A brief word for face painters and childrens entertainers who smoke

Ok come on now. I can't believe what I saw at a birthday gig I painted at yesterday. They had hired a magician and a face painter (me), and as I pulled into the parking area I noticed the magician in his car having a smoke. Which is fine, I smoke too, whatever. I do NOT however, smoke in my car with a company magnet on the side (i dont smoke in my house or car at all, but that's irrelevant). Anyway the magician was in his car having a smoke with the window only cracked (i assume with the a/c on) and threw the cig butt out the window! Into their YARD! When he came in the house, I swear he stunk the whole place up. I mean WOW! Do you think the kids wanted to smell that, Mr. Magician? Really? I never smoke on the way to a gig, and I always carry binaca or some other breath spray just in case. I noticed the adults looking at each other making faces, so it is safe to assume they won't be return customers to this magician. How GROSS!

I probably should have posted this in Where's the Beef... my bad.

I'm a smoker but every time i do smoke, i use hand sanitizer and a breath mint so kids dont smell it on my hands or face, thats what i did working at the theme parks, but when i did private parties, i waited till after the gig to smoke.

I'm a very weird lady and smoke with a long cigarette holder (think Cruella DeVille from 101 Dalmations) so it doesnt get on my hands or in my hair anyway, which is kinda cool. This guy's car was full of smoke and he walked in their nice clean house and it smelled so bad. And for me, a smoker, to say that, you know it must have been pretty bad.

I smoke, and I would smoke in my car all I wanted to..... That being said I spray body spray on myself and use hand sanitizer/ scented lotion on my hands before I paint... nobody wants smokey fingers in their face... The part about judging him for smoking in his own car is a little harsh though.

I wasn't judging him for smoking in his car, I would too if my kids didn't ride in mine. It's his car and he can do what he wants in it, I was saying that to sit in a smoke filled car before entertaining a children's party, and throwing the butt in their yard is kinda not cool in my opinion.

And I do the body spray thing too!

I have to say, as a non-smoker who lives around a lot of smokers, the hand sanitizer and body spray trick doesn't work. It just adds one more layer of smell to it, but I think smokers are so close to it/used to it that they don't notice it makes the smell worse, not better. I tell my bro-in-law to "air out" before he comes in the house, instead of dousing himself in cologne.
Take a moment, hang outside and as my gran would say "Let the wind blow the stink of ya." (ha! She's a funny old gal!)

I chew gum and carry extra deodorant and I'm not a smoker. I just know kids can be brutally honest and want to take no chances in case I forget and eat a garlic pizza or sweat during an unload. lol I can't even imagine showing up and being so disrespectful!

Indeed, kids ARE brutally honest! They are too young to be diplomatic and won't hesitate to announce (loudly) how stinky you are.

If I DID smoke in my car, I wouldn't do it when it had a company magnet on it, because people DO judge, and some non smokers, especially ex smokers, can be VERY judgmental about it at times. I would hate to lose a lead over it something like that.

And I would never EVER litter in a client's yard, even if it is something as small as a cig butt.

I haven't smoked a cigarette in seven years (though I do occasionally enjoy a bit of secondhand smoke- usually on a night out!) But untill I quit I didn't really realize just how much smoke clings to a person. It's not just your hands and breath that carry the smell- it gets in your clothes, in your hair and on your skin too. Think about the last time you sat around a campfire and how long the smell of woodsmoke lingered; cigarette smoke is just the same it's just that we stop noticing it. When you are working closely with children- especially nowadays with the prevalence of asthma- it's probably best to hold off on smoking till after the gig. At the very least refrain from hot boxing in your car two minutes before hand!

Oh, Im allergic and get all drippy, puffy and wheezy when Im around it! I would have been in trouble at that party! Handling it would have been tricky and would have definitly caused a scene.
My mom says the same thing to my sister- Go outside and get the stink off ya. lol

Im not sure its legal but I actually ask people before I come paint if its a smoking home or not. Its a question on my paper and its important to me. Id have to handle things differently if it was, like outside only or something.

