The Dirt on Glitter!

​Glitter!  Have you ever wondered what the heck it is?  Where it comes from?  

All the glittery secrets are revealed today on the blog!!!

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Glitter originated on a farm in New Jersey when a German immigrant invented a machine that could shred scrap metal into tiny pieces in the 1930s.  

But glitter didn't become a "thing" until the 1940s when people were advised to do their Christmas decorations with glitter rather than light candles (which turned windows into night time targets during the war).

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Most of the glitter that you'll find in American glitterized products are made in one of two highly secretive glitter factories.  Both of which are in New Jersey. 

​One of which is called, awesomely, Glitterex.

Most of Glitterex glitter is made from plastic (mylar) but some is made by evaporating aluminum.  Or, to be technical, aluminum metalized polyethylene terephthalate. 

​Now that's a mouthful! 
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Glitterex makes 10,000 varieties.  The most popular is always silver.  They have many, many silvers.

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They make holographic glitter by embossing a fine pattern onto film so it reflects light.  Iridescent glitter-- that shows different colors depending on the angle-- is made with 233 layers of clear film with different refractive indexes.

The thickest and least advanced is craft glitter.

The finest is cosmetic glitter used on lips.

Most glitter produced is hexagonal.

​If you wanted to buy glitter from Glitterex the minimum order is enough glitter to make half a million bottles of nail polish. 

​A 10 lb bag will run you $1000.  


That number 1000 also, incidentally, is the number of years it takes for glitter to completely biodegrade.  ​

I personally love the look of glitter in pictures but I also love the environment.  My solution? Digital glitter!  So if you want some celebratory shots during your photoshoot I can get the look of glitter without harming the environment!  Yay photoshop!

Glitter shots are super popular at my cap & gown mini shoots in May!

These mini shoots are a special exclusive event only available to my senior portrait clients.

Class of 2019, I still have a few spots open on my spring calendar for senior portraits for which, if you book, you can also qualify for the cap & gown mini shoot.  But get in touch soon before they are gone!

Find out more!

If you are interested in learning more about glitter check out: "What is Glitter? A Strange Journey to the Glitter Factory" by Caity Weaver in The New York Times 12/22/18