Quick Guide to Choosing Glitter

Having trouble deciding which of our glitters to choose? The tabs below will help you narrow down your options, based on your specific projects' needs.

And if that doesn't help, you could try one of our Mystery boxes, and let us choose for you.

Material Preferences

Needs to be compostable

choose any of

  • Enviro Glitter
  • Hydro Glitter 90+
  • Hydro Glitter 100
Needs to be water-biodegradable

choose either

  • Hydro Glitter 90+
  • Hydro Glitter 100
Needs to be plastic-free

Our Hydro Glitter 100 (affectionately known as HG100) is 100% plastic-free.
No biodegradable preference

Choose any of

  • Traditional Glitter (not-biodegradable)
  • Enviro Glitter (compostable)
  • Hydro Glitter 90+ (water-biodegradable)
  • Hydro Glitter 100 (water-biodegradable and plastic-free)

Glitter Usage

Wax products

Glitter Haven glitters are suitable for (appropriate) use in wax products.
Body products / Skin

Choose any of our cosmetic grade glitters.

Be sure to test and discontinue use if irritation occurs.
Playdoh, Slime, Hands-on play

Cosmetic grade glitters are preferred for these products due to their softer edges and thinner particles. Quality craft glitters can also be used because the skin exposure is minimal (be sure to wash hands after playing with craft glitter)
Resin, Glues, and Gels

Glitter Haven glitters are fine for use in resin, glues and gels. For best results mix the glitter into the product just prior to usage. Always test for your specific purpose.
Nail products

Use in acrylic nails and applied to nails is fine, but mixed in to polish has mixed results therefore test for your specific situation and look for Solvent Resistant tag

Visual Complexity

Smooth, uniform look

Choosing the smallest cuts that suit your coverage goals and glitters from the single, consistent colour behaviour group will give the most uniform overall look.

Think reflective, neon, fluorescent, matte and glossy glitter effects in a 0.1mm to 1.0mm cuts. Fine mixes will work well too, but avoid most blends.
Complex, busy look

Aim for blends that include multiple cuts as well as multiple effects (particularly those combining holographic with flash, iridescent or chameleon).

Glitters that combine translucent and opaque finishes will have more depth to their visual behaviour, as will high-contrasting colours.
Subtle variation

Best cuts

  • chunky mix or blend
  • shaped mix or blend

Best effects

  • Laser prismatic (for colour family changes)
  • Chameleon glitters with less stark colour shifts
  • Flash glitters will bring a shock of silver to the blend
Layered look

Best achieved by actual layering of chunkier cuts on top of microfine or ultrafine cuts, but the layered look can also be achieved using

  • chunky or mega blends and mixes
  • shaped blends or mixes

Combining 1 glitter with colour behaviour effects (holographic, iridescent, chameleon) and 1 standard (eg matte, glossy, reflective) is great way to achieve depth, without being too busy.

Coverage

Full glitter coverage

0.1mm to 0.6mm cuts

Smaller glitter particles = less gaps and therefore fuller coverage. Almost impossible to see the individual glitter pieces.

Best for lips, eye shadow, solid glitter background, etc.
Standard coverage

0.8mm to 1.5mm cuts

For when you want it to look fully covered, but don't mind a few minor gaps in the overall surface. Difficult to distinguish individual glitter particles, but some edges gives a little more definition.
Distinct glitter particles

2.0mm and bigger

When you want to see the individual glitter pieces. Coverage seems less 'full' due to gaps between the particles, but the overall effect has depth and structure.
Standalone highlights

large shaped and hex glitters

Used purposely or sparingly, single glitter shapes can draw attention towards a highlighted area.

Festivals & Body decoration

chunky / shaped mixes and blends

Glitters with multiple cuts provide both coverage and highlights - for cheek/face accents, chest and body decorations, and anywhere you want glitter to be the star of the show.

Colour Behaviour

Rainbow-colour reflection

Holographic will give the greatest rainbow-like reflection. Opalescent and iridescent glitters can often reflect a more pastel rainbow.
Soft colour-shift

Iridescent, pearlescent, opalescent and some chameleon glitters have a soft colour-change or pastel rainbow reflection.
Multiple colours
  • Duochrome is a glitter with 2 colours on one particle
  • Blends have more than one colour of glitter mixed together.
  • Chameleon (colour-shifting) glitters show different colours based on the viewing angle.
  • Holographic, Iridescent, Opalescent glitters technically don't have multiple colours but will seem to because of their rainbow reflection
Multiple tones

Laser Prismatic - Unlike multi-coloured glitters or holographic glitters, these will reflect different tones of a colour family.
Single, consistent colour

Avoid glitters with holographic, opalescent, pearlescent, iridescent, laser prismatic, duochrome, flash and chameleon/colour-shift effects.