I quit when I was 24(I turn 45 tomorrow ).
I have a hard time w/ cigarette smoke, 2nd hand smoke & clothes that smell of smoke. It just tickles my throat real bad & makes me cough. I have to be very careful around it or I'll go asthmatic. I'm not anti-smoking, but being it gives me medical issues I have to be careful.

I did a gig a few months back where everyone was smoking. By the time I got to the car I couldn't breath & had to use a puffer.

I agree, It is VERY unprofessional in my opinion to smoke anywhere near a gig location/client/kid.
When at work, the rules are different, you represent YOUR company, and especially working with kids there are certain things that should not be done!
Smoke does smell strongly, I used to smoke, and only after I quite Irealized how bad it can get, If I was still smoking, I'll take a shower before a gig and wait with the smoke for AFTER I left the gig location.

thefacepaintlady wrote:Ok come on now. I can't believe what I saw at a birthday gig I painted at yesterday. They had hired a magician and a face painter (me), and as I pulled into the parking area I noticed the magician in his car having a smoke. Which is fine, I smoke too, whatever. I do NOT however, smoke in my car with a company magnet on the side (i dont smoke in my house or car at all, but that's irrelevant). Anyway the magician was in his car having a smoke with the window only cracked (i assume with the a/c on) and threw the cig butt out the window! Into their YARD! When he came in the house, I swear he stunk the whole place up. I mean WOW! Do you think the kids wanted to smell that, Mr. Magician? Really? I never smoke on the way to a gig, and I always carry binaca or some other breath spray just in case. I noticed the adults looking at each other making faces, so it is safe to assume they won't be return customers to this magician. How GROSS!

I probably should have posted this in Where's the Beef... my bad.

This made me giggle. I used to have a magnet on my car which I removed because I was out at a night club and got a wee bit tipsy an my girlfriend commented on how I was the drunken face painting lady! Also my hubby takes my van when he has jobs that are far away because it gets better gas mileage and unfortunately he has road rage!

Inca wrote:I agree, It is VERY unprofessional in my opinion to smoke anywhere near a gig location/client/kid.
When at work, the rules are different, you represent YOUR company, and especially working with kids there are certain things that should not be done!
Smoke does smell strongly, I used to smoke, and only after I quite Irealized how bad it can get, If I was still smoking, I'll take a shower before a gig and wait with the smoke for AFTER I left the gig location.

Totattly agree. You can't cover up the smell to a non-smoker.

Same should be said for alcohol... I don't drink and can smell it a mile away... if you had a big night out the night before - I can smell it - so I assume the kids can too. I do smoke and am ridiculously aware or second hand smoke and of the smell... I will not smoke in my house or car or when I'm out with my daughter... but when I do I always carry gum and deodorant etc.... to be honest yes the smell of smoking is bad but nowhere near as bad as B.O. and some people have this problem BAD... even some kids... like it's in their pores or something.... or that one kid that smells like 3 day old wee..... there's always one.... and they always want to spend the whole party standing next to me watching!.... if only you could spray them while your at it!

It's a smokin' topic, isn't it?! sorry.... well, coming from another ex-smoker, I agree that you never really get how much you smell, until you quit and smell other smokers. Seriously, how could I think my parents would not smell smoke on me just because I sprayed gallons of perfume and ate a packet of mints! What was I thinking!! I guess at the end of the day, do what is comfortable for you and your business, after all...you're the one that runs it! xo

Another long-time-ago ex-smoker here. I quit in my early 20's and am in my 40's now. I never realized how I smelled 24/7 no matter what I did, because of the way smoke clings to everything.

I know, please forgive me, I am that former-smoker pain in the tucas lady who is a crab about it now. Seriously when I smoked I thought I was covering it well with breath mints and body sprays and ozone neutralizer spray, etc. I remember smoking in my room as a young teen by sticking my cig through a tiny hole I cut in my window screen, lol. I would blow the smoke back out through the hole, burn incense (which ironically I love, esp. Nag Champa), shower and brush my teeth then think I was fooling my dad (also an ex-smoker)...lol

The OP's experience with seeing the magician tossing his cigarette butt into the client's yard reminds me of a movie I watched with my kids last week, "Air Bud". There is a horrible version of clown who hates kids and it shows him before entering a party, lol....