Best starblends? (Denise Cold? Are you there?)

What are your top five starblends and why? Give me some reasons here!

Adding another question to this:

Are star blends really worth adding to your kit?
ie:
- do you use them often enough?
- do you need to carry around special tools for them?
- what about wind?

is it really worth it?

wind???

1. Yes- for the price starblends go way further than face paint.
2. No, I use sponges as well as lollipop blender, but you could just use sponges. Disposable cotton pads ($1 for a bag) or makeup poof pads as well.
3. Wind sucks period, I hate getting junk in my cakes :/

For me, I love my starblends for stencils and some full faces. Green, red, black and white is what I started with, have added pink and yellow and still want orange. Great for skulls, hulk, Spiderman, I will eventually have orange to do tigers.  Pink is awesome over deep purple face paint, and yellow over pink fp. A lot quicker and cheaper than loading a sponge for stencils.

i've never used star blends before, but i got the impression they were some kind of loose powder (hence the wind question). But the way you talk about them makes them seem more like a pressed powder eye shadow, is that right?

Yes, it is a hard pressed powder, I highly recommend for stencil use, as well as it working great in hot weather (sweat proof) and great for designs for kids that won't stop rubbing their face.  I used red starblends on this design and. I love how much it stands out when used on top of face paint.

whoa..... ok might look into these more seriously, thank you! ^.^

I adore StarBlends in summer.
I have been using them on hot, sweaty days, on hot, sweaty children, and their colour intensity is amazing. I can apply my line work paint immediately after applying StarBlends. They don't run like paint does when a child sweats. I use BAM stencils over an otherwise boring pink kitty cat to take it to the next level of artistry.
In order of use:
White:
SpideyGuy eyes, HelloKitty, The Joker, Snow Leopards, White Tigers, cat muzzles
Red:
SpideyGuy, shading for tigers
Black:
Skull eyepits, Venom
Blue:
Captain America, blue kitty cat
Orange:
Tigers
Green:
Hulk, Frankenstein, dinosaur mask
Pink:
Pink kitty cat, pink bow closer to child's sweaty forehead (it sucks up some of the sweat, and the colour becomes more intense, and then I can apply line work details on the bow immediately.)

When I create a StarBlend base for a skull, or a white tiger, I can manipulate the powder for more intense opacity, as well as making it sheer in spots. The best part is applying the white paint over the skull for skull teeth, cat muzzles, cat eye pits, and my white paint is now standing out on the white background.

I use Lollypop smoothies and oblong face sponges to apply the StarBlends. I dye the smoothies black after they have been washed, and are now appearing gray and dingy. I throw them in the washing machine in a lingerie bag with my sponges.

Denise Cold has a YouTube video showing how well StarBlends stand up to a sweaty face while she had been gardening.

I repot my StarBlends into smaller, lidded pots for ease of transport and size on my table. When they start to crumble, I wear gloves, and press them back into place with my fingers.

I Love StarBlends.
xoxo

Thanks fessy!!!

Yeah they sound a bit more appealing now that i know they are not loose powder. I have been hankering for getting a softer look for some things. Blush, eye shadow, and most of all black for some shading. Working with a wax base paint like TAG the stuff just dries too fast to work with some times. I can still pull it off but it takes more time.

Not to hot here for sweat wise, but it can get very humid with all the rain (Vancouver is in a temperate rain forest after all). I'll have to pick some up next time i place an order.

If they do start to 'powderize", I just squish it down with my fingers while wearing nitrile gloves. I can ignore the "squeaky squishy" if I wear the gloves.

xoxox

Here's a few paragraphs cut and paste from my FAQ on Starblends. The PDF is posted in the files on the Starblend Creations group on Facebook.

What are the best colors to buy? What's a good starter kit?
Start with white if you can only afford one. It is great for skulls, sugar skulls, Spiderman eyes, tiger eyes and muzzle, kitties, bunnies, puppies, Jack Skeleton, etc. If you get the 3 for $22.00 deal at SillyFarm.com [no longer being offered] start with white, red & black and you can do the above designs and add pirate, cows, Darth Maul, Angry Bird, dragon and use the red on Spiderman and the black for nicely shaded skulls and wolves (mixing the white and black in the sponge).
My next favorites are the orange, yellow and pink. Now you can add tigers, cheetahs, Ironman, pink kitties, butterflies (like Mark Reid ones), piggy, Batman sunsets,
Blue, green and purple are next and are also the worst colors but they are useful for so many designs. I like blue for Captain America, Avatar, bird masks, blue leopards. Green is great for Hulk, Grinch, snake faces and dinosaurs but I mixed mine with yellow so it was brighter. Purple is good for girl designs but you'll have to use glycerin. I use it (along with pink) for butterflies, princess crowns, kitties, leopards, etc.
Now for the browns: My PERSONAL favorite color is Oriental. It's a great go to for big cat designs like lions, cheetahs, tigers...any animal really. I've used it for cheetahs, pomeranians, bears, dogs. Lt. Cocoa is a nice milk chocolate brown but I do like the contrast between the Oriental and Ebony which is more of a dark chocolate color.
For Halloween I made my own blends of “Brownple” (like the Wolfe Brothers use) and Ivory for zombies and the “brownple” was good for vampires too. Starblends are good for haunts because they are more comfortable for the actors and quick to apply. I also like Monster Grey for the base for really rotten zombies and it’s good for wolves too and can be lightened or shaded with white and black. Not big fan of light gray. For as much as I’ve used it, I could mix white and black in the sponge.
I have a lot of ideas in my "Mehron Starblend" album on my personal Facebook page. I've made it public so you should be able to see it without being my friend.

