Halloween 2019 is upon us! This can be the busiest time of the year for face painters, which makes it really fun and a little overwhelming, or vise versa depending on how prepared you are. The beginning of October is a great time to make sure that you are doing everything you can to have the best Halloween yet! Take a moment to read this post and see if you can use any of the advice to improve your Halloween game!
If you Haven't Started Planning your Halloween Playbook, Do it Now!
To begin planning how to tackle Halloween this year, I recommend sitting down and reflecting on your past Halloween seasons. Jot down events or private bookings that were your favorites and why, and then take note of the ones that really didn’t go as planned. Once you have made notes of all of the things that you loved, and the parts that were a struggle, you can start brainstorm ways to change your plan this year to make it the most profitable and less stressful Halloween yet. This also includes deciding how much time you want to spend working during the Halloween season versus how much time you want to spend enjoying Halloween with your friends and family.
The next step I take when tackling a new Halloween season is looking at all the potential gigs I could get and then choosing where I want to focus my attention. Trying to work at a haunted house, do private make overs, paint at schools and libraries during the week, and host a Halloween party for your kids will just lead to chaos if not carefully thought out and planned. I find that choosing one or two areas to really put all my energy into is best for me. Here is a list of events and places that you could face paint at this Halloween. Google search events in your town and consider your own unique local options too.
Private make overs for kids or adults
Private Halloween Parties
Large Company Parties
City Sponsored Events
Museums and Library Events
Charity Events and Fundraisers
Shopping Mall Events
Costume Contests at Bars or Dance Clubs
Events at Bowling Alleys /Lazer Tag/ Paintball Places
Haunted Houses
Zombie Runs
Casino Halloween Parties
Hospital Parties for Patients or Staff
Parties at Woman and Children Shelters
Juvenile Home Parties
Block Parties
Trunk o Treats
Zoo Boos
Nature Centers
Pumpkin Patches
Movie Theater Events
Church Harvest Festivals
Weekday or Weekend School fairs
Sports Games
Tips for Private Bookings
Private bookings can be a fun way to work over the Halloween weekends. People come to you, and you get to paint custom designs that you may have never painted before. With good planning you can have a lot of success with private bookings.
Some challenges to private bookings are that instead of booking two or three regular long gigs for a day, you might be booking 10 or more individual sessions. This means that you will have to communicate with a lot of people and schedule them in carefully so that everyone gets done when needed. If doing the secretarial work is your least favorite part of being a face painter, private bookings might not be for you.
Most people will want their makeup done in the evening, and you will have to convince them to come in earlier once your evening spots are filled up. You could set their water based or powder based designs with a makeup sealer, use cream based paints set with powder, or use water resistant paints like Proaiir Hybrids for a long lasting results. The mouth area is one spot that will wear off the fastest. If you are going to be painting details like skeleton teeth on the lips, check out this lipstick sealer by Mehron if you need to keep your clients looking great for hours and hours. For an additional charge you could provide a mini touch up kit or they could come back to your location for a quick touch up if they need it in a few hours.
Mehron | LipStix (Lipstick Sealer) by Invisible Finish 0.5oz/15ml
by Mehron
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Product Code: MHOT140
According to the manufacturer after applying this sealer your lipstick becomes: drink proof, eat proof, smudge proof, water proof and kiss proof (Ooh la la). I use it over face paint around the mouth area or to preserve a tattoo design. As long as you don't rub it hard, it stays put! It feels like you are applying mouthwash over the paint, you get that cool minty smell and sensation.
Ingredients: SD Alcohol 38B, Glycerin, Acrylates/Octylacrylamide/Copolymer, Ethylcellulose, Hydroxypropylcellulose, Artifical Flavor
Contracts and Deposits
"Make sure you take deposits and use contracts to avoid schedule delays and cancellations."
