Is Snaz really that bad???

Hi all!

This is my first actual face painting query post! Deep breaths...

I was at an event today, quietly sipping my coffee and waiting for my little boy to return from his bike ride, when I noticed a face painting tent set up. Not able to resist, I went in and the woman doing the (beautiful, delicate!) work kindly let me look at her kit. I recognised lots of Grimas and asked about it, and she raved about it but said she has to make her own split cakes as they have "some catching up to do" in that department.

I explained to her that I'm just a curious onlooker, and that I'm only just getting into painting my own child's face. When I mentioned that I have mostly Snazaroo, she wrinkled her face up and said "Oh, rubbish Snazaroo...." with the most disdainful look I've ever seen!*

So, now I have to ask. Is it REALLY that bad? The reason I initially purchased Snaz is that I know my son's skin doesn't react badly to it - he's got very pale, Irish skin (whoops, my bad) and it's rather sensitive. The paints seem lovely for bases and don't even seem to dry his skin out at all, though I prefer the small Wolfe set I have for practising line work, which I'm DREADFUL at so far.

Again - is Snazaroo really so bad that "real" artists turn up their noses at it and look down at those who use it?

Thanks for listening,

Kammy x

* It later came out that her company sells Grimas...

She's just being a snob. Lots of people here use at least some Snaz as part of their kit. Their red is the only one I'll use for Spiderman!

Funny you say that - my 4 year-old is currently eating his dinner whilst painted up as Spidey...

I believe snaz is one of the first face painting brands that came in the market, and is the most available in stores face paint, and I have heard is one of the safest brand ( a lot o people that reacts to other brands are ok with snazaroo).
I have a couple of colors (red and black) are good for spider man as they don't stein, I don't have a complete kit of it because isn't bright enough for me and melts really easy in hot weather, but a lot of professional face painters use them and do beautiful work with it.

Thanks for your comments, artyfaces. We're in Scotland (Edinburgh, to be specific), so very hot weather isn't exactly a problem. Most of my starter kit is Snazaroo, so I was just wondering if I'd made a really bad choice despite my little boy's love of it.

Kammy xx

Snazaroo is the only paint that I use. I have personally had reactions to Wolfe/DFX that gave me a rash over half of my face for several days. I also find that the other brands of paints are a horrible mess to wash off compared with my Snazaroo. Don't let anyone tell you that it isn't good paint. It is SAFE and that is what is important. You are NOT using craft paint or tempera or anything else meant for paper or wood, it is FACE PAINT and that is what matters most.

You are welcome to look on my website photo albums to see what I can do with Snazaroo, it is NOT rubbish. It is different to work with than other paints, you need to take the time to learn how to get it properly opaque and even. It is easy to get lazy with some of the other paints where you just put a drip of water on it and go to town, you need to work the water into the snaz a bit to get the consistency right, but it has fewer reactions, it is easier to clean off and it doesn't smell (like I find with Paradise and Kryolan).

Scotland uses a lot of Grimas locally... thus, the attitude.

Snazaroo is a good, safe brand. It can be easily found, isn't too expensive and has a child toy safety rating.

I use a lot of Snaz, I also use Grimas, Kryolan, Wolfe, FWW, DFX, TAG, Fardel, and anything else that crosses my path.

If you check out my album on my FB page for Your Face Or Mine ... ALL those photos are of paintings done with Snazaroo.

I love my snazaroo paint, and I prefer it to the three grimas colours that I have.
For linework Wolfe is much easier and more opaque, but nothing washes off like snazaroo.

Thanks for the quick and encouraging replies, everyone! I'm feeling far more confident in my choice of starter kit now, thanks to you.

The woman said that her company runs beginners' face painting workshops over in Glasgow - 60 GBP per person, including a Grimas basic starter kit. I'm considering it because it sounded very interesting and there's no doubt she was quite a talented artist...but somehow I'm a little soured by her snobbish attitude towards the Snaz stuff. Oh well, it's not on the cards right now anyway as I'm broke, but I can think about it in future.

Thanks again for the responses. Given the work I've seen on the pages some of you mentioned...wow...looks like it is indeed possible to do great stuff with Snazaroo. I agree that the Wolfe seems easier for linework, but ANY linework I do looks awful at the moment, I need lots and lots more practice.

Kammy x

I like Snaz, especially for background bases. I like that if I need it right away, because the hobby stores sell it. I do prefer Wolfe or DFX for line work and I like Tags selection of colors.

I bought all Snaz to start and still have a lot of it. Use whatever works for you, well, except craft paint LOL!

There are specific Snaz colors that are a permanent part of my kit, especially for bases on kids. I always keep black, white, the electric colors, and the sparkle colors. Also, if you want to use darker colors on kids, Snaz is a great choice because it washes off so well. (Same as what everyone else said!)

I personally don't like it. Maybe it's ok for just face painting, or maybe I got unlucky, but the first time I used Snaz paints was for a full body art piece and it started flaking off as soon as it dried, before I was even close to finished painting. I was very disappointed and moved on to Kryolan and Wolfe which haven't let me down yet.

That said, there's a lot of people here keen on it who do lovely work with it. If your boy is happy with the results and you are too, then stay with it. If you were using junk store paint or craft paint I could understand the "omg nooooo" attitude, but anything else is personal preference, surely?

