Kylie Jenner celebrated her 29th birthday last week with a “princess kitty”-themed party at her luxurious Beverly Hills home. She wore a hot pink latex dress accessorized with a pink marabou feather crown, boa and feathered kitten-heel slides.
She took us inside her girlie-pop birthday get-together via Instagram Stories, naturally. The biggest takeaway from the party wasn’t the fact that her beau Timothée Chalamet was absent, or that the guest list included sisters Kendall, Kim and Kourtney Kardashian, as well as bestie Hailey Bieber; it was the wild amount of OG bedazzling happening at this bash.
Rhinestones and colourful decorative gems covered everything from plastic cocktail cups to one of her three birthday cakes. Jenner’s white frosted layer cake, decorated with multicoloured gemstones in diamond, heart and star shapes, instantly went viral and suddenly had everyone thinking about bedazzling everything again.
Though the DIY craft trend hit a pop-culture apex in the late 1990s and early 2000s, it actually began in the late 1970s with the introduction of the Bedazzler tool (hands up if you remember it!). Suddenly, adding gemstones to every single clothing item you owned was a thing, and it also crossed over into home décor items like throw pillows, blankets and pillowcases.
In the late ‘90s, going maximalist and glittery made a comeback thanks to a few sparkle-loving icons of the decade: Justin Timberlake, Paris Hilton and Britney Spears (who famously bedazzled her body with Swarovski crystals in her “Toxic” video). It was also during this time that bedazzling everyday items (ie. flip phones, sunglasses, makeup) became a thing.
A recent article in Time dove into the current resurgence of bedazzling, revealing that this creative practice is not only a fun way to spend more time in the real world and off tech, but also has some solid mental health benefits. In the story, art therapist Allie Joy says bedazzling is a hobby with extra benefits for a few reasons. She told the outlet that it’s a tactile hobby that is repetitive in the best way. The motion of picking up a gem and placing it, on repeat, is soul-soothing. “Repetitive motions are very good for our nervous system, emotional regulation, and stress relief,” Joy says.
Joy also says bedazzling is grounding. Because it’s a real-time practice, you become so absorbed in what you are doing that it keeps you firmly rooted in the present, free from digital distraction. “When I am doing it, I don’t even think about my phone. I’m just so involved in the process.”
The payoff of bedazzling is also long-lasting; the dopamine hit you get from crafting doesn’t end when your project is done. Adding sparkle to something as basic as your phone charger can transform a utilitarian object into a showpiece and make you smile—and feel a bit of happy—every time you use it.
Not a crafter but want to dip into bedazzling? The good news is it’s a low-investment hobby, and you can score a complete beginner’s bedazzling kit, which includes rhinestones and glue, like this one, for under $20. Start by picking one everyday item to glow up—one you use daily but that is not inspirational, like your AirPods case, or a skincare product or vitamin bottle. You may be surprised by how much you love it, and how easy and fun it is to turn the mundane into art.
With cozy season approaching, my magazine and record collection is about to get bedazzled and become infinitely more glam.