When I started out doing private bookings I had some issues with people arriving late to their bookings because they were rushing to finish the rest of their costume or were held up by friends or family. I also had issues with folks cancelling all together. I found out that the best way to deal with this is to make everyone sign a booking contract and pay a deposit or pay in full before the day. Make sure that it is clear that they have to show up on time. Let them know that if they show up late you will have to do a simpler design so that you can be done when it is time for your next appointment, and if they miss their time block all together they forfeit their deposit. Being very clear about these policies will help motivate people to be there on time and not cancel. Always contact each client a week before and the day before to check in with them and make sure that you are still on the same page.
Some makeup requests might be above your current skill level and may require you to find materials or special paints to complete the look. It is not rare that someone will ask you to paint something they saw online, but it is actually a photo-shopped image of a face paint design. You will need to explain this and show them a more realistic version of the design. Take into account when quoting your rate that you may need to practice some designs ahead of time to make sure that you can do them well and get them done in the time you estimated.
Body Painting Requests
Full body painting is a common request on Halloween. Once a client finds out that it could take 3-6 hours to paint them entirely they usually go for less paint and more costume. Make sure that your client knows the risk of the paint wearing off over time with friction, that they consider if it will be appropriate for the event they are attending, and the chill factor of walking around with out clothes. Another issue is spreading their paint on other surfaces like chairs or couches or other peoples clothing if they will be dancing. If you do a full body painting you can help stop with spread by using products like Proaiir Hybrid Paints, or by setting the design well with a barrier spray. If this will be your first time body painting do as much research as possible and walk through the design step by step to get an idea of how long it will take to paint. Cover the most important parts first so that if you run out of time the customer can cover the rest with clothes or you can just do a plain base of color without details. Body Art Stencils are a great way to cover a lot of area with detail in a super fast manner if you need to paint a quick body painting design or if you find yourself running out of time and need to speed things up.
ProAiir Alcohol Based Hybrid Airbrush Body Paint Set | 6 UV Rainbow - 1oz Bottles
by ShowOffs Body Art
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Product Code: SOBAPAK111
ProAiir Hyrbid UV Rainbow Colors are the best of both worlds! A combination of colors that are Fluorescent under black light but still opaque and full of color in the regular light! This Kits is just like the Atomic Kit, but it has purple instead of pink. You can create pink by mixing it with your white. Mix the colors to have all of the colors in the rainbow. Add separate bottles of black and white to create the ultimate hybrid face and body painting kit.
This kit contains ProAiir: Rainbow Red, Rainbow Orange, Rainbow Yellow, Rainbow Green, Rainbow Blue and Rainbow Violet in the 1oz Bottles. This kit comes inside a plastic zippered pouch.
Neon colors, like in many other brands, are made with pigments that have not been approved by the FDA to be used in cosmetics (the FDA has not tested them yet for cosmetic use) but they have been independently tested and have been determined safe for cosmetic use by independent laboratories. Following FDA guidelines these colors are labeled as a Special FX product to be used on prosthetics, clothing, etc.
Info from Show Offs Body Art:
What makes ProAiir™ Hybrid different from all the others?
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Goes on smooth and provides unbeatable durability. Applied correctly, designs can last up to 3 days.
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Shelf life open bottles 3-5 years. Unopened bottles shelf life 10 years.
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Vast selection of vibrant colors including Fluorescent.
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Fantastic coverage for all fantasy makeup artist's needs.
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Dries instantly allowing rapid layering without worry of stencils lifting colors.
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Completely water repellant enabling application in hot or rainy conditions without smearing or running.
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Smudge proof formula sets instantly and won't rub off or damage clothing. Not sweat proof under extreme heat.
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Formulated for ultimate flowability without separation of pigments.
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Almost no mist or fog created when using in closed areas (no more nose hairs filled with paint).
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Fluorescent colors will not need a white base to POP color. Pigment is great under black light too
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Readymade formula never requires diluting. Screw on adaptor caps right on bottles and go!
