My eyes have been opened!!

I used my new DFX paints today for the first time after only ever using Snaz, and it was amazing!! Why did it take me so long to switch??!! I was going to wait til the colors of snaz ran out before I used the new ones I bought, but no way now. I'm taking out all of my snaz and using it for charity now.

I know exactly what you mean! ... but at the same time I worry about the staining. I have an awful time getting certain colours off my skin and I keep waffling on what to use. I do love everything else about the DFX, it's like night and day between those and Snaz, except for that.

I know what you mean but I still I prefer Snaz for kids simply because it is such an easy product to wash off and the more I use it, the better I get at it's application and the happier I am with the results.
Paradise is my preferred paint for adults and DFX black and white are my preferred paints for line work.

I use 'em all for different purposes

I love snaz for backgrounds as they blend so great and for kids as they wash off so well. DFX/wolfe don't always blend well, but they make great detail and have so many awesome colours. I've just started with paradise, but I'm a bit cautious as some people react to the smell while others absolutely love it. Kryolan has some cool colours too, but not always great detail for me. I still have a lot to learn though and look forward to trying many many more types of paint

Bec,
Keep the Snaz, and Dfx, they each have their own good qualities. And if you're looking at the stain factor, consider Kryolan for bases, it's amazing. and Dfx/Wolfe for line work.

Jenny

What til you try the FX metallics! Then you'll REALLY be in love. Just beware that the Metallic Red is more of a Pink. I use it as a pink & love it, but resort to another red, no metallic when I need to.

I use Paradise for Kids & DFX/Wolfe for adults & details. I only have 1 color in Kryalon Aquacolor(They have the perfect Jacksonville Jaguars teal) but that perfume smell is a little strong.

I'm not really sure what to do, I'd like to use brands other than DFX for bases, because of the staining. But the rainbow cakes and arty cakes seem to be mostly DFX (or an unknown mixture which likely does include DFX). I have been playing with the DFX marine blending cake and I do love the way it looks - but it leaves my arm looking faintly bruised after I wash it off!! Makes me a little concerned about using it around the eye, LOL!! I suppose I could try making my own with non-DFX but I'm not sure I'm up to that just yet.

Do any of you warn people that certain colours may stain slightly? I've considered handing out a baby wipe in a ziploc snack bag to every Spiderman we do!!

I have never had a problem with any of my DFX staining anyone. Now for smaller kids I will use snaz black for batman mask or anything else that requires alot of black in it. I use it on my daughter as well as myself (face and body) all the time. My daughter is of a much much lighter complexion than I......so if something was gonna stain it would definitely show up on her. I do have it on my business cards removal instructions and a note about darker pigments.

ChangingFaces, I *think* (and I may be way off base here, but this is my theory LOL) that it is not the lightness of the complexion, but the dryness of the skin that causes the colour to stain. I suspect that the oils in the skin form a barrier. I have very dry skin, and when I paint on my arm my skin just soaks up the colour. Because I use a moisturizer on my face every day, it doesn't seem to stain as much there. Ok, so I know this about myself. But I don't know when I am painting others, and if they have dry face skin, and if I make a marine butterfly around their eyes, the next day they may look like they went 12 rounds!!

By the way, I wash my arm with water first, then rub soap all over and rinse. If there is still colour, I will rub with more soap on a facecloth, and then as a last resort rub with a baby wipe. The baby wipe does seem to take the last faint stains off, usually (not always).

I always tell the parents to use a gentle cleanser or baby shampoo o remove the paint(because of the tear free quality). I tell them that some skin types may stain a little & if that happens to use a little moisturizer & wait 30 minutes, the re-wash the skin. I've been stained before & this has always worked for me. I use Cetaphil Cleanser for gentle skin & it works great. I prefer it to baby shampoo because as often as I paint my face, the perfumes in the kids shampoo starts to burn(I'm talking about after painting & washing & painting & washing repeatedly as I practice new designs).

I felt the same with Wolfe FX after only using Grimas, I had the rest of that for years since I preferred the other so much more!
And yes I can stain, so I give a card with instructions. It is a good excuse for giving out a card with contact info ;-)

I started with snaz, then added wolfe, then some kryolan and now all of the paradise. If I were to call one of them my go to brand, it would be paradise. I can do base, detail, and blend without any staining with my paradise other than one of the metallics. But I keep all of them in my kit as they all have unique purposes. I am not a powder user which is why I love snaz sparkle colors. They give me that transparent sparkle that many of the powders give. Wolfe is just amazing with vibrancy and coverage, but I too have staining issues with the wolfe or DFX.

I have Snaz, Kryolan, Grimas, Fardel, Wolfe, and some DFX.

For working gigs (on children) I use Snaz black for linework, Snaz or Kryolan white, Snaz red for bases and Wolfe red for blood, Grimas silver for cyborgs, and everything else is a mix... Kryolan has a great kelly green and royal blue - I love the coverage and brightness.

And the smell of Kryolan to me is just a make-up smell, not added scent. It is a theatrical make-up first and foremost and has more emollients than Snaz does for example.

between my allergy to wolfe/dfx/etc., the awful smell of paradise, the soapy smell of kryolan (and the ones that I have are so translucent they're barely worth painting with)..... I'll stick with Snaz. People complain about it incessantly, but it's just different. I have used wolfe black and white (briefly before reacting to it)... yes, it is much more opaque. But I couldn't blend it worth a darn. I was forced to use only paradise this past weekend as we were painting with someone else's pallets and I couldn't get an even base to save my life, never mind that I kept getting it far too wet because I'm so used to Snaz.... and I'm lucky it was outside, the smell was so nauseating. I have not yet tried grimas or fardel as I've not found any suppliers for them in my travels thus far.

[quote="Hazel I have been playing with the DFX marine blending cake and I do love the way it looks - but it leaves my arm looking faintly bruised after I wash it off!! Makes me a little concerned about using it around the eye, LOL!! ![/quote]

What about putting a similar colour of Snaz ,where you want to use the blending cake, as a base, so the DFX can't penetrate the skin all that well.

Try this out and see if it works.

Psalmbook wrote:I use Paradise for Kids & DFX/Wolfe for adults & details. I only have 1 color in Kryalon Aquacolor(They have the perfect Jacksonville Jaguars teal) but that perfume smell is a little strong.

that teal colur is indeed very beautyful!