Hey guys! I'm Cosmos, and Indie Know has been lovely enough to let me do a guest post here, so today I'll be talking about the wonders of the lovely Pixie Epoxy by Fyrinnae, and other glitter adhesives! I'm a bit nervous, but I hope this is informative and useful for you all.
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| Ahh, Pixie Epoxy, thou art a cruel mistress. |
What is it?
Glitter adhesives, such as the infamous Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy are a staple of the indie world. There's a few out there now, Darling Girl Glitter Glue, ELF's adhesive, and a few others, but the application and the purpose remain the same. Glitterbomb shadows and duochrome eyeshadows really need glitter adhesives in order to truly shine, but a lot of people struggle with how to apply them and use them effectively. They're a very simple concept, a light tacky base for loose powder to adhere to. They're also magical, and a lot of fun if you use them right!
What can I use it with?:
Glitter glues play pretty well with primer, and should always be used with one. They're designed to brighten colours and make sparkles stand out, not lengthen wear time, and most companies advise when selling them that you should use one with it. There's not many primers that won't work well with the Epoxy.
Brushes, in general, the denser the better. Fluffy, loose brushes you run the risk of disturbing the glue and picking it up on your brush. Using a dense brush to dab shadow onto it in a patting motion, rather than sweeping is your best bet.
Shadows, on the other hand, is a more complicated matter. I've taken 5 shadows, one of each of the main types of eyeshadow, and swatched it over Pixie Epoxy to show the differences between them. Some work a lot better than others!
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| From left: Matte: Silk Naturals Analog, Satin: Fyrinnae Tapir, Shimmer: Silk Naturals Impact, Glitter: Fyrinnae Meerkat, Duochrome: Fyrinnae Rapunzel Had Extensions |
From Left: Impact, Meerkat and Rapunzel Had Extensions. The shimmer, glitter and the duochrome all perform excellently over Pixie Epoxy. They applied smoothly and evenly, and the adhesive enhances their effect. Just look at the glitter of Meerkat! It's beautiful. In general, you'll find that these formulas work very well over glitter glue. Be careful of eyeshadows that contain glitter over a matte base though because...
It doesn't work. Here we have Tapir, a 'satin' formula on the left, and Analog, a matte formula on the right. Hot mess, right? Analog is much darker than it's pretty brown rose self, it's patchy, blotchy and formed little clumps. Tapir fared a bit better, but it looks duller (usually a very vivid burgundy plum) and it was also blotchy and uneven. General rule of thumb out of this- the more matte the eyeshadow, the less likely it will mesh well with Pixie Epoxy. I have heard that other glitter adhesives, such as Darling Girl's Glitter Glue do better with mattes, however in general they won't benefit from a glue, so you may as well skip it.
How to apply Pixie Epoxy or other glitter glues:
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| Here's what we're working with. One functional human eyelid. |
1) Do your necessary priming and base. I'm using Art Deco Eyeshadow Base here.If you're using a cream eyeshadow as well, now is the time. Please, excuse my eyebrows.
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| I enjoy these shadows for their subtlety. I only wish they photographed better! |
2) Get your mattes, or any other shadows that you aren't glueing up ready. If you're using any mattes in a look, especially in the crease, now is the time to get them on. I've used Silk Naturals Analog in the crease, and a no name white on my browbone. Nothing special, but it's a good base to go on.
3) Put down a layer of the shadow you're intending to amp up with the glitter glue. Where-ever you want it to go, put it down. Still no Pixie Epoxy yet though!
4) Blend it out the way you want it. Don't worry if you blend too hard, or some is a little sheer. This is just to make sure you've got all your blending out of the way and a smooth transition between colours, because there's no going back from here.
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| Fyrinnae Meerkat, all over lid, blended into Silk Naturals Analog. |
5) It's time to lay down the Pixie Epoxy. There's two ways to do this, both of which work fine, one with fingers and one without. Take your pick;
a) Take the tube of Pixie Epoxy and roll it between your hands for a minute or so to warm it up. Then, take the applicator and wipe it off gently on a tissue to get rid of excess. Dab softly onto where you would like the glitter to go on your lid, taking care not to disturb the base layer too much. This should be sufficient for both eyes.
b) Take the applicator of the Epoxy, and wipe a
little off on your fingertip. Dab softly onto where you would like the glitter to go on your lid, taking care not to disturb the base layer too much. You may need more for the second eye.
6) Wait. Wait at least two minutes. Now is a really good time to go do your eyebrows, hair or some other part of your makeup. I wouldn't leave it more than four, however, or it will begin to completely dry and nothing will adhere.
7) Take a firm brush and dab, or pat the shadow onto the adhesive gently. Less is better, you can always build up more. Make sure you don't create any harsh lines, and there's no massive holes, and you should be good to go.
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| I wish my camera had been able to pick up the difference more! Trust me, it is immensely sparkly. See how much more prominent the gold is to before? |
8) Shine bright like a diamond.! Go forth, and be the sparkliest in the land.
Trouble-shooting Common Issues:
Fyrinnae's Pixie Epoxy is the most well-known, and ironically, the most finicky of the glitter adhesives. It's taken me a while to get my head around the application, and there are four common issues that I think are holding most people struggling with it back;
We've all been there before. It's not fun. You'll know you have too much adhesive on your lid when your shadow applies patchy and smudged, and your brush is all stuck together.
- Not waiting long enough for the epoxy to dry.
And this. It always seems like it's long enough, but then everything's balled up into clumps and that 20 seconds you saved is lost because heck, you're going to have to start from scratch again.
- Blending with Pixie Epoxy
I see people ask this all the time. How do you blend with it? Short answer, you don't. It's a glitter glue for a reason, and it works so well because it adheres the shadow to your eyelid. If it blended well, it wouldn't be working. There's ways around this, such as the layering in the tutorial above. If you really, desperately need to blend two colours that are both over the Pixie Epoxy, you can try gently dabbing small amounts of them together where the colours meet so they merge, but I personally have limited success with it.
- Using the wrong type of shadow on the Epoxy.
Pixie Epoxy is pretty fussy on who its friends are. Some shadows do better with a glitter adhesive than others, which can be a hassle as there's so many types of eyeshadow, and so many hybrids too now. Pixie Epoxy is pretty great for glitter, but a matte shadow containing glitter is going to be a headache over it. Check the guide above for more information, but failing that, trial and error is your best bet. I didn't have one to swatch I'm afraid, but pressure sensitive eyeshadows are also a complete no-go.
That's it! I hope you all enjoyed, comment with any questions or to add handy hints, and I'll catch you on the flip side!
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