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Perfect for any application on prosthetics: sprays directly on foam masks and other materials.
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Hypoallergenic formula safe for use on sensitive skin. (Cosmetic alcohol content identical to that in liquid eye liners)
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More sanitary, doesn't collect mold like water base products can.
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Aromatic fragrance is pleasant to the senses.
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Do not apply if your customer have allergies to fragrances
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FDA compliant and made in USA!
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AFFORDABLE and comes in larger quantity size bottles too!
Directions for use:
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Set air pressure between 10-15 PSI (may vary by compressor - keep it comfortable).
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Shake makeup bottle VERY WELL! Then secure to airbrush with adaptor caps.
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Use with adequate ventilation, keeping away from flames.
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Best when applied to clean, oil-free skin. Wipe skin with wipes, never apply makeup foundation to skin before applying ProAiir. That creates a barrier over the clean skin. Apply to SKIN is best!
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Lightly hold stencil against skin, if applicable.
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Ask customer to close eyes when spraying and hold breath when spraying around nose.
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Spray between 2-4 inches from skin for best color and control. LESS IS BEST!
It is best if the customer is in charge of getting any accessories like fake teeth, false eye lashes, or prosthetic appliances. If they ask you to buy everything for them, make sure that they pay you in advance for the products, shipping costs and make over. Ordering online is risky because a shipping delay could leave you with out the things you need. If you can’t get the items locally, order online far in advanced and contact the company before you place your order to make sure they will be shipping soon. Choose Express Shipping if you really need it right away.
Where to set up for Private Bookings?
You will need to find a safe, bright and easy to find place to host your bookings. You could have people come to your house or apartment lobby but it might not be the safest option if you do no know the people you will be painting. Many artists rent booth spaces in hair salons and sometimes face painters band together and rent the entire salon and turn it into a wild event! Do some research in your community to see if you can find an appropriate place to invite people to get their makeovers done.
Maximize your Profits by Quoting Realistic Rates and Scheduling Smart!
One of the biggest mistakes I made when I started doing private appointments was that I charged to litter per face and ended up making much less that I would have made if I just stuck to booking regular hourly gigs.
Painting a face for a private booking usually takes longer than painting a face at a birthday party. There is a lot more chit chat and detail work when you are focusing on doing a really good job. I would quote a face thinking I could do it in ten minutes, but it ended up taking 30. I fixed this by charging more than usual for private appointments on Halloween. A lot of your customers will be adults who are heading off to costume contests hoping to win a big prize. You will be surprised what some are willing to pay to be transformed by you! For those who don’t want a super elaborate makeover you could require that that they come in groups so that it would equal your Halloween hourly rate. For example, if you charge $100 per hour on Halloween, you can offer $20 make overs for 20 minutes per person with a 5 person minimum. Groups of friends can all come together and have fun watching you paint them up. Another suggestion is to charge $50 for 30 minute makeovers after 6pm. Try to book your gigs close together so that you don't have a lot of long empty blocks and schedule in breaks as needed so that you don’t fizzle out before the night is over.
If you would rather set up a booth and have people show up first come first serve, some good locations to do this include parks, popular restaurants, festivals, block parties, malls, bowling alleys and more. Make sure to work out all of the details with the owner of the business so that there is no confusion on the day of the event. Some may want to take a cut in exchange for you charging there, while others will not because they will see you as a draw to their location, and you come at no cost to them. I recommend selling your presence in a manner that they will just let you work with no fees and enjoy the amazing atmosphere that you will create with their clients. It is nice to find a place to paint indoors because Halloween is known to have unpredictable weather depending where you live. It could rain, snow or be 90 degrees out. Also, the sun will set, so working outside will require lighting at some point.
