Face painting is a fun activity for children and adults of all ages. Halloween always provides a good excuse to indulge in a little face painting as people transform themselves into witches, vampires, ghouls, and other monsters. With the right makeup, you can let your imagination run wild and become a creature never seen before. The important thing to remember when using any type of monster makeup is that hypoallergenic lines are less likely to irritate the skin.

Creative face painting adds an exciting touch to birthday parties and other childrens gatherings. Most kids love getting their faces painted, and it can be fun for them whether you hire a professional or let them experiment on their own. Younger children should not be left unsupervised during face painting because there are some makeup products that can be toxic if swallowed. When you shop for face painting kits its a good idea to check to see which ones are non-toxic and hypoallergenic before buying them.

Face Painting Supplies
If youre planning on hosting a face painting party, there are a few supplies you can purchase that will make a big difference in how well the party goes. The face paints themselves can be purchased in either individual bottles, multi-color palettes, or water soluble color crayons. If you decide to go with the bottles or palettes, its a good idea to purchase a few extra makeup brushes (in addition to the one or two that usually come with a face painting kit).

When a lot of people are using the same face paints, mess is definitely an issue. If its kids youre dealing with, your best bet is probably to stage the face painting activity outside. When you purchase face paints that wash off easily with soap and water, you can relax and leave clean-up concerns until after the party is over. Soaking all of your brushes in a quality makeup brush cleaner immediately after the face painting is over can help ensure the lifespan of the brushes so that you can use them over and over again.

One of the most dramatic additions you can make to a Halloween costume is fake blood. A high quality brand of stage makeup will include non-toxic, hypoallergenic fake blood in its product line because it is such a popular item, especially around Halloween. Every vampire needs a drop or two of blood around the fangs, and thats just one of dozens of characters that incorporate fake blood into their image. Theres even a character whose very name–Bloody Mary–demands the use of makeup that looks like blood.

When I was a kid trick-or-treating was the activity of choice on Halloween, but times were safer back then. Nowadays many parents are opting for neighborhood-wide Halloween parties and haunted houses instead of sending their kids door-to-door. Haunted houses are a terrific way to let kids and adults imaginations run wild. And of course no haunted house would be complete without the use of a lot of fake blood. If children are involved in creating a haunted house, it is doubly important to use fake blood and other makeup products that are non-toxic.

Fake Blood and Other Scary Makeup Products

If you really love dressing up for Halloween, you know that fake blood is just the beginning of a good scary costume. Other scary makeup products like liquid latex and glycerin (for oozing wounds) are a lot of fun to work with. With a good imagination you can use fake blood and liquid latex to create any number of attention-grabbing scenarios. One of my favorites is when people create costumes involving two or more people, for instance where one person is the ax murderer and the other is his or her victim.

Film and theater students also get a lot of mileage out of scary makeup products. Because fake blood comes in both bottles and capsules, it lends itself to many a dramatic situation. If youve ever seen a high school student bite a fake blood capsule and start bleeding from the mouth in a climactic death scene, youve seen fake blood create drama and comedy at the same time.

Gothic makeup isnt just for scary movies anymore. Many of todays young musicians incorporate gothic makeup into their image as a way of garnering extra attention for themselves. In the world of rock and roll there is often no separation between the music and the image of a band or performer–they are intertwined for better or worse. Of course, Marilyn Manson and other famous performers can afford to purchase their gothic makeup from expensive salons, but for young musicians just starting out, an affordable online source of quality makeup is invaluable.

One of the more traditional uses for gothic makeup is as part of a Halloween costume. Gothic makeup products can include everything from fake blood to bone white foundation to black lipstick, eye shadow, and eyeliner. The typical gothic makeup look is comprised of a ghost-white complexion, charcoal lined eyes, and dark red or black lips. The effect is not that different from a typical vampire look, which is why gothic makeup is a fairly common part of Halloween costumes.

High Quality Gothic Makeup
The brand Bloody Mary is famous for its line of high quality gothic makeup. Bloody Mary makes a pressed white powder that can help add a soft matte finish to your goth foundation. Setting any type of foundation with powder is a must for anyone who wants to keep their makeup on all day (or night). For everyone from party-goers to goth band members, long-lasting, hypoallergenic gothic makeup stays put better when set with a good pressed powder.

A well-made foundation is important for any goth look, but there are a lot of other products that are fun to use when creating a gothic mood. Black lipstick, for instance, adds an appropriately scary touch to any goth getup. And dont forget the nails–the effect created by gothic black, blue, or purple nail polish is absolutely ghoulish.

Actors in stage and film productions use theatrical makeup for its ability to stand up under harsh lights and because it can create dramatic effects. When I was in my high schools musical I was surprised when one of my classmates told me I couldnt just wear my own makeup for a character that was supposed to look like a regular person. I didnt know that stage lights make people look washed out and that theatrical makeup was designed specifically to counteract that effect.

Like a lot of people, I had always assumed that theatrical makeup was only used for things like black eyes or warts or to make someone look a lot older than they really are. Of course those are some common uses for stage makeup, but it turns out that everybody that goes on stage (or in front of a camera) needs to wear special makeup. Thankfully, todays actors have much better products to choose from than what was available when I was in high school; we didnt have hypoallergenic makeup and it took a lot of scrubbing to remove the dark foundation we wore in our play.

Creating Illusions with Theatrical Makeup
Part of what makes a drama interesting is the visual effect it has on the audience. That can mean anything from computer generated-special effects to set design to stunts, wardrobe, and of course makeup. Theatrical makeup is actually one of the oldest tools for creating special effects on stage or in film. Before there were computer-generated monsters, makeup artists used different shades of makeup to create shadows and light on an actors face. The results were famous fiends of the stage and screen such as Dracula, Frankenstein, and countless others.

Within the realm of theatrical makeup you will find everything from foundation to fake blood and prosthetics to glitter and more. Todays best lines of professional makeup are available at discounted prices. Items like adhesives, makeup removers, and professional tools of the trade are available online and will be shipped to you hassle-free.

Long before computers were around, special effects makeup was used on the stage and screen. Todays effects technology can create everything from massive explosions and tidal waves to monsters, extra terrestrials, and more. But no matter how sophisticated our technology gets, there will always be room for quality special effects makeup.

Even when filmmakers use computer images to create special effects, they are still likely to use special effects makeup. If a character gets into a fight, for instance, a makeup artist will use fake blood and latex products to create the appearance of cuts and bruises. 3-D makeup is terrific for creating special effects and can be used to create the illusion of aging, transformation (into a werewolf, for instance), and many other situations. If youve ever watched a science fiction film or television show, you have seen some of the most interesting characters that special effects makeup can create.

Special Effects Makeup and the Average Joe
You dont have to be a filmmaker or a professional makeup artist to use special effects makeup. Reputable online costume and makeup shops offer a huge variety of makeup products at discount prices so that anybody can afford to purchase stage makeup. Why would the average person want to buy special effects makeup? The answer is that there are two basic groups of non-professional people who buy professional makeup products: student filmmakers and Halloween enthusiasts.

For some people, Halloween is the best holiday of the year. No drugstore mask and costume is going to cut it for them–they need to create their own elaborate Halloween characters. With face painting kits, latex, fake blood, prosthetics, and more, anybody can create a crazy character for Halloween.