Lean towards reflective, neon, fluorescent, matte and glossy glitter effects
Black light reactive
  • All fluorescent glitters
  • Most Neon Glitters
  • All white glitters (although they glow not fluoresce)
  • Blends that include any of the above

Finished Look

Hide the background

Opaque glitter, being a solid particle, will not allow the background to shine through (dependant on the coverage).
Show background

Translucent and semi-translucent glitters will allow some of the background material/colour to show through, even with full coverage.

Generally they will also make changes to the base colour due to the effect of the glitter itself.
Modify background colour

Translucent glitters will allow the background to show through the lens of their particular effect (iridescent, colour filter etc).
Highlight a colour

For best results use layers of multiple glitters from the same colour family. Avoid mixing too many effects (such as holographics) as they can overpower the colour you are trying to highlight.

Learn about Glitter Haven

At Glitter Haven we have tried to make your glitter decisions as easy as possible. But having so many options can be confusing, so we created some information pages to help.

Check out our Glossary for what our words mean

Learn about mixes versus blends

See the different hex cuts available

And if you need help to choose, we got you.

Size Guide

For an explanation of SIZE versus CUT see here.

GLITTER HAVEN® glitters come in XS, S, M, L and XL sizes.

Top and side view of empty Glitter Haven XS size pot


The XS size is considered a tester size. It is most suitable for deciding if you like a particular style of glitter or if you use glitter very rarely.  

  • The pot is 28mm (d) x 20mm (h) and holds approximately 4-5g of glitter*.
  • Traditional glitters come in a 38mm x 50mm ziplock bag.
  • Biodegradable glitters come in a 70mm x 45mm landfill-decomposing ziplock bag 
Top and Side view of empty Glitter Haven S Pot

The S size is generally the standard size in cosmetic glitter. It is great for nail techs, MUAs, or other people who only use small amounts per application.

  • The pot is 38mm (d) x 22mm (h) and holds approximately 8-9g of glitter*.
  • The lids are interchangeable with the M pots to make stacking easier.
  • Traditional glitters come in a 50mm x 50mm ziplock bag.
  • Biodegradable glitters come in a 70mm x 80mm landfill-decomposing ziplock bag 
Top and Side view of empty Glitter Haven M Pot

The M size is for people who use their sparkles frequently. This pot is fabulous for soapers, candlers and crafters who use larger volumes of glitter per application or MUAs with bigger body areas to cover.

  • The pot is 38mm (d) x 48mm (h) and holds approximately 20g of glitter*.
  • The lids are interchangeable with the S pots to make stacking easier.
  • Traditional glitters come in a 50mm x 75mm ziplock bag.
  • Biodegradable Glitters come in a 70mm x 80mm landfill-decomposing ziplock bag 
Top and Side view of empty Glitter Haven L Pot

The L size is for people who love glitter, or who wish to cover a larger area. This size is perfect for crafters, body painters, festival goers, or costume/prop designers.

  • The pot is 92mm (d) x 37mm (h) and holds approximately 100g of glitter*.
  • The lids are interchangeable with the XL pots to make stacking easier.
  • Traditional glitters come in a 75mm x 100mm ziplock bag.
  • Biodegradable glitters come in a 100mm x 180mm landfill-decomposing ziplock bag. 
Top and Side view of empty Glitter Haven XL Pot

The XL size is our largest available. Preferred mainly by event planners, costume designers, festival organisers or others who need a lot of glitter.

  • The pot is 92mm (d) x 80mm (h) and holds approximately 250g of glitter*.
  • The lids are interchangeable with the L pots to make stacking easier.
  • Traditional glitters come in a 100mm x 150mm ziplock bag.
  • Biodegradable glitters come in a 100mm x 180mm landfill-decomposing ziplock bag

 

NB: Some glitters are lighter in weight or physically larger, meaning less will fit into our standard bags and pots. This is especially the case with irregular flakes. Rest assured, you’ll still achieve the same coverage depth. Where needed, GLITTER HAVEN® may use larger containers at our discretion.

* All measurements are approximate, pots are filled by volume and bags are filled by weight.
The easiest way to wear your glitter
  1. Apply glue to the area you want to glitter - cosmetic glue, any kind of gel (think aloe gel, hair gel, body cream), even Elmers glue and craft glue sticks are body safe.
  2. Leave for a moment or two to go a bit tacky (if it's too wet the glitter will just slide when you are applying it).
  3. Using a makeup brush or even your fingers, dab the glitter onto the tacky glue. Repeat as many times as needed to get the depth of coverage you want. NB If the brush gets wet with glue, use a paper towel/tissue to wipe the glue off the bristles before continuing.
  4. Strut your glittery-stuff and show off your sparkle.
  • Express Post dispatch: 1–2 business days after order is received*
  • Standard Post dispatch: 2–3 business days after order is received*

**Orders placed after 5pm are considered 'received' at 9am the next business day (Brisbane, Qld time).

Tracking on all orders. Shipped via Australia Post.

See our Shipping Policy

💖

Why Choose Glitter Haven

💖