Booking for Season Long Events
There are a lot of face painters who spend the Halloween season face painting at pumpkin patches and zombie events like Zombie Paint Ball Runs. Some coordinators will hire face painters and pay them hourly, while others will allow them to set up a booth and paint for cash, or tickets, which they will then turn in for payment at the end of the day. Since you can work a lot of hours back to back day after day this can be a very profitable gig. The one drawback for some painters can be the unpredictability of the weather during the fall in parts of the U.S.. You may find yourself unable to paint because of rainstorms or freezing weather, or you might be able to paint through the weather but be quite uncomfortable, especially if you are set up in a grass field that could get muddy and windy. Make sure to plan your location and set up carefully to minimize the effects of rain, snow and wind. You will also want to have good lighting because they might have you paint after the sun goes down. You may want to work together with other artists to share the hours, or work as a team if the demand is really high. Keep the designs simple so that you can keep up with the demand.
Zombie Skin - Flesh Tone - 1 oz - Hypo-Syringe
by Zombie Skin
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Product Code: ZS103
ZOMBIE SKIN is a ammonia free latex with the consistency of whipped butter or whipping cream. It can be used alone for cuts, gashes, wounds, bites, claw marks, and the rest is up to your imagination. Zombie Skin can also be used to blend prosthetic edges on foam latex, latex, silicone, netting and clothing. Zombie skin is currently being used by professionals and haunted attractions.
Tips and Tricks with ZS!
Making pasties
Tear a circle in tissue or paper towel. Apply the ZS to the models skin, then place the circle material over top of it and smooth out with your finger. Once that is done, you can then cover the material with ZS till it is smooth. Once dry you do not have to powder, and will accept any paints both water based and alcohol based. It has been used with Mehron, Graftobian, European Body Art, and Wolfe FX.
Haunted Makeups.
Due to the fact that this product dries very quickly, you can use it for blending edges on prosthetics. You can also use ZS to cover the models underwear.
Making Cuts or Wounds Cuts
Start out by spreading the ZS on the person’s skin with a craft stick. Then take the craft stick. Give the ZS about 30 sec to start drying take the edge of the stick and make a cut in the ZS. As you make the cut you will see it start to pull away just like a cut does when you cut your skin. Take your paints and now just color and add blood as needed. (Remember less is more in some cases)
Wounds
Start out by spreading the ZS on the skin with a craft stick, then wait till the ZS is about half way dry. You will have to play with this to get the right timing. The ZS dries faster the warmer the person is as it works off the body heat to help it dry so fast. Once semi dry take a Qtip or Cotton Swab and push into the ZS then pull out the ZS. Once you have a hole in the ZS you can move it around to look like a deep wound, then just color with your favorite body paint.
Bites
This is the easiest of all the techniques that I have come up with. Just spread the ZS on the person's neck and then use a Qtip or Cotton Swab to make the bites by pushing the Q tip or Cotton Swab and rotating in a circle and pulling away the ZS leaving a perfect bite. You can also use this same idea for a mouth bite by just using the Qtip or Cotton Swab to make the separate teeth marks.
Trick or Treating Events at Malls and other Large Venues
If you are hired to paint at a large venue during Halloween make sure that you have researched popular costumes and have thought out simple ways to enhance the look with face paint. I remember one year when Darth Vader was super popular and I showed up to a mall with a ton of little boys draped in black and no idea how to paint a Darth Vader mask. I spent too much time staring at a picture on my phone and still wasn’t happy with the look. Now I just paint light sabers on the cheeks and tell the parents that painting their kids face all black could be a disaster in the car or at home. To keep people happy you will want to keep the line moving so that the kids can go trick or treating and participate in other actives. You can have a board with just Halloween designs like pumpkins, spiders and ghosts, and not even try to match their costume if you just have time to do 1 or 2 minute designs. Kids will love it, and everyone will love the fast moving line. Make sure that you have a plan set up to close your line when your time is up. These huge events have a never-ending supply of kids that want to get painted, so ask for stanchions to close off the line, or ask for a staff member to help you close down. Use Line Closed Vests to help send the message that you are closed and have a large sign that posts when the last person will be painted.
