Basically, the glitter you’ll see in indie eyeshadows is made of some sort of mineral, usually mica flecks. So it isn’t really “glitter”. It has to be under a certain particle size to be approved, and not made of certain materials.
A lot of what the “indie” designers sell wouldn’t/shouldn’t be approved. The glitter they sell is not FDA approved for eye or lip use, even though the majority of their models and bloggers who endorse them use the glitter that way. If you want to use them on your eyes or lips, please PLEASE use caution.
Keep that stuff away from your eyes and lips.
Real glitter is usually made of some sort of plastic, and even if it’s technically small enough, it’s not approved for cosmetic use (at least around the eyes and lips). UD gets away with having Polyethylene Terephthalate as the second ingredient in their glitter liner, which I assume can only be the ingredient is the glitter so…good job enforcing those laws FDA.
I’m not too keen on identifying ingredients, but I do know for certain that FDA approved glitter ingredients are calcium aluminum borosilicate, mica, synthetic mica, and marked cosmetic safe glass-based borosilicates. If you’re looking at an ingredients list, and it just says “glitter” instead of these ingredients, I’d steer clear. From what I understand only super tiny mica flecks are 100% approved for the eye by the FDA. Glitter that is plastic derived is not safe for eye or lip use and I would not recommend using it as such.
Even small pieces of glitter can really hurt your eyes if it gets in them. I avoid it.
All you can really do is know the allowed ingredients and keep a sharp eye out, especially when exploring indie brands that you haven’t heard about.
There are a LOT of indie brands out there (especially on Etsy) that don’t hold to the same standards you’re used to from companies like Hello Waffle, Fyrinnae, etc. Stay safe out there!
