be had most fun with. I have the Gold Iridescent Dazzle Dust and when dry that looks almost white, very soft and subtle, applied wet it turns into a vibrant gold colour that you would never have thought could have come from the product looking at the powder in the tub. From my experience of the Blue Iridescent Fine Glitter Dust being similar but stronger than the effect with the Gold Iridescent Dazzle Dust, I think that all the Iridescent Fine Glitter Dusts will transform into amazing colours when applied differently, really allowing you to get creative.

The Fine Glitter Dusts are £4.50 each for what looks like a tiny pot but will last you an unbelievable amount of time. Even my most used Dazzle Dust and Glitter Dust colours look barely touched and will last absolutely years. These are available in Superdrug, some Boots stores and some department stores as well as via the Barry M website.

If you like getting creative then these are great products, and the versatility is amazing. Use them as eyeshadows, use them as highlighters, use them as body glitter, use them as lip colours, create soft subtle looks or vibrant stunning looks - with these products the choice is up to you, all they require is a little imagination and experimentation!

Summary: The sparkle in my eye!