19 Vegan Glitter Makeup Must-Haves For the Holidays

With the holidays quickly approaching, there’s no better time to incorporate sparkly, shimmery, eye-catching glitter into your makeup routine.

After all, holiday parties are the best time to glam up your look. We scoured the stores for the best vegan and cruelty-free products that incorporate glitter for your eyes, lips, and face.

How to apply glitter makeup

Makeup with shimmery, light-reflecting particles can add pizzazz to your holiday look. If you’re hesitant and afraid of overdoing it, start by incorporating one of the more subtle shimmer products from the list below.

Glitter makeup can be applied by:

• adding a smudge of sparkle to the corner of your eye
• layering a glitter liner overtop your black winged eyeliner
• or filling your lips with a light glitter overlay.

Start small, and layer until you get your desired look. 

Vegan glitter makeup products

1. Urban Decay Heavy Metal Glitter Eyeliner

Let your eyes sparkle this holiday with this superfine, multi-dimensional eyeliner. The clear, water-based formula is buildable and dries quickly, so you don’t end up with glitter everywhere.

Apply the liner with the thin-tipped brush for more precise fine lines, or use the thicker side of the brush to sweep sparkle all over your lids for more glamorous coverage.

2. Wet n Wild Color Icon Glitter

This uber-pigmented single-shade glitter is infused with Vitamin E to help moisturize the skin, and it’s cream-based so it goes on silky smooth.

We especially love the Groupie shade for a glamtastic look for your eyelids or Nudecomer to add sparkle to your arms and décolletage.

3. Beauty Bakerie Sugar Cookies Eyeshadow Palette 

It’s not just the Sugar Cookies name that attracted us to this brand. This nine-shade palette combines both shimmers and mattes.

The highly pigmented shades blend seamlessly and include shimmers in blue, gold, and rose gold that can be worn in multiple ways.

4. Sugarpill Loose Eyeshadow

Choose from 18 shades of shimmering loose eyeshadow—from intense black Stella to iridescent snow white Lumi—to make your eyes the statement of your holiday face.

This multidimensional shadow comes with crushed-crystal intensity but without the gritty feel of cheap glitter, and the creamy velvet consistency means it melts into liquid metal on your skin. 

5. Pacifica Crystal Punk Holographic Mineral Lip Gloss

This mineral lip gloss adds a super-shine, satin-like look to your smile.

Featuring rose seed and jojoba oils, Pacifica’s holographic gloss is also nourishing, and comes in subtle shades such as golden peach Halo, light pink Spaced Out, and turquoise Cosmos.

6. NYX Professional Face & Body Glitter

This multipurpose face and body glitter can be used anywhere you want to add sparkle and shine—from your face to your toes. Used in combination with NYX Glitter Primer, these loose glitter flakes stay put, providing a long-lasting, radiant finish.

It also comes in a variety of light-catching shades, ranging from ruby red to bronzy brown and yellow gold. 

7. Beauty Bakerie Royal Tea Metallic Lip Whip

We’re all for a good lip, but especially one that involves a metallic-like sheen. This Royal Tea Metallic Lip Whip gives your lips a stunning sheen that is much more dramatic than a typical shiny gloss.

And because it’s a matte formula, the color adheres to your lips and can be layered to get your desired depth of color.  

8. e.l.f. Retro Paradise Liquid Glitter Eyeshadow

Applying eyeshadow couldn’t be easier with this quick-drying, gel-based formula that comes in packaging similar to lip gloss.

Swipe the opaque glitter formula across your lids for a soft look or layer it on top of a darker cream shadow for a more vibrant style. 

9. Urban Decay Naked Illuminated Shimmering Powder For Face & Body

This smooth, silky face and body powder is a more sophisticated take on traditional glitter flakes, giving you a radiant shine rather than a super sparkly look.

The microfine shimmer and light-reflecting particles are lightweight and luminous and come in a pressed powder, making it easier to control where it goes. 

10. Athr Supernova Crushed Pure Diamond Highlighter

If you’re looking for a radiant glow, this diamond-infused highlighter features silver diamond sparkle and is specifically meant for the high points of your face.

Apply it where you want to shine: above your cheekbones, down the bridge of your nose, on the inner corners of your eyes, and above your cupid’s bow. 

11. Medusa’s Makeup Mineral-Based Glitter Eyeshadow

Feeling extra sparkly? These loose glitter pots are the perfect addition to party makeup. Dab a light layer of The Fix glitter adhesive on your lids, then apply the glitter and build for your desired look.

Did we mention it comes in nearly 50 color options, too?

12. e.l.f. Stardust Glitter Eyeliner

Sparkly stardust eyeliner? Count us in. This glitter liner will transform your existing eyeliner to a metallic finish.

Use the gel-based Shimmering Gold shade to layer over black liquid eyeliner for a dramatic effect or wear alone for a sheer wash of sparkle.

13. Milk Makeup Mini Holographic Stick

This creamy highlighter stick includes out-there ingredients like meteorite powder and twilight pearls to create a totally galactic glow.

The hyper-lavender, golden peach, and prismatic pink hues complement every skin tone, and ingredients like mango butter, coconut oil, and avocado oil leave a dewy sheen on your skin.

14. The Lip Bar One Swipe Liquid Eyeshadow

This one-swipe liquid eyeshadow is a quick and easy way to glam up your eye makeup.

Swipe it on your lid, blend with your fingertip or a brush to soften the edges, and then a few seconds of drying time will leave you with a glamorous look.

15. Pacifica Twinkle Paint Liquid Shadow

A sheer, buildable liquid shadow that complements any holiday LBD, Pacifica’s Twinkle Paint will easily amp up your glam.

It’s available in subtle pink and silver hues, and the flocked flexible tip allows for precision and makes it easy to use, too.

16. Glitter Realm Crystalline Glitter Liners

These versatile tubes of glitter enable you to create a variety of eye-opening effects, from thin, precise lines to thick, dramatic looks.

Because of its thin brush, the liner can be used as a glitter eyeliner or for lip or face art. 

17. Tarte Rainforest of the Sea Foil Finger Paint Trios

This shimmering three-shade eyeshadow palette can be painted on with your fingers, and the unique gel glitter topper can transform your look when combined with the two complementing pigmented foil formulas.

Just apply a swipe of foil formula across your lids with your finger and then pack the gel glitter topper over the center for extra shimmer.

18. KVD Beauty Edge of Reality Eyeshadow Palette

This eye-catching palette features 14 pixel-perfect pigments, including eight shimmers and special effects shades that can be applied wet or dry and in multiple combinations.

19. Artist Couture Diamond Lights Finisher

Featured in Kinder Beauty's December 2021 Box, you will shine like never before with this iconic product. Every hour is Golden Hour with this stunning, shimmery finisher. It combines multidimensional loose pearls with silicone oil, making it “melt” onto your skin for a sexy, wet-like shine. Use it on your cheeks, eyes, and body to catch the light, any time of day. 

If you're a subscriber, you'll be getting this dazzling product in your December Box just in time to add a little glow to your holiday look. 

Sign up for Kinder Beauty today!

Please note: A product appearing in our blog is not an official Kinder Beauty endorsement. While every product we feature in an article is cruelty-free and vegan, these products do not necessarily meet all of our strict brand standards for curation in one of our boxes. 

Nicole Axworthy is a Toronto-based writer and author of the vegan cookbook DIY Vegan.