This Artist Uses The Magic Of Glitter To Turn Stretch Marks Into Stunning Art

Artist Sara Shakeel encourages women to love their bodies with glitter stretch marks photo series

Loving what you see in the mirror can be tough, especially in today’s era of filters and photoshop. With all the #flawless bodies being flaunted in our feed, it’s far too easy to feel like your own body doesn’t will never measure up, especially if you have stretch marks. Artist Sara Shakeel is on a mission to change the way we view these so called “flaws,” with a photo series that shows stretch marks as the vessel for ribbons of gorgeous glitter. Prepare to feel like a goddess.

Shakeel tells Cosmopolitan the idea came to her after she developed some stretch marks of her own from some weight gain. “Stretch marks are something I relate to on a very personal basis,” she says. Rather than let the change in her body get her down, she went looking for a way to see the beauty in her stripes. She set out to “fill them up with something pretty.” Nailed it.

Stretch marks on stomachs are nothing new to moms, but these ones look like something a khaleesi would have. We’re here for it.

If only there was a way to get this look in real life.

Since the response to the photos has been so positive, she hopes to continue the series. We’re pumped to see more, but can we get a tutorial on how to do this to our own photos? Adding glitter to my stretch marks seems like a ton more fun than trying to find the magic filter that will make them disappear without making me look like some sort of mutant Barbie.

Although she was excited about the photos, she was still nervous about sharing them with the world. “I still remember that feeling of making those glitter stretch marks, and I was quite scared of uploading it,” she explains. “I am a Pakistani-based artist and talking about stretch marks or even making art out of it is not something you talk about on a regular basis.”

With thousands of likes on each photo, it’s obvious that Shakeel has helped tons of women feel better about their bodies. But the project has also given her own self-esteem a boost too. “I have never felt so powerful and liberated and so fucking proud of my stretch marks in my entire life!” she wrote in an Instagram post alongside a photo of of a tummy in jeans that’s adorned with gold glitter lines. “Support and love yourself for whoever you are! Cause there is someone out there sharing the same feelings as you are! There is one thing for sure YOU ARE NOT ALONE!!!”