It magnetizes the looks and has a dose of eccentricity and magic. Even a weapon in demonstrations can be done. But the glittering glitter also has dark sides. Next it adorns Taylor Swift’s cheekbones, sometimes a weapon in the hands of protesters as a political statement. And other times stubbornly sticks to the skin, does not leave the clothes and finds it even months later on the carpets.

We find it on Christmas cards and ornaments, nail polishes, fashion accessories, sneakers, and even food! And the reason is simple and partly self -evident: when something shines, we look at it.

“My love for glitter began more than ten years ago, at a festival in Great Britain, where everyone was dressed in suits and of course very glitter. It was playful, expressive and extremely fun! “Says Jin Lowe, founder of the Berlin -based project. “It was like finding the magic of the game again – something we often forget,” he adds. Her company produces biodegradable glitter.

Glitter in the Stone Age? Indeed, there was!

People in the stone era were mashing glass – a glamorous silicate mineral – to give shine to their caverns. The Egyptians were Malachite or Lazurite and used it as an eye shadow or for sacred works of art. In 2008 Australian researchers discovered that the Mayan ancients used glass -enriched plaster in their temples to shine the walls in the sun.

Modern glitter was born thanks to German -born American animal breeder and engineer Henry Ruman. In the 1930s he built a machine that was cutting plastic and metal waste. This is how the industrial glitter was born. He later founded Meadowbrook Inventions Inc., which remains active to this day and is considered to be the top of the field, and even makes edible glitter.

From glam rock and glamorous appearances …

Glitter and pop culture go hand in hand: concerts, festivals and various shows take advantage of the glitter. The face of David Bowie’s glitter Glam-Rock Alter ego has been glittering in the 1970s, while stars such as Lady Gaga and Lizzo have a trademark.

And perhaps this obsessive glitter attachment to the skin explains why the glitter is also used as a “weapon” in the so -called glitterbombing – where activists launch glitter to public figures. This became known in the early 2010s, when politicians such as New Gingrich and Rick Santorum became targets due to their statements against LGBTKI+ rights.

… on the dark side of the flash

Despite its playful image, glitter has dark sides. Most of the commercially available glitter is common microplasty – made of PET or PVC, coated aluminum and color.

These tiny particles are not filtered during sewage treatment and end up in rivers and oceans, where they consume plankton, fish, and even birds. This is how they go into the nutrition chain and maybe ultimately on our dishes.

Innovative companies have begun to produce more environmentally friendly alternatives. Thus, there is now a glitter based on cellulose, made of eucalyptus or other herbal materials, which naturally breaks down, without threatening the environment and nature.

Curated by: Chryssa Vachcevanou