which brands stain/don't stain?

I am going to be purchasing alot of new paints when we get the income taxes in! I'm breaking out of "beginner" to a little more professional and I'm in DESPERATE need of some good paints. so, I hear alot of talk about different brands staining or not staining and now I'm all confused.
Right now I have Paradise black and it seems to do a good job of not staining.
Can some of you give me a run down of your experiences? I would like to have a nice list somehow that I can refer to without looking through allll kinds of different posts and taking notes so I figured I'd make a separate thread for it! lol. Am I being difficult?
And I realize that some brands have some colors that do AND don't. I am willing to buy more than one brand, so I just need to know which brands and colors for each work best.

oh, and maybe even the cheapest location to buy?

well i find that the diamond fx black and wolfe black are very crispe..but are hard to get off..i find the same with the green..even snaz sparkle green..
diamond fx and wolfe purple...
i don't use any other brand.. i use mostly diamond fx..

some of the other's in here use alot of different brands. they will be able to tell you what you need to know..

good luck on your big purchase..don't forget to buy quality brushes
and alot of sponges..you can get sponges from various places...

IMO Yellow, Green and Blue stains in olmost any brand.
DFX Black is hard to remove around the eyes.

I have mostly snazaroo, paradise and dfx. I use a lot of snaz black for background and sponge work and it comes off really well for me. The paradise black is better for linework and also washes away easily. The dfx black stains on me sometime for days even with scrubbing and I will rarely ever use it on children. I really love wolfe dark green but would never use it on a face without first laying a base of snaz sparkle gold underneath, it is pretty sheer but helps wash off the harder to remove colours. DFX light green and metallic purple also leave a stain. Other colours that stain me the worst are snaz sea blue and a similar colour in the paradise. Most of the snaz and paradise colours come off me really easily. Humidity and the oilyness or dryness of the skin makes a big difference. I'd suggest playing around with a sheer snaz base and see how easily the colours come off. There are just some colours too pretty to avoid altogether.

Oh, and if you're looking to purchase this site is run by Metina and the facepaintforumshop she has a great selection and top brands.

I think the big question is really what doesn't stain. I expect blues and greens to stain in any brand- but the question is, which brand stains the least? It will take someone with the mac-daddy kit to use them all side by side on their arm to answer that one!

I"ve had staining issues with any black I've used depending on how dry my skin is. And DFX black is next to impossible for me to get off of my eyes without some serious work.

As far as where to buy, I normally shop around and have 4-5 different carts going to see what will be the cheapest in the end, and Metina always wins.

for the most part, I have very little trouble with staining from Snazaroo. The main exception is green, but after washing with a gentle soap and some water, you can apply some moisturizer to any staining and leave it for a few minutes before rewashing. This usually takes off most of it.

Great info, thank you! So, I think the overall concensus in NOT buy DFX black! I do like my Paradise black, so I think I'll stick with that one.

So, another question: WHITE: which ones go best OVER other colors without dragging in a bunch of color from under it? I always try to use my Paradise white for outlining but it'll will pull in the colors and become a pastel of whatever color I'm using.

OFF TOPIC: what are the fan brushes used for? I have no clue but I hear alot about those too.

Pigments are pigments and mined only from a few worldwide locations.
So all the brands use the pigments from the same sources.
Regardless of the brand some colors retain on the skin longer on some people.

Every single brand and I have tried them all - if it's a blue/green hue will "stain" most skin types. Many blue/red (purples) will also stick around.

I don't find black to stain but rather some brands because of the formulations set into the pores making removal a bit more work.

All the brands we use are good brands - so I guess the really question is will you go without colors with that darn blue pigment........

A list is tricky because I may say oh X stains, and Mary says no XX does and they you'll say..... Just choose some great colors and if they stay on the skin be careful about when you use those. Like maybe no teal/turquoise on a four year old late Saturday when she is meeting grandma for church the next day!
And enjoy the colors when you do use them.

i will still use dfx and wolfe black and white...they are i think the best for line work..i use dfx mostly and I am starting to use tag..I only have the red and black.. will will be getting more colors as my dfx runs out..they seam to have more of a color range. that I like..

and I will buy them from metina in the forum
her service and shipping is the fastest.

