Ben Nye Halloween kits? *UPDATED w/some pics!

I contacted a corn maze hoping they would let me do ppf for 20% of my takings. They called back saying they don't allow vendors but...they are doing a haunted corn maze for the first time and would like help with the faces. They have already purchased Ben Nye Halloween kits.

Does anyone have any experience with these cream make up kits?

Any tips, tricks or horror stories to keep me up at night worrying I've made a huge mistake?

It is theatrical make-up... have you worked with it before?

Nope.

Well... it is an oil based make-up. You can apply with a sponge or brush, then blend it into the skin to create a smooth finish and/or blend your colours for shading etc. It does not dry as you are working with it so you can blend and tweak your base and shading continually.

To set it you have to powder it. I use baby powder as it is colour neutral but you can buy neutral setting powder as well (probably in the kit).

Work in these stages:

1. apply the base colours where you want them and smooth out.
2. apply your shadow/shading colours with a brush where you want the harder line, then using a brush or sponge blend out the edges
3. when you are happy with the over all base and don't want to do anymore blending (IMPORTANT!! You can't blend anymore if you powder!!!) powder the make-up to set it. I like using a terry cloth puff but you can use a powder brush.
4. dust off all excess powder.
5. start applying your details, highlights and outlining with brushes. You can use sponged to soften edges if you want, but there will be no blending with the base colours.
6. You can powder between each colour if you want to set it to stop smudging or blending with the next colour.
7. when finished powder the whole design again, dust off excess.

One old trick to make it brighter at this point is to mist with water and blot with a tissue - it takes off the powdery finish off the top. Not strictly necessary as the oils in the paint will soak up the powder and get brighter fairly quickly with body heat.

8. You can use face paint over top of the finished design to add in sharper details if you want. They apply over the powdered make-up quite well.

as I'm sure you can tell from the directions above, this will take MUCH longer than regular face painting. The fastest way most clowns use to powder their makeup is to put it into a clean sock that you don't want to use again (put a lot) and pat the sock onto the makeup, then brush off the excess with a powder brush. You can use cornstarch FREE baby powder instead of the setting powder as it is much cheaper and especially for halloween, no one will notice a difference.... this isn't professional clown makeup competition.

this might help a little?

Perry, I loved watching you put on your makeup! It was so fun to watch you turn from Erin into Perry. Thank you for that.

Nobody cares about the clowns! I think I'll drop that gem into normal conversation and see what happens, lol!

Shannon, thank you so much for the information! Once again your wealth of knowledge, and willingness to share, knows no bounds!

As they only had volunteers before I stumbled upon them I'm not TOO worried, plus it'll be dark! I know I can add the details and do the blending necessary, the basics of working with cream were exactly what I needed! Now it's fingers crossed to make money!

No insult to centuries of clowns... but that sock thing is ridiculous. I tried it once... messy and a pain.

Either press a puff into powder, shake off excess, and lightly press directly onto the make-up, or use a powder brush. The puff is better for the heavier cream make-up as you can press the powder into the make-up with some pressure and there is less excess to brush off.

Misha:
Are they paying you?

fesspenter wrote:Misha:
Are they paying you?

It never occurred to me he wouldn't be (presuming a "he", never met a female Misha!), with the amount of work involved!! Misha, if they're not paying you, I hope you're running like a thousand gazelles!

Normally I would be running away too BUT... I think this will be an excellent way to market while making money. They're providing the supplies, volunteer help lined up, and it's appx 10 faces, for the seven of the eight nights the haunted portion is running. The trade is I get to do ppf with no vendor fee.
I'll start ppf next Sat. and Sun. but the haunted portion doesn't open until the following weekend. I already stated that the deal hinges on this being profitable for me. If I don't make money the first weekend then I can back out. They also said it was no problem that I couldn't help out on Halloween since I have to take my youngest trick or treating!

I think it will be a great learning experience, for the good or bad I'm not sure. I'm willing to be optimistic and think it'll be good for me!

Kammy, My sister calls me Misha, I'm even Auntie Mish to her kids!

Oh dear - my apologies for getting that wrong, Misha! My bad, I've known a couple of male Mishas, so got confused.

I hope you end up making good money with the PPF. It sounds like a bit of a hassle, as well as a new skill to learn (grease cream make-up, etc.) so some money in your pocket would compensate you for the inconvenience.

Thanks again for all the advice everyone! 2 weekends in and I'm having a great time, and making money too! The make up they want done is very basic, pale faces with darkened eye socket and hollowed cheeks. I didn't mess with the liquid latex much as there were 2 other girls doing most of that. However they won't be around next weekend to help so it'll just be myself and the guy who I struck the deal with doing it all! Actually kind of excited to play with the latex some more, the girls were great but all the wounds looked the same. I really want to play with a few of the characters ! That will be my week, making scars, bite marks, and wounds (Oh My!) in advance in hopes it'll make everything go smooth.

Did I mention they are ALL college kids or younger? I have never felt so old in my life!, lol!