Many year ago (five or six, I think) I started noticing glitter whenever I went to the beach. This happened especially when I went to Seattle (and when I lived there), because the Puget Sound tends to hold in particulate matter for longer than the open ocean. At first I want like, "wow, the water is sparkling, that's so beautiful!" Then I realized it was glitter. There was so much of it. And it made me so sad. How was this glitter affecting all the ocean creatures? And how, as it breaks down, does it enter our watersystems and affect us (and our kids). Thank you for breaking this down (in a non-toxic way).
When I was in my twenties I wore it all the time. It was my way of celebrating every day. But after seeing glitter in the ocean every single time I went to the beach, regretted ever using it.
Dec 15, 2023·edited Dec 15, 2023Liked by Jessica DeFino
Just chiming in to add that plastic + eyeballs = recipe for disaster.
(ETA: I am of the age where my eye doctor has given me a list of eye make-up I am no longer allowed to use due to perimenopause-related dry eyes, and it goes far beyond glitter and mica-infused make-up. I shudder to think of what I put my eyes through in my younger days.)
My eye doctor told me microplastics are also shedding from contact lenses, you know, into people's eyes. (I wore contacts for years but no longer can, also a dry eye queen.) She said so far, no specific harm to people from this has been identified, but she no longer really recommends people wearing contacts as there are none that don't do this.
It is not lost on me that a major motivation for people to wear contacts is appearances/the beauty standard too.
I wish I could say I'm surprised, but I'm not. At the appointment where she told me about eye makeup, she also told me I could no longer wear contacts and had to go back to glasses full-time. And yeah, definitely a blow to my self-esteem because "boys don't make passes at girls who wear glasses" is ingrained in my head. *sigh*
Eating a bunch of potato chips will make your face nice and greasy and give you something I like to call, (budududuuuuhhh), Natural Highlighter! Grease it up, ladies, let's eat some fuckin pickle chips!
Lol while I love the "fuck it" sentiment here there are also ways to do Natural Highlighter that don't lead to inflammation of a major organ (the skin)!! maybe a nice coating of like... ghee or honey ;)
This essay proves that something can be absolutely brilliant without using any glitter at all. I’m a mom of a tween girl and sending this to all of her friends’ moms. Thank you for your work!
And, the town in Oklahoma where I grew up doesn't even have a recycling program. Walmart is the center of the town's entertainment/commerce/social connection and, if you've never been to a Walmart you need to know that you aren't allowed to be given less bags than total items purchased. Can we work on reducing single use water bottles and plastic bags forced in stores more ardently than judging our friends' makeup? I know every little bit helps. There are still such BIG bits that go completely unaddressed when it comes to reducing plastics.
I think I very clearly explained why glitter is different than other types of plastic (it is already microplastic) and requires a targeted approach. In any case, this is a newsletter about beauty, so all sustainability content will be makeup-focused. There are lots and lots of other platforms addressing water bottles and plastic bags. I appreciate their work. Their work is not mine.
I wish I had read this before I bought a thing of glitter at Lush 🥲 They said it was environmentally friendly but you're absolutely right about "even if that's true, popularizing the look isn't going to be environmentally friendly." Does anyone have any ideas of what else to do with it now that I've got it? (Arts and crafts maybe??)
Many year ago (five or six, I think) I started noticing glitter whenever I went to the beach. This happened especially when I went to Seattle (and when I lived there), because the Puget Sound tends to hold in particulate matter for longer than the open ocean. At first I want like, "wow, the water is sparkling, that's so beautiful!" Then I realized it was glitter. There was so much of it. And it made me so sad. How was this glitter affecting all the ocean creatures? And how, as it breaks down, does it enter our watersystems and affect us (and our kids). Thank you for breaking this down (in a non-toxic way).
When I was in my twenties I wore it all the time. It was my way of celebrating every day. But after seeing glitter in the ocean every single time I went to the beach, regretted ever using it.
Oh my god, what an experience. I hope you write an essay about this someday!!
