Does Halloween face paint last all evening?

Yes, as long as you choose the right product and build it up calmly. Water-based face paint usually stays looking good for 4 to 8 hours, cream make-up often lasts 6 to 12 hours provided you set it well with translucent powder, and alcohol-activated make-up will usually last all day and all evening, even with sweat and rain. An evening of trick or treating or a party into the small hours is well within reach.

In practice I see that a look rarely fails because of time, but because of friction: a mask rubbing against your cheeks, a high collar, a wig, or your hand going to your face. Warmth in a crowded bar and rain outside play their part too, because water-based face paint can become active again when it gets wet. A setting spray such as Mehron Barrier Spray or Ben Nye Final Seal helps against that, but it does not make water-based face paint water-resistant.

This is how you keep your Halloween face paint intact all evening:

• Start on clean, dry and grease-free skin, so no day cream or sun cream underneath.
• Do you perspire quickly? Then start with a thin layer of Mehron Skin Prep Pro. That helps to keep perspiration down.
• Build up in thin layers and let each layer dry for a moment.
• Finish water-based face paint with a setting spray. If you go for cream make-up, set it well with translucent powder.
• Have you chosen fake blood that does not dry? Then apply it just before you leave, so you do not end up with blood on your costume before the party has even started. Blood that does dry, such as the drying varieties from The Dark Arts Company, can go on straight away.
• Put a little blood or some of your base colour in your bag along with a sponge or brush, then you can touch things up along the way.

Are you working with silicone, latex, wax or prosthetics? Those stay in place all evening and move with your expressions. Wax you fix in place with the right skin adhesive. Wax does not cure and can soften with warmth and movement, so do not put it somewhere that moves a lot or that keeps being touched.