Yeah. I never use regular Snaz for body painting... it was flaking off before I even got the base finished. The sparkles hold up well though.

I use creams and liquids for most body painting. All brands have their pluses and minuses and it all comes down to personal preference, cost and availability.

If you feel happy using a specific brand, what does it matter that someone else thinks it's rubbish?
I use a lot of brands, there's just one brand I'm not comfortable with, and it's Fantasy Worldwide. I'm not saying it's a bad brand of paints, people make gorgeous art with it, but personally I really don't like it: it's cream based, and the only brand my daughter immediately asked to wash it off because it's itching.
Since it's cream-based, a kid that's been facepainted can rub it after hours, and it will still smear, so I wouldn't be comfortable using it, knowing that if a kid runs into a sofa it will still leave stains...

I love the deep rich pigmented, inky texture of the other brands. I find Snazaroo too blotchy. Just my personal opinion.
Obviously my fave brand is TAG. You can never go wrong with the rich and vibrant colours of TAG.
Did I mention that I love TAG.
You do have to be careful with these high pigmented brands as just flopping water on them does not do the trick. You can have a huge inky runny mess.
The one colour of Snazaroo I do love is the grey for my zombies as it is less opaque then other brands and provides a great base for my zombies.
Let the debate continue.
I think I would use all brand if it were free. haha

I started with Snaz and have started using other brands recently.

I like the DFX white and black for line work (haven't tried anything else yet) because the Snaz white lets the other colors come through...but sometimes that is a good thing.

I always seems to end up with a blobby mess when I mix Snaz up with water when I use my paintbrushes. The sponges work well with it for me. I just can't get the consistency right.

The TAG colors are a little harder to get off and they stain my practice head (spray with hairspray, let dry, and then paint - comes off easier).

I did paint my daughter this past weekend with Snaz white for the line work and it was flaking off in about an hour. Hmmm....

Tineke wrote:If you feel happy using a specific brand, what does it matter that someone else thinks it's rubbish?

You're right, of course, that if I'm happy and my son's happy, then it doesn't really matter. It's more that I wondered if I'd made a grave mistake with my starter kit, and whether the results would be far, far better with something "superior", IYKWIM?

I'm glad to have had different people's opinions on the matter, though. It's good to see that while there are many different preferences, most people on here respect that they are just that. I'm not planning on painting Cian's whole body anytime soon, so I'll probably stick with mostly the Snaz and Wolfe that I already have.

I have had my naughty little eyes on some yummy-looking TAG rainbow cakes, though...this whole thing is addictive!!

Kammy x

I also have nice pale Irish skin ( Great Gram was from Cork) and Wolfe stains me too. I bought Wolfe simply because the amusement park I used to work for had Wolfe and Snazaroo and I preferred the Wolfe. Mind you I was also painting in hot humid weather and everything seems to turn to mush around here some days. I tried some TAG there this year and might buy some of that. It seemed very similar to working with Wolfe. I

I have to agree with the forum on this though, use what you like.

I traded out all my Snaz - for me it was about melting issues to start with but then when I branched out and started trying other brands there was no way I could go back. I hear it is safer but then I wonder - I mean different people will react to different things and there are still reactions to Snaz. As far as staining, I just warn people with pale skins that certain colours may stain and give them clear removal instructions - also if a fair child wanted for example a full face hulk I would check with the parent and warn of possible staining.
I started with 100% Snaz but now I have none and I would only use it if I was given it.

Thanks for your opinions, everyone. The colours of the butterfly in my avatar (don't judge, I'm a 1-week newbie, remember!) were done with Snaz and I do like it for sponging, but I'm also branching out. I just put in an order for 7 Superstar (FAB) paints and can't wait for those to arrive.

This is addictive. The paints should come with a government warning.

Kammy, your going to love the Fab paints..!!!!!

Vegas Mom - don't say that! As I found them at a really good price I'm realllllly tempted to buy more on top of the ones I just ordered. But I'm a mama and I don't have much spare money! I ordered a set of Royal Soft Grip brushes this week, too. Oops.

I wonder if I could starve myself and live on paint alone...hmm... Better not.

Vegas Mom - yes, you're right. I do love them. So much that I had to order full sizes.

ARGH. The Ziva blue is amazing - so shimmery and beautiful! And the line black is so inky and lovely to use. I'm going to keep the little 15g ones for travel, I think (such as when we go to stay at grandma's...) and use the big ones in my regular kit box.

I mostly use Paradise, Snaz, and Tag Pearls for bases. They come off pretty well. And then of course the usually Tag one-strokes and cakes. And DFX for line work (haven't gotten any Wolfe yet).

I love the softness and easy blending of Snaz. I find it hard to blend Tag/DFX without a split cake because I can't double load a sponge to save my life.

These we done with all Snaz, some of my first paintings:

Snaz is a good brand and has it's place in my kit along with the TAG, DFX, FAB, Wolfe, and Paradise. They all require a different touch when working with them. For me, it comes down to color more than brand. Just got my first "Electric" Snaz courtesy of Tamariel and the Swap Shop. The "Electric" green is really pretty with great opacity as well as the "Electric" blue which looks like it will be a great Wolverine color.