Sweet Loretta wrote:Pigments are pigments and mined only from a few worldwide locations.
So all the brands use the pigments from the same sources.
Regardless of the brand some colors retain on the skin longer on some people.

Every single brand and I have tried them all - if it's a blue/green hue will "stain" most skin types. Many blue/red (purples) will also stick around.

I don't find black to stain but rather some brands because of the formulations set into the pores making removal a bit more work.

All the brands we use are good brands - so I guess the really question is will you go without colors with that darn blue pigment........

A list is tricky because I may say oh X stains, and Mary says no XX does and they you'll say..... Just choose some great colors and if they stay on the skin be careful about when you use those. Like maybe no teal/turquoise on a four year old late Saturday when she is meeting grandma for church the next day!
And enjoy the colors when you do use them.

That does make me feel a little better. Maybe I'm just worried about it too much.

Sweet Loretta wrote:Pigments are pigments and mined only from a few worldwide locations.
So all the brands use the pigments from the same sources.
Regardless of the brand some colors retain on the skin longer on some people.

Ahh, Loretta, you forgot about Dyes too! The dyes are usually the culprits with the green/blues/purples staining.

~Heff

I use mostly TAG and have found only the greens and wine berry stain. I've never had a problem with black staining.

Can I suggest you just make sure you have a silver and or gold on your list to buy - I prefer silver as it tends to go with any skin tone and use it to put under any color you think might stick around. It's a too easy sollution!
I don't know if someone answered you but the fan brushes can be used for lots of thins but are mainly used for printing butterfly wings.... little ones obviously.... and sometimes fur. Metina has some lovely shaped ones in her store, diff butterfly wing shapes.

Tash-thanks I was actually considering buying some either silver or gold. Silver is def MY favorite so I'll probably go with that.
That's interesting about using a fan brush for butterly wings...not sure how that works but I'd like to see that done somehow.

Think I have a piccy of me doing it....




Not the best work but you can see how the brush works..... I loaded it with a small Tag rainbow cake if you wondering.
I cut this brush myself.... I'm sure Metina's ( in the shop) look a lot nicer in action as her cut brushes have a better wing shape cut.
Hope that helps.

Oh, WOAHHH!! So cool! thanks for sharing!! I'm impressed.

I like DFX black for line work, but use snaz black to sponge on bases or sometimes use the starblends. I like those especially on wiggly little kids. They go on quick for bases and are easy to do linework over.
My favorite starblends are black, white and red. I have orange, yellow and blue as well. Sometimes I will use the orange and yellow for a quick tiger. I never use the blue.

Snaz turquoise stains, but I still use it. I think it is the prettiest blue and looks good on all skin tones. Don't care for paradise blue. I just don't think it covers well.

DFX white for line work. Use snaz white or the starblends for bases.

As for reds, I use two. Snaz sparkle red and DFX red.

Don't care for snaz silver, it goes on so sheer. It is hard to get a nice silver base from it. So I switched to Paradise silver, which goes on nicely for bases. I don't care for it when doing linework, so I don't use it that way too often.
I think DFX gold looks nice and may invest in a whole cake. Right now I pull what I need out of a critter split cake.

I will warn parents that some colors may stain on some skin. To remove staining, put a layer of lotion on and let it sit for about ten minutes. Then rewash. The lotion pulls all the pigment off the skin.

Liz - the sheerness of the snaz silver would work well to be used as a base under the colours that stain. You don't have to tell them about lotion and rewashing if you use a metalic silver or gold sponged lightly on under a strong colour.
I don't know why this works but it really does.... no staining ever.
I do go through a lot of silver though - just sponging on a light base with it.
Do you warn every parent of every child you paint? What about at parties where their parents aren't there?
Also have you tried Mehrons gold and silver powders - I honestly don't think anything compares to them, it what's they use to make the gold human statues and really does look like metal/ gold.

Liz Caswell wrote:I like DFX black for line work, but use snaz black to sponge on bases or sometimes use the starblends. I like those especially on wiggly little kids. They go on quick for bases and are easy to do linework over.
My favorite starblends are black, white and red.

I will definately have some of these on my order....I've never used them but they sound fantastic! No wet cold paint on little boys faces. they don't like that much.