I  have a client asking for these cupcakes.... though lovely they are covered in disco dust ( -__-) .  So  I am trying to come up with alternatives.  She wants either gold or lace.   SO .... I  painted a smooth  cake corner with hybrid lust and it looked pretty nice, however when I tried the "raw" cake part it didn't show.  Any suggestions?

She also said I could use dangling lace as in this (bottom tier) ... But I am afraid it wont hold on the naked cake. Any suggestions? 

Danely

Well, you'll need to adhere any decoration with something.  I'd use buttercream for taste & texture because I personally equate piping gel with snot.

For edible gold glitter, you could use gold gum arabic cake sparkles,  metallic gold shapes like these [http://smile.amazon.com/Wilton-Gold-Edible-Hearts-Glitter/dp/B003KK42XI/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1443751630&sr=8-9&keywords=edible+gold+glitter], make your own gold gelatin glitter [http://americancakedecorating.com/?p=1921], or color sparkling sugar [larger grain than sanding sugar] with gold metallic airbrush color and some dry edible gold luster dust [thesugarart.com, sugarpaste.com, pristinepowders.com, globalsugarart.com].  My personal choice would be the sugar.

Thank you for your response!

I have never tried piping gel -- it looks odd to me  too :) . I guess that a thin layer of buttercream will do. 

I did suggest the sugar but she is not a fan.   I took a peak at all these links and they seem like they may work . I am curious though have you tried the gelatin glitter? Is is shimmery?

With the gelatin glitter, you need to play around a bit with coloring.  If you add a little white coloring to the gelatin and/or edible gold metallic luster dust, you get some nice shine & sparkle. It doesn't absorb moisture easily, so the shine stays pretty well.

Gum arabic cake sparkles are readily available and inexpensive [you can grind the larger flakes smaller by using the handle of a knife and a tea strainer].  It's tasteless, but it can be affected by increased moisture/humidity.

If I'm making custom colored gelatin glitter, it's not going to be cheap.  The basic gelatin isn't expensive, but the edible colors, the grinder, and the time all add up to a lot more than readily available ingredients.

I won't lie to you. Nothing edible is going to look exactly like inedible plastic glitter with it's accompanying layers of aluminum and chemically added holographic shine.  Customers need to understand that food is to eat--unless they only want it for decoration.   Whether she likes it or not, sugar will look best, taste best, and cost the least.