Does anyone know how to achieve the look with the edible gold glitter/sparkles on the cakes in either of these photos?

Thanks in advance! :)

the top looks like edible gold flakes

http://www.ediblegold.co.uk/product_desc.php?id=2234

the bottom one looks like gelatin sequins

http://confessionsofascratchbaker.blogspot.com/2011/05/my-first-tutorialgelatin-sequins.html

the gold flakes are edible because they are non reactive and pass through our system, however, i don't imagine it's "good eats" and might have to be removed before serving. 

These are called sequin cakes and are the trend for 2014.  I have looked closer to other pictures and its tiny discs cut out of paste stuck on then coloured - suppose you could use variations of golds to get a sequin finish with dusts and sheens to obtain the glow.  The photos have been taken in a studio so assume plenty of light and computer touching up.

The second cake appears to be decorated with gold balls or dragees of different sizes.

...And the first one, in my opinion as a crafter, appears to be a dummy cake decorated with standard craft glitter. Gold leaf is much smoother. This one has too much texture and just looks like glitter to me.