If you are using creme paint and contouring with another creme paint, you can go ahead and start contouring with the second color and blending the two paints together.
7 Steps to Apply Cosplay Face Paint
If this is your first time painting your face a different color, you’re probably looking for ways to use it correctly. If you’re going to spend the time applying face paint, you want it to look good, not like clown makeup at a local fair. As a general rule, the secret to good cosplay face paint is getting an opaque base layer of paint, then contouring your face with a darker color. Once you’ve got these skills mastered, all you have to do is touch-ups around your eyes and lips, and make sure your face paint is sealed. Overall, you should expect the process to take a long time. Even if you are only painting your face and don’t need to worry about the rest of your body, it’s a good idea to set aside one or two hours. I recommend practicing at least once before the day of the convention so that you know what you’re doing. The more familiar you get with face paint, the faster it will go and the less frustrated you’ll be.
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Step 1: Set up
- Wear a low-neck shirt. Apply the face paint while wearing something with a low neck or just the undergarments you’ll have on with your costume. Whatever you’re wearing, you want to make sure you can apply the paint below the costume’s neckline.
- Pull your hair back. If you’ll be wearing a wig, now is the time to put your hair back and put a wig cap on.
- Apply prosthetics and contacts. You want to apply any prosthetics or contacts you will be using before you face paint. I also recommend painting any prosthetic pieces ahead of time, so you only have to think about the seam between the prosthetic and your face.
- Apply a face primer. Using a primer on your face will make it easier for the paint to adhere to a solid, smooth layer. Make sure to include some product on your neck and any area of your chest and shoulders that you’ll be painting.
- Collect your face paint supplies. For face painting you will need:
- face paint of choice (plus water for water-based face paint)
- makeup brushes or sponges
- A contour color (this can be another color of face paint or powdered makeup)
- eye makeup (shadow, liner, mascara)
- Lip color
- Translucent powder
- Fixing spray
Types of cosplay face paint
The two types of paint that you will use for cosplay are water-based face paints and creme face paints. Several other types of face paint can be used also. Alcohol-activated paints, grease paints, and airbrushing are all used by special effects makeup artists for movies and plays. However, they are not used for cosplay very often because they are expensive and difficult to remove from your skin.
Both Water-based and creme makeup:
- Are easily applied with a sponge or a brush.
- Can offer full coverage for your skin.
- Can be removed using makeup remover wipes.
- Can be sealed to prevent smudging and staining.
Water-based face paint
It is more common to use water-based face paint in cosplay. It’s the cheapest type of face paint and is easiest to find. This type of paint tends to seal more easily, keeping it from rubbing off on your costume or anything it comes into contact with. At the same time, these paints are more likely to streak if you are sweating a lot and are applied in thinner layers. So it’s usually more difficult to get light colors to appear opaque on your skin.
- Mehron Paradise Makeup AQ: This is the brand that I use and prefer for face paint. It has good coverage and is pretty long-lasting (even at a summer convention), as long as you seal the paint with a fixing spray (I used Kryolan Fixing Spray). Mehron also has good quality creme makeup, but they are best known for their aqua makeup.
- Snazaroo: This is one of the types of face paint that’s the cheapest. It’s meant more as Halloween makeup and, therefore, doesn’t last as long as other brands. However, if your budget is tight, Snazaroo is a decent option for darker colors.
- TAG: This is another lesser-known brand. I’ve never used it, but I’ve heard white has excellent coverage and an opaque look in this brand.
Creme face paint
Most cosplayers will choose to use water-based face paint, however, creme face paint can be the better option depending on what you’re looking for. Creme face paint is easier to blend with different colors and correct mistakes that you made during the application. It will also give you a thicker, more opaque layer of makeup, which is a plus for lighter colors. Since it won’t streak off when you sweat, creme face paint also tends to last longer than water-based face paint.
Creme-based paint is necessary if you’re using some kind of prosthetics, such as elf ears or a fake nose. Water-based face paint just doesn’t adhere well to these synthetic pieces, so you’ll have to use creme.
On the downside, you need to use more creme paint to cover your face since you aren’t using water to help it spread out. You’ll also find that creme face paint is stickier and more difficult to seal without smudging. You’ll need to take extra time carefully patting powder onto your paint until it is matte and is not sticky to the touch.
