The word “glitter” is one of the many terms in the English language that have now become part of common parlance. It comes from the verb glitter, which means to shine, to shimmer, but finds its true origins in an even older Nordic word, glitra, which in turn means “sparkle”.
Interest in glitter began in the Paleolithic, when it was discovered that by adding grains of mica (a shiny mineral) to natural pigments obtained from earth and plants, very bright colours could be obtained for use in cave paintings.
In addition to this artistic use of glitter, its cosmetic use was also understood very early on. It was not only rocks and minerals that provided the raw material for the first glitter; the ancient Egyptians knew something about it, who, to make their cosmetics even more brilliant, added a "dusting" of ground beetles!
Today, modern glitters are widely used as decorative elements and cosmetic accessories.
