White face paint?

[sheepsarai]

Hi everyone! A friend of mine is doing the crow for halloween and he needs some white face make up, but we dont want it to look chunky so should he use a powder instead? anyway, if anyone knows of somthing that would be good for this please let me know! thanks!

[Gren]

Take all the stuff you find at a halloween store, and set it on fire. Don't even waste your time with it.

For my Kuja (there's pics in my gallery) I used Mehron's Clown white grease paint, set with baby powder. It stayed on, though since I'm fairly expressive, had set into the creases of my face by the end on the day. This may also have been just because I was inexperienced.

[kagehikari]

Ugh. White face-paint is the devil.

I understand that it's needed for some characters, but...Unless it's professionally applied, it tends to look horrid.

But, if your friend is set on this costume, here's the proper way to apply it.

Buy white greasepaint. You can get it offline from any theater makeup supplier. Apply it by DABBING lightly with a makeup sponge. Do NOT rub. It will get streaky. Do NOT overapply, it will get cakey. Set with a liberal sprinkle of baby powder.

Greasepaint will not dry, so it will feel kind of icky the whole time it's on.

If he smiles, smack him. He's supposed to be the Crow, and he doesn't smile. Besides, it will warp the paint effect and make it settle into the smile lines, and we don't want that, at all.

If you want to go the less-icky but not-really-white way, use a very light foundation and dust with baby powder.

[Gren]

Greasepaint will not dry, so it will feel kind of icky the whole time it's on.

I didn't have any problems with it feeling "icky" and it was applied to a pretty decent area of my body, as well as my entire face. Once it had been completely set with powder it felt more silky to the touch than anything else, and felt like nothing at all to my skin. Do you think your reaction may have been psychosomatic, similar to the way people think some people wigs are itchy despite the fact that their design leaves nothing to irritate the scalp?

[kagehikari]

Do you think your reaction may have been psychosomatic, similar to the way people think some people wigs are itchy despite the fact that their design leaves nothing to irritate the scalp?

It's probably because I just have sensitive skin. I have had skin irritation everytime I used greasepaint. Dunno, though. Even the irritation could be psychosomatic...One never knows unless they consult a doctor, which I'm not going to do because of an icky feeling and a little bit irritation that goes away in a day.

[liddo-chan]

I'm looking into being Death from Neil Gaiman's Sandman books, and she smiles all the time. Would that be a big problem with white cream makeup? How pale can you get with foundation and powder? I have a fairly light complexion for an Asian, but I have gotten a bit tan over the summer... Also, I will probably have to dust a lot of my body as well, since I'll most likely be wearing a tank top.

[Sarcasm-hime]

You can also use water-based paints. My favourite is Kryolan Aquacolor brand, but many people use Ben Nye. Both should be available at theatrical or makeup supply stores.

[Lottie]

I have the Ben Nye Aquacolor face paint that Sarcasm-hime is talked about. I haven't tried it out yet except putting a small amount on one section of my face. ^_^;; It seemed to hold pretty well on it's own, I hadn't put anything else hold the makeup on to make sure it didn't smear. (bleh, that sounded confusing.)

[Oleander]

I work at a haunted house and we use Krylon which is WONDERFUL, it doesn't crease or rub off and it comes off well with water.

[Artema]

For Samara I used Goth brand white greasepaint from work, applied with a sponge and then some white pressed powder to set it. The greasepaint was a bit streaky because I was rushed for time (had to paint the face and the feet and the hands), but the white powder dusted overtop evened it out and gave it all a silky feel that didn't transfer to other surfaces.

It was really comfy, too. I completely forgot I was wearing makeup at all. n_n Can't wait until my Mehron face-painting kit arrives, then I can test it out. >3

[SynVanSiWes]

For my Medli costume I just used foundation and baby powder. (yay, glad to hear that this is a common technique.) She's really more white than I was, but a real solid white would have looked freakish on me. Worked just fine, although it wouldnt be good if you're on stage. Only for a hall costume situation.