Mad Hatter: white base paint vs. clown makeup

I'm hired to do a private setting for a mad hatter costume (Tim Burton's character). It looks simple enough, however, last night when I tried it out on myself I was really unhappy with the white base...I sponged on DFX white. I don't like it, too heavy and blotchy...not a good base. I also have DFX metalic white, but the character makeup is more of a matte finish. I'm wondering what would be a better base, would clown makeup? Have never tried it and wondering how it differs from other face paints...will it give me better coverage for a design like the mad hatter?

If anyone has done Tim Burton's Mad Hatter and have any suggestions for me like the best ways to darken the cheeks lines and the sides of noses, I'd love to hear them and see pics! Thanks!

clown makeup is going to be heavy... very heavy. But it is most likely what was used because it holds up better to long wear and sweating. I can see where blotchy would be a problem, but it IS a heavy white application that they used for it. I would probably use starblends or some other highly pigmented powders for the other colours, you can use those over clown white AFTER it has been set with baby powder (or setting powder). You cannot put regular face paints over clown white, you would have to use powders on top of that.

thanks, Perry, that's very helpful. Since this is the only time I foresee doing this (for now) are there any cheaper alternatives than buying a variety of starblendz? Could I just use different eyeshadow colors? My supermarket sells loads of cheap stuff....

also, by HEAVY, do you mean cracky looking and not easily moving with the skin? That's the problem I had with the DFX. I've also seen creme bases...anyone have thoughts on those?

You could try applying the white with a kabuki brush? I use one for even coverage for belly painting, and it works great. You can buy them cheaply at Walmart, so I'd recommend grabbing one to try out!

Thanks Janna! I saw them in one of Silly Heather's videos and they looked pretty interesting...glad to know I can find one at my local wally world.

cream makeup and clown white are the same thing. It will look good for a while but it does crack after a bit if it isn't applied thinly... even when it is applied thinly, I have some cracking in my "smile lines" at the end of a day of clowning. You could try eyeshadow, but I don't know if you'll be able to get the same brightness that they have in the movie. I don't have starblends either, but I know that they are MUCH brighter than regular eyeshadows. Cream makeup isn't cheap either, so you may find it more in your comfort zone to stick to the face paints that you know. You could try using Snaz white... I only use snaz, so I can't really compare, but I know some on here have commented that it is easier to work with as a base.

Yeah. Mad Hatter is actually pretty simple. He isn't so much a "face painting" design. More like a theater makeup design. I use clown white as well (for my clown), but if this was my client, I would go with JUST powder. (starblends). They actually hold up better than regular paint too. Once they are on, they seem to adhere to the natural oils in the skin. It would be a nice soft, (but still effective), base for mad hatter. You could even do a regular light colored liquid foundation and cover that with starblend white. All of the other "highlights and shading" should really be done with powder. (starblends or even just regular eyeshadow). Maybe eyeliner pens for the eye details. This is an example of what white starblend looks like. I actually used black starblends for the shading too.

Don't mind my silly 2 year old making a face...

Sorry. It took me a couple of minutes to compose this and I didn't see your other comments about no wanting to get starblends. For what it's worth... they are WORTH IT!! (at least black and white) I use my white starblends for tiger eyes and spidey eyes. Black for skulls. Easier to apply on kids around eyes and they blend smoothly. It's a great additon to a facepainting kit.

wow, very effective. I have some white star blendz but haven't used it yet...the smoothy blender I ordered with ended up being out of stock at the time. I have one coming this week so I'll defiantly give the starblendz a practice go before I order the clown makeup. The setting isn't for a couple weeks, so there's still time to order.

I live in a hot and humid south Texas climate, and I imagine my client will be outdoors at least for part of his event...how does starblendz hold up to sweating and humidity? Does clown makeup do any better or worse?

Well, clown makeup is MADE to hold up to sweat and humidty. There is nothing better for that. If he is actually playing the character for the event, maybe you DO want to do clown. I haven't ever tested what starblend does with humidity/sweat. Not humid here in Utah. If you DO order clown white... go with "soft white".

btw your avatar is super pretty.

Thank you, Katrina! That's me in the pic. Katrina's my baby cousin's name (I say she's a baby, she's 24.)

I just tried on my starblendz white with a high density sponge (haven't gotten my smoothie blender in yet) with some charcoal eyeshadow I had lying around for the shadows on the cheeks...figured I'd wear it around for a few hours to see how it holds up...ahh my poor boyfriend, and the thing's he comes home to!

Do the smoothie blenders work a lot better than sponges with starblendz? I didn't get the best coverage, but it did stick to every pore...

Yeah, the fibers in those blenders make all the difference in the world with starblends.
Now Ben Nye Lumiers... that's another story. They go on AMAZINGLY well with sponges.

Starblends do well on stage for short periods of time at least. I did the whole cast of my daughter's second grade play as puppy dogs using Starblends as bases (White, black, gray, "oriental," "charcoal," and "ebony" were the colors I used for the dogs) and then used my paradise and snazaroo face paints for the details. They held up well on stage and the only touch ups I REALLY had to do were to the kids mouths and chins after they ate lunch, and the occasional cheeks from children who cried because their parents didn't make it to the first show of the day. So, from a SMALL production experience, starblends worked great!

For halloween and those large faces I use that white cream face paint they sell in tubes at party city, and blend it with a make up remover sponge, I didn't know about the starblends, the are in my wish list now. This picture I use that cream very light, but for skulls you can get it whiter, it worts the try is only $2.99.[img][/img][img][/img]