Where can I get Face Paints from???

samcantcope

Hi I am doing a party for my 3 year old and wanted to do face paint, I have been quoted £40 an hour which I cant afford, so I am looking at getting my own and letting a friend do the painting, Does anyone know where I can buy them from and are they any good.

Thanks in advance
:beer:

across

i've seen them in Hobbycraft and a place called The Range hope they have one near you good luck!

morganb

Try https://www.smitcraft.co.uk
or the ELC. In fact, I got some for 75% off ELC ones in Debenhams online sale at the beginning of the year. Always worth a try.
Failing that, is there a College near you, this is something 6th formers would love to do.

samcantcope

What a good idea, never thought of asking any 6th formers. will check ELC And hobbycraft.

are they easy to do.
THANKS

AnW'sMum

depends on how complex you want to go! Check out your library for a book of ideas. I stuck to tigers and butterflies to start with and the kids loved it. Didn't always look as good as the pic I copied, just hide the pic

samcantcope

Thanks again, wish me luck.
They sell them on ebay, its a kit for 9.99 and will do 60 faces approx, does this sound about the right price.

geekgirl

I used to do face painting profesionally. I would reccomend getting face paints that you put on with a sponge for large areas and for more fiddly bits using a paint brush. Grimace are the best but they can be expensive. They work much better than the crayon types as you can get really good shapes and effects. Check if kids have got any allergies, parents dont usually like their kids faces blowing up like balloons!! If they do have allergies you can paint their hands instead which are usually less likely to react. I would also reccomend getting more than one person to do the painting as it can take a bit of time. Also get some glitter make up for fairys and butterflies, looks really cute.
Have a great time it will be good fun.

kittiwoz

The good ones are not cheap and the cheap ones are not any good. Snazaroo is good as is are Grimas waterbased colours (not greasepaint), Kryolan Aquacolour (not supracolour which is grease-based), Mehron, Wolfe-Bros. Just to make this really clear: Do not buy the crayon type or cheapie ones such as Galt. They don't work properly so it is a false economy. You sometimes find the Snazaroo ones in good toy shops or art shops, the others would be found in theatrical suppliers. Personally I think best value for you would be one of the small Grimas palettes. Although the Snazaroo individual pots are good their starter kits aren't so good and I think are a bit overpriced really. The small Grimas palettes are quite sturdy and easy to keep tidy and clean. Supracolour is gorgeous, especially the interferenz range, but it would be total overkill for your situation. One advantage of the small Snazaroo kits is that they do come with sponges and brushes but the brushes are not really up to scratch. So I think it is better to get a Grimas palette and some nice, soft watercolour brushes (a 4 or 5 filbert, thats about the width of your finger, is ideal) from an art shop and some cheap makeup sponges from Superdrug or somewhere. A cloth Alice-band to keep hair out of the way may also be a good idea. You will need water (to be frequently changed) and a cloth to wipe the brushes. I'm afraid I don't know where is cheapest to buy the face paint but there are a few stores on the internet that sell it. Here's one I found but there might be others cheaper.

Having painted a quite a lot of faces at kids parties in a professional capacity I think a couple of warnings are in order. Face painting can be quite time consuming, we used to aim for a half-face (i.e. basic makeup-design, no base) in three minutes but full-face takes longer and it will take a lot longer for someone who isn't used to doing it. The face painting could take a long time so you will need a strategy to keep the other children occupied while it is going on. Set up with two chairs and your kit on a low table or another chair. Keep your kit tidy so it is faster to find things and you don't transfer colours and make smears. Also three is quite young for a child to be having their face painted. A lot of young children don't like the sensation of the brush on their face and it is hard to get them to not to scrunch their faces up and to keep still, even with a steadying hand on the top of their head. How old will the other children at the party be? If this is a third birthday party does that mean there will be two-year olds present? I had a mother insist on my painting her two-year old daughter's face at a party once and the child really didn't want it done. I said to her, "Can she sit still?" but she failed to take my hint and said, "How many two year olds do you know who can sit still?" which was my point exactly but you can't argue with customers. We manages to paint a dot on her nose before her mother finally realised that all the squirming and getting upset meant she actually didn't want it done.

samcantcope

WOW, Thank you so much for the advice, I have a few people who will help, I am also thinking of setting up an area and letting parents have a go at painting there own childrens faces, I have seen a snazaroo face paint kit on ebay, it says it does upto 60 faces and costs 9.99 +postage. I was hoping something like that would do the job, there is about 15 kids coming.


will let you know how we get on.

:beer:

kittiwoz

The Snazaroo Rainbow Kit will be OK but I have found the flimsiness of the palette makes it difficult to work with and it is practically impossible to have more than one painter using it at a time which is why I would prefer a six colour Grimas palette. If you haven't got the Snazaroo Rainbow Kit already then here are the cheapest places I could find for the Grimas 6 colour palette. If you bought the Snazaroo one don't worry, it will be OK for a domestic situation. Six colour palette at £7.75+£1.50P&P so that's a total of £9.25. This one's £9.25 and ships free in the UK. You wouldn't get a book with that either but you can probably find guides on the internet. I'd tend to stick to half-face with such young kids, even without time being an issue. Even if you get a kit that comes with a brush you should buy some extra brushes. A value water-colour set might be your best bet.

geekgirl

Also in addition to Kittiwoz reply, they have the books in the library. You could take out a couple and practice on your kids to get your hand in.

Another bit of advice I would give is get yourself a good chair with a smaller chair for the kids to sit on. It means they don't wobble around as much and you sitting taller than them it doesn't kill your back as much as bending over from standing. You will soon find the best comfortable position for yourself.

good luck.