<3
Just chiming in to add that plastic + eyeballs = recipe for disaster.
(ETA: I am of the age where my eye doctor has given me a list of eye make-up I am no longer allowed to use due to perimenopause-related dry eyes, and it goes far beyond glitter and mica-infused make-up. I shudder to think of what I put my eyes through in my younger days.)
My eye doctor told me microplastics are also shedding from contact lenses, you know, into people's eyes. (I wore contacts for years but no longer can, also a dry eye queen.) She said so far, no specific harm to people from this has been identified, but she no longer really recommends people wearing contacts as there are none that don't do this.
It is not lost on me that a major motivation for people to wear contacts is appearances/the beauty standard too.
I wish I could say I'm surprised, but I'm not. At the appointment where she told me about eye makeup, she also told me I could no longer wear contacts and had to go back to glasses full-time. And yeah, definitely a blow to my self-esteem because "boys don't make passes at girls who wear glasses" is ingrained in my head. *sigh*
Very true!
An optometrist once told me that he had to remove embedded glitter from a woman’s eyeball.
Thank you for sharing this. It’s prompted me to read up on the dry eyes/menopause/makeup connection- time to see my eye doctor.
How we are attracted to things that can be so harmful to us is so weird.
*insert comment about my dating history here*
Oh, yes. I’m laughing but crying on the inside. 😂 so true.
Why is this not a no-brainer? Why is everything, especially about plastic, a brainer.
this makes me wonder what those (allegedly)edible glitter powders for drinks are made of 🤨
I just saw a bottle of sparkly wine yesterday and it was listed as mica. Mmmm... tiny rock dust.
Shine on, Jessica! xo
👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 sooooo good
Thank you <33
Biodegradable sequins are very new products, and interesting technology! But it's so damn hard to avoid plastic.
https://www.radiantmatter.co/
Eating a bunch of potato chips will make your face nice and greasy and give you something I like to call, (budududuuuuhhh), Natural Highlighter! Grease it up, ladies, let's eat some fuckin pickle chips!
Lol while I love the "fuck it" sentiment here there are also ways to do Natural Highlighter that don't lead to inflammation of a major organ (the skin)!! maybe a nice coating of like... ghee or honey ;)
wait at first i thought you meant rubbing potato chip grease on the skin and maybe you didn't! disregard !!
lol lol lol I did not, that would be an incredible raccoon move though! No, just eat those bad boys. Um, the chips, not the raccoons.
I have actually never given thought to this...but like YEAH of course glitter is microplastics! Yikes! Thanks as always for your work.
Ouch! 🧚🏼♂️💀
This essay proves that something can be absolutely brilliant without using any glitter at all. I’m a mom of a tween girl and sending this to all of her friends’ moms. Thank you for your work!
I would love to eradicate plastic use overall.
And, the town in Oklahoma where I grew up doesn't even have a recycling program. Walmart is the center of the town's entertainment/commerce/social connection and, if you've never been to a Walmart you need to know that you aren't allowed to be given less bags than total items purchased. Can we work on reducing single use water bottles and plastic bags forced in stores more ardently than judging our friends' makeup? I know every little bit helps. There are still such BIG bits that go completely unaddressed when it comes to reducing plastics.
I think I very clearly explained why glitter is different than other types of plastic (it is already microplastic) and requires a targeted approach. In any case, this is a newsletter about beauty, so all sustainability content will be makeup-focused. There are lots and lots of other platforms addressing water bottles and plastic bags. I appreciate their work. Their work is not mine.
Wow, this was very eye opening! I love all things sparkly so this was very helpful for recognizing where I need to change. 😳🙏🏼
What a fantastic piece! I was not aware of this at all! I will spread the word! 😊
I wish I had read this before I bought a thing of glitter at Lush 🥲 They said it was environmentally friendly but you're absolutely right about "even if that's true, popularizing the look isn't going to be environmentally friendly." Does anyone have any ideas of what else to do with it now that I've got it? (Arts and crafts maybe??)