Which face paint should you choose for carnival, Halloween or a children's party?

That mainly depends on what you want to create and how long the face paint needs to stay on. This is what I usually recommend.

For a children's party, choose water-based face paint, a few good face painting brushes and of course cosmetic glitter. Water-based face paint is quick to apply, gentle on children's skin and washes off easily at the end of the day with water and a mild soap. With a split cake you apply several colours in one stroke, and face painting stencils help you work quickly and neatly, especially when there's a queue of children waiting. Looking for inspiration? Have a look at my face painting examples for children (in Dutch, but the step-by-step photos speak for themselves), from butterflies to tigers.

For carnival, I usually recommend water-based face paint. Carnival days are long and often warm, but water-based paint is easy to apply and just as easy to remove afterwards with water and a mild soap. Want your design to stay looking good even longer? Use a setting spray. If you have oily skin or sweat a lot, Skin Prep Pro helps prepare the skin, so the paint adheres better and stays looking good for longer. Alcohol-activated makeup withstands water and sweat even better, but I recommend it less often for carnival: after a long day of celebrating you want to remove your makeup quickly, and that's much easier with water-based face paint. On my blog you'll also find carnival face painting examples to choose from.

For Halloween, things can get scarily realistic. You'll often combine regular face paint with special effects makeup: think fake blood, latex, wax and scars to make your look extra convincing. In my Halloween face paint category you'll find everything in one place, and my Halloween tutorials show you how to create a wound, scar or complete horror look yourself.

Not sure yet what you want to create? On my blog you'll find hundreds of free face painting examples and special effects tutorials, for every season and every skill level. They show you step by step which colours and materials you need and how to build up your design.