The Burlesque Dancer's Guide To The Perfect Glitter Lip

The holidays bring out the sparkle in everyone, but no one does it better than women and men in the burlesque and drag communities. Glitter lips are their calling card — and they know how to wear them in a badass way that won't smudge or smear, regardless of where the night takes them.

Turns out, the secret all boils down to layering a long-wear lipstick with a separate glitter product. Though, as one burlesque dancer warned us, it can't just be any kind of glitter. "It is important to make sure you are only ever using cosmetic glitter, not bigger craft glitter on your lips," Fancy Feast, a New York City-based burlesque dancer, says. "The bigger stuff is made from metal and not safe for consumption. Micro-fine cosmetic glitter is much easier on the digestive system if it's swallowed. These are things we actually have to think about in our industry!"

Feast also had one other highly important tip for those of you wanting an intense glitter lip of your own: No kissing allowed. "While it looks scintillating, I don't love making out with glitter lips on," Feast says, adding that eating with glitter lips is also an acquired skill. "My first six months in burlesque, my post-show tacos looked like David Bowie had exploded all over them," she says.

We asked seven drag and burlesque performers working across the world for their tried-and-true glitter lip routines, plus tips for making them last through any wild performance, ahead.