Paint behaving badly

I am having a number of issues with my paints that I looking for help to solve.
First- I use metallics for a base color to put under flowers. After a couple hours, the paint on top of the metallic fades. If I put dots, you can barely see them anymore. It's like the metallic is absorbing the color. What the heck? I am using mostly Paradise here, with occasional Wolfe or Kryvaline.
My neons have gone hard. Various brands, including Superstar, Kryvaline, and Global. The yellow is still fine, but the blue, green, and orange are like a sheet of plastic and hardly react to the water at all. I haven't tried the pink or purple.
Some of the rest seem to have developed drops or areas of brown oil on top. Most of the Ruby Red are like this, and one Paradise green, and one Tag grey.
Some of the rest have discolored tops. I have a Ruby Red light pink that's absolutely lovely, except when dry it's a nasty looking whitish salmon color. The Ruby Red purple looks blue. I think there's one other discolored one. When wet, they look terrific.
Some of the rest, including Ruby Red pea green and a brown that I *think* is Paradise, have turned into mush.
Any ideas as to what's up with these issues?

Sounds like you are closing your kids on damp/wet paint? (The "oil spots").

Try leaving your mushy ones open & out overnight & see if that helps.

I have heard that some paints need the top layer worked a bit to activate it when new. (like some Kryvaline & some Global). There's a bit of a top layer that just needs a little extra oomph.

I would lightly spritz your colors first thing when you set up, so your paint looks its best on display at a gig.

Hope that helps...

lol, paisleypeacock, love the title of your post

as far as the neon paints, i noticed that too with one brand i used. i'm guessing it might be due to the cosmetic grade shellac in the ingredients getting hard, but couldn't find any specific info on the internet.

cosmetic grade shellac is used to coat neon pigments in face paint (food grade is used to coat candies, etc and pills), see this explanation from ruby red owner -

http://rubyredpaint.com/faq/shellac.htm

you might try warming up the paints gently to see if that softens them up enough to use again.

The metallics (Kryolan & Paradise for sure) have a high glycerine content. That slick base is going to absorb your detail and strokework paints. I don't find this to be as true when using Wolfe metallics, but all face paints absorb other face paint.

This is the answer to soften the neons - spritz them with a bit of glycerin.