Line Closed Vest
by Jest Paint Vest
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Product Code: JPLV100
This vest will be a wonderful addition to your face painting and balloon twisting gigs! While you are busy painting/twisting you can be sure your line will end when its time to pack up. The message is simple and straight to the point, and the bright color also makes it easy for you to keep an eye on the end of the line and make sure it is shrinking and not growing. Once I have put on the vest I either mark their hands with a rainbow cakes, or I have the kids count off each time a new kid gets in the chair to make sure that no one else is cutting in.
The Neon Yellow vest has a Velcro closure on the front as well as an 8" elastic band on each side, allowing for the vest to fit a variety of sizes. It is a light weight mesh material made of 100% Polyester. The measurements are 18" wide by 23" tall.
Working at Haunted Houses
I have only worked at a haunted house once at Knot's Scary Farm when I was taking a theater makeup class. Our instructor brought us a long to attach prosthetics, airbrush bases on the characters masks and splatter a lot of blood. It was a completely different world than my face painting one! If you have not had experience working in a Haunt you will want to find out the expectations of those running the haunts makeup department and make sure you are prepared, or will have time to learn special fx makeup while on the job. Working at a haunted house means hours and hours of work, but you will probably not make the same hourly rate that you are used to with private parties. Due to the demanding schedule, you may not have time to book other events. Talk to other artists who have done haunts to get all the ins and outs and make sure that you and your family are ready for this type of commitment. Google local haunts to find when and where they are hosting interviews right away because the season has already begun in some towns!
Mehron | Special FX Make Up Kit - Resident Evil 2 Zombie
by Mehron
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Product Code: MHPK103
What are the dimensions of the Limited Edit Resident Evil 2 Special FX Zombie Kit?
The dimensions of this kit are 11" × 6.5" × 3" What professional Mehron products come in this kit?
ProColo Ring 1oz - Bruise
Color Cup (.5oz) - White
Color Cup (.5oz) - Black
Liquid Make Up (1oz) - Moonlight White
Liquid Make Up (1oz) - Black
Synwax (1.5oz) - Flesh Tone
Fixative A Synwax Sealer (.125oz)
Barrier Spray Makeup Sealer (1oz)
Stage Blood (1oz) - Venous
Cooagulated Blood Gel (1oz)
Spirit Gum Adhesive (.125oz)
Spirit Gum Remover (1oz)
Colorset Powder (.5oz)
Powder Puff
Stageline Makeup Brush #312
Stageline Makeup Brush #318
Splatter Brush
Spatula
Foam Wedge Sponges (6)
Stipple Sponges (3)
The kit also includes a Resident Evil poster, Instruction Booklet and Online Video Links
What is this Special FX kit best for?
The Resident Evil 2 Zombie kit is perfect for creating realistic Raccoon City Zombies from the Resident Evil 2 game. You can also use this kit for Haunts, Halloween costumes, Zombie Crawls, Cosplay and Special FX looks, like rashes, wounds, scratches, rotting flesh and road burn. You can even create other characters with this professional grade kit, like like vampires, scary clowns, ghosts, dead bodies, ice queens and witches. Watch this video tutorial to get a better idea of what you can do with the Resident Evil makeup kit.
What else should I know about this Mehron Resident Evil Special FX Kit?
This kit came about as a collaboration with CAPCOM and their famous game and Mehron Inc. The materials in this kit are professional grade supplies used by Hollywood make up artists. This kit has a value of over $145 if all items were purchased separately at retail price. CAPCOM licensed for use by Mehron Inc.
Ingredients: Spirit Gum: SD Alcohol 35A (Alcohol Denat.), Shellac/Laque, Ethyl Acetate.
Spirit Gum Remover: SD Alcohol 40B (Alcohol Denat.), Methyl Salicylate, Fragrance (Parfum), Amyl Cinnamal, Benzyl Alcohol, Benzyl Salicylate, Coumarin, Eugenol, Hydroxycitronellal, Linalool. May Contain: [+/- CI 60730 (Violet 2)].
