Buying your first paints

Snazaroo paints perfect for beginners!
 Image from www.artstore.co.uk

Face paints are going to be your most important buy, so it's important to get it right. The key words here are:

• Safety
• Quality
• Cost

Whether you are a beginner who has never picked up a paintbrush or a seasoned pro, you will always be balancing these 3 key words.

Safety

Any paint that is going to be applied to skin must be completely safe. Not only does this mean you must make sure that the paint is FDA approved, but being aware which brands are safe for sensitive skin or which are suitable for use on very young children. Every brand will tell you how to use it, so make sure you read the safety information carefully.

Quality

Paints can have different qualities such as how well they blend together, how pigmented the colours are, how well the paints will stay on, etc. Some paints have extra qualities such as glitter incorporated into the paint or that they will glow in UV light. To decide what paints you want, you need to identify your needs and pick appropriate brands.

Cost

The higher quality the paints, the higher the cost will be. You will need to set a budget in mind and stick to it, making sure that you buy high quality face paints that will help you create stunning designs but that won't bankrupt you in the process.

Which paints to choose

Because you are just starting out, the best place to start is with Snazaroo paints. Although it might be tempting to try that little palette of "Fun Face Paints" you saw in Poundland last week, you could compromise safety as well as quality. Snazaroo are a highly trusted brand and are widely considered the safest paints of the face painting world. They are FDA and EU compliant, completely non-toxic, water-based and safe for all ages.

You can buy a starter kit directly from their website here, or you can pick your own colours from somewhere like Amazon.co.uk here. I recommend having blue, red, yellow, orange, pink, brown, black and white.

You will use most of these paints for laying down the base colours of your designs, however you will also need black and white to outline and draw details onto your creation. Here is where spending a little extra cash will really make the difference!

You may be tempted to say that the Snazaroo black and white will work fine, and you are completely right. They will work fine. However, the Snazaroo white does not paint over other colours very well, and the Snazaroo black can cause all sorts of problems, quickly turning to a sludgy mess that goes everywhere. Instead, I highly urge spending that little bit extra cash and opt for a high quality black and white. The two best brands for black and white are Diamond FX and Wolfe. Diamond FX are slightly cheaper and slightly easier to get hold of (especially in the UK). They will honestly make painting so much easier and I cannot even stress how well a good quality black and white will hold up in the long run!

Beyond the basic

Once you have bought your basic paints you can begin to expand into other brands and build up your colours. Buying palettes of colours or test pots is a good way to try out brands before you buy full size pots.

Paints are a huge topic, and one that I will frequently revisit, so don't worry if your paint kit looks small now! Just stick to the basics for now and we will revisit the topic soon.