Face Painting Makeup: How to Make Homemade Face Paint

Be it Halloween or your friend's costume party, no costume is complete unless the face is painted according to the character that one is dressing up as. So whether you plan to dress up as a fairy, or a witch, you can now raid your pantry to make face paints and other make-up effects like moles or warts, instead of running to the store to by a make-up kit. The best part about these homemade face paints is that they are cheap and less likely to cause any skin problem.

Making Face Paint at Home

Recipe 1

Ingredients

• 5 tsp cornstarch
• 2 tbsp shortening
• 1 tsp Vaseline
• 1 tsp flour
• Food coloring (depending upon the desired color of the paint)
• Paint palette or paper plate

Steps

• On the paint palette or the paper plate, mix the cornstarch, shortening, flour and Vaseline together.
• Add the food color of your choice, one drop at a time, until the desired shade of the color is obtained.
• Repeat the procedure with different food colors.

Your homemade face paint is ready. You could use your imagination or refer to some design to paint the face of your kid.

Recipe 2

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 tbsp flour
• ¾ cup Karo light corn syrup
• 1 teaspoon flour
• ½ teaspoon of liquid food coloring
• ¼ cup water
• Bowl or paint palette

Steps

• Mix the flour and cornstarch in the bowl.
• Gradually add the Karo syrup and water in the mixture while stirring constantly until it becomes smooth.
• Divide this mixture into separate containers and add different food color to obtain face paints of different shades.

Recipe for Fake Blood

Fake blood is absolutely indispensable for Halloween parties. Try this recipe for fake blood to bring the desired effect to Halloween costume.

Ingredients

• Karo brand corn syrup
• Food coloring - red and blue
• Milk

Steps

• Add a few drops of red color to the corn syrup and stir it well.
• After the color has spread evenly throughout the syrup add some milk to it. Milk will make blood look thicker, more opaque and realistic. However, don't add too much milk, as it might make the blood thick and difficult to apply.
• Add the blue color to the mixture to make the blood look darker.

Recipe for Special Make-up Effects

Ingredients

• 4 tbsp corn syrup
• 1 ounce gelatin (plain or flavored, according to the desired color)
• 2 tbsp boiling water
• Mix ins like couscous, paprika, colored sugar
• 4 tablespoons corn syrup

Steps

• Mix gelatin and water in a small bowl.
• Let it set for 3 minutes.

Now the gelatin can used to make various make-up effects.

• For making skin growths like blisters or warts, drip the gelatin on a ceramic plate before it sets in completely. Once it sets completely, peel the formations carefully. Use corn syrup to stick the formations to the face and body.
• Sprinkle colored sugar while the gelatin is still setting in. This will give it a textured look. For a scabbed look over a wound, sprinkle couscous or paprika on globs of gelatin that haven't fully set in yet.
• For slimy and stretchy effects, stretch or grab globs of gelatin that have set for about 5 minutes. Then string it or glop it as you desire. Stick to the body using corn syrup.

More Fun Makeup Tips

• For a stubby bearded look, apply some Vaseline on the check and chin and sprinkle some tobacco on it.
• Sprinkling flour on already made-up faces will create a ghoulish effect.
• If you want to blacken faces without the use of any paint, rubbing burnt cork (after it has cooled) is a good option.

Now that you have the recipes for that great homemade face paint, let your creativity run loose. Give your child that perfect make-up to ensure he gets the best dressed child award at the party!