- Ben Nye: This is the most common creme makeup because it is relatively cheap while still being of excellent quality. Ben Nye brand also has an aqua makeup line.
- Graftobian: This is the brand that was recommended to me to cover prosthetics. It’s not quite as oily as other creme makeups, so it will adhere better to latex and other synthetic materials.
- Kryolan: This is known for being one of the most high-end makeup brands in the industry. Therefore even though you’ll get high-quality makeup, it’s also usually the most expensive option.
Step 2: Apply paint
The first thing you want to do is apply an opaque, base layer of face paint. For water-based makeup, I recommend using a buffing brush (such as a kabuki brush). For creme makeup, I recommend using a disposable sponge. However, either type of applicator can work for both types of face paint.
If you are using water-based paint, you’ll need to activate it with water first. Add a small amount of water to the paint dish. I’ll usually dip the brush or sponge in water and swirl it around in the paint until it becomes frothy and paintable.
If you are using a brush: I recommend using a kabuki brush so it can cover large areas. Collect paint on the brush by swirling it in the paint. Using the same swirling motion, apply the paint to large areas of your face, ears, and neck until you have a solid base layer. Then use a smaller brush to apply face paint to the small areas around the eyes, ears, and nose.
Let your face dry and then repeat the process if you need better coverage. It can help to apply a fixing spray between layers so that you don’t accidentally rub off the first one when trying to add more paint.
If you are using a sponge: Apply paint to the sponge and then put it on your face one streak at a time. Try to avoid going over areas that you’ve covered so that you don’t end up rubbing the face paint away and causing a streaked look. You can pat or dab the brush onto your face in areas where the paint isn’t covering as well. Go over the large areas of your face and neck, and then carefully fill in the details around your eyes, nose, and ears. Let the makeup dry and then apply a second layer if necessary.
Face Paintoos – Face Painting Made Easy
We love face painting in this house, my daughter particularly loves her face painted. However my repertoire of what i can actually paint is limited. Ask me to face paint a tiger and it looks amazing, a butterfly however never looks good.
Face Paintoos makes face painting so easy that anyone could do it. It has meant that my children don’t always have to have their faces painted as a tiger!
The party pack has 20 different face tattoos in different designs. There is a magical pack which has some great designs that my daughter loves. The pack includes a Dolphin with a rainbow, a Forest Fairy, , Butterfly, Blue Mermaid and Unicorn designs.
The magical pack is the one my daughter really loves. What eight year old girl doesn’t like Unicorns and all things magical?
Additionally, the pet pack includes a Puppy, Rabbit, Dalmatian, Cat and Mouse paintoos. Finally,the wild pack contains a Tiger, Monkey, Leopard, Lion and Dragon design.
Also included in the pack is an applicator sponge, instructions and plenty of wipes to help remove the paintoos.
How to Apply the Paintoos
Applying the paintoos is pretty easy, to start with you cut around the designs individually. Then removed the plastic sheet and apply to the correct area of the face. Then you dab the tattoo with water using the applicator sponge which is included, after holding the sponge on the tattoo for around 15 – 20 seconds you will easily be able to remove the backing leaving the tattoo on the face.
Applying the top part of the unicorn was a little tricky to start with, having never used them before. I think we may have wet it for too long as it slipped a little. But it still looked great.
The little tattoos were a lot easier to put on the cheeks having done the top of the face. We haven’t tired any of the other face tattoos yet but we plan to do so soon. The box states that the tattoos are suitable from age 4, i think it depends if your four year old will sit still. Some of the tattoos look quite large so it will be interesting to try them on my near four year old.
All in all the paintoos make face painting so much easier, we found they stayed on really well. The top of the unicorn started to come off at the end of the day. My eight year old scowls so that added to it. The stars on the cheeks however stayed on a lot longer.
The removal wipes work well and there are plenty in the pack, we also used a face wipe after as the removal wipe was a little bit greasy. The Face Paintoos party pack would be great to use at a party or family BBQ. Adults and children alike can have fun with the face paintoos. We really enjoyed using them and i will recommend them to people having a party.
A little more on how to apply them.
Disclosure- We were gifted the Face Paintoos for the purpose of this review.
Take a look at the festival tattoos that we have also tried.