Colorset Powder: Talc, Aluminum Hydroxide.
Synwax: Ethylene/Acrylic Acid Copolymer, Hydrogenated Styrene/Methylstyrene/Indene Copolymer, Mineral Oil/Paraffinum Liquidum/Huile Minérale, Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil, Glyceryl Stearate, Glyceryl Oleate, Propylene Glycol, BHA. May Contain [+/-CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499 (Iron Oxides)].
Fixative “A”: SD Alcohol 23A (Alcohol Denat.), Isopropyl Alcohol, Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil, Polyvinyl Alcohol.
Liquid Makeup: Water/Aqua/Eau, Propylene Glycol, Magnesium Aluminum Silicate, Glycerin, Cellulose Gum, Bis-PEG-15 Dimethicone/IPDI Copolymer, Triethanolamine, Talc, Disodium EDTA, Phenoxyethanol, Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate. May Contain: [+/- CI 77891 (Titanium Dioxide), CI 77007 (Ultramarines), CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499 (Iron Oxides), CI 77288 (Chromium Oxide Greens), CI 15850 (Red 7 Lake),CI 15850 (Red 6 Lake), CI 19140 (Yellow 5 Lake)].
ProColoRing - Bruise: Propylene Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate, Isopropyl Myristate, Ozokerite, Mineral Oil/Paraffinum Liquidum/Huile Minérale, Silica, Kaolin, Sorbitan Sesquioleate, Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E), Ethylhexyl Hydroxystearate, Propylparaben , BHA, Talc. May Contain [+/- CI 77891 (Titanium Dioxide), CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499 (Iron Oxides), CI 77007 (Ultramarines), CI 77288 (Chromium Oxide Greens), CI 15850 (Red 7 Lake), CI 15850 (Red 6 Lake), CI 19140 (Yellow 5 Lake)].
Color Cup: Petrolatum, Mineral Oil/Paraffinum Liquidum/Huile Minérale, Ozokerite, Lanolin/Lanoline, Isopropyl Lanolate, Sorbitan Sesquioleate, Fragrance (Parfum), Amyl Cinnamal, Benzyl Alcohol, Benzyl Salicylate, Coumarin, Eugenol, Hydroxycitronellal, Linalool. May Contain: [+/- CI 77891 (Titanium Dioxide), CI 77007 (Ultramarines), CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499 (Iron Oxides), CI 77288 (Chromium Oxide Greens), CI 15850 (Red 7 Lake), CI 15850 (Red 6 Lake), CI 19140 (Yellow 5 Lake), CI 77000 (Aluminum Powder), CI 77019 (Mica)].
Barrier Spray: SD Alcohol 40B (Alcohol Denat.), Water/Aqua/Eau, Acrylates/Octylacrylamide Copolymer, Triethanolamine, Propylene Glycol, Fragrance (Parfum), Benzyl Benzoate.
Coagulated Blood Gel: Hydrolyzed Corn Starch, Water/Aqua/Eau, Sodium Benzoate, Potassium Sorbate, Silica. May Contain: [+/- CI 16035 (Red 40), CI 42090 (Blue 1)].
Stage Blood: Hydrolyzed Corn Starch, Water/Aqua/Eau, Sodium Benzoate, Potassium Sorbate. May Contain: [+/- CI 16035 (Red 40), CI 42090 (Blue 1)].
So many of us look forward to Halloween throughout the year! It is the time where our skills are most in demand and we get to step out side our comfort zone and expand on our talents. I hope that you found this blog post helpful and are inspired a little more to plan out the best Halloween yet. Please feel free to leave comments on this post if you have any other advice your your fellow face or body painters so that they can make the most out of their Halloween Season! -Anna Wilinski (Celebrating 30 years of painting faces on Halloween, yeah, I started when I was 10!)
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