Do you seal with the barrier spray like they recommend?

*bump*

So finally going to buy myself some starblends, but i find my self having some other questions about them.

1. Can you apply them with a dry brush if you wanted to? How well does this work?
2. What do you feel is the best tool to apply starblends with when face painting?
3. Can they be used over top of wax base paints (like TAG)? Or do they only work well over glycerin base paints like Mehron's Paradise line?

Thank you!

how about the mehron intense pressed powders, are they basically bright starblends?

Forest-Fairy, here is my opinion on your questions:

1. I have tried and failed MISERABLY to use any of my brushes with my starblends, with the exception of a blush and foundation brush that I bought to do blush, etc. I assume that is because the ones I bought are fluffy and actually hold the product. Our normal LC brushes and the like just won't cooperate with the starblends.
2. The best tools (for me) are the disposable lollipop swabs found here: http://www.facepaintforumshop.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=1
and the make-up sponges that you normally find when you buy pressed powder. You can get them for like 2 bucks for 3 at Wal-mart and such. I use them for covering large areas and the lollipop swabs for cat eyes, muzzles, etc.
3. I have used my Starblends with my stencils over just about every brand of paint in my kit and as long as there is good contrast between the colors, they work great.
I LOVE my Starblends

Excellent. Those were the results I was expecting. Thank you for clearing that up. I think I'll start with getting some White, Pink, Black, and Red, and see how it like them. If it doesn't work out, I can use them in my film makeup kit.

Thank you again!

I never thought of using Starblends with stencils.  good idea.

I use the white Starblend a lot for a base color for zombies, skulls, sometimes cats. It's great for hot days, wiggly tots who won't let you paint near their eyes, and kids whose parents don't want a lot of paint on them. Goes on fast too.

I would like more colors.  The containers are a bit bulky.  I know one person, Lily W., re-pots them with other colors mixed in.  
- Stacey

thouartbeautiful wrote:

3. Wind sucks period, I hate getting junk in my cakes :/

For me, I love my starblends for stencils and some full faces. Green, red, black and white is what I started with, have added pink and yellow and still want orange. Great for skulls, hulk, Spiderman, I will eventually have orange to do tigers.  Pink is awesome over deep purple face paint, and yellow over pink fp. A lot quicker and cheaper than loading a sponge for stencils.

I very rarely use anything else with my stencils since I discovered how easy it is to do. No worrying if the paint is too wet or whatever. I just swipe the Starblend with my smoothie, tap off excess, lay down the stencil and rub on my color. So unbelievably easy.

I LOVE starblends.. they are what i use mostly... except for line work!

I was looking forward to ordering several new starblends this weekend but the shop didn't have any of the colors I wanted... it was a sad day since I only get to place an order once in a blue moon... or a red moon... pink and purple butterfly moon... really could have used a few this coming weekend! :S

Dear LittleMonsters:
If there is something you absolutely need, I can give it to Sanne Schmidtberg tomorrow and you can make arrangements to pick it up in Ancaster. When the StarBlend goes on sale, just replace it. Let me know if I can help.
Happy Painting!

Can't live without my Starblends. They are my go-to products for so many designs. And yes with stencil work. My scale stencil with just a tiny bit of black gives ninja turtles, snakes, dragons, etc the BEST details. Lovelovelove!

fesspenter wrote:Dear LittleMonsters:
If there is something you absolutely need, I can give it to Sanne Schmidtberg tomorrow and you can make arrangements to pick it up in Ancaster.  When the StarBlend goes on sale, just replace it.  Let me know if I can help.
Happy Painting!

Oh darn - I just saw this now.  Thanks for the offer though.  I'm just gonna go cry in the corner, lol.

Don't cry LittleMonsters! Have some cookies.

I LOVE my starblends - use mostly red, orange, white, yellow, pink and black & gray for shading. the green, purple and blue were disappointing. I re-potted them into 30 gram containers. I use a baby snot-sucker to blow away any loose powder that has fallen on their face.