need suggestions on what to invest in

I've bought a lot of stuff over the past couple of years, and some of it literally just sits in the bottom of my Fatmax. So these are the things that I would spend my money on again, if I had to start all over again:

Fatmax
Display easel & magnetic sign board from Michael's - 50% coupons!
Silver & gold Liquid Bling
Holographic glitter in puffer bottle
Insurance - I get mine thru Specialty, and there are several jobs I would not have gotten if I didn't have insurance
Business cards
Bobby pins - to pin back hair
Laminator - I laminate my own pics
Snazaroo sparkle & electric colors
Wolfe black & white - for linework
Ben Nye Lumiere palette - I use this a lot
NICE brushes - these are an important investment and you can go to Michael's and feel them all!
Large neon rainbow cake
Large pearl rainbow cake from Tag
Sponges
A couple of Arty Cakes
Palette of lipsticks
I'm sure there's more, but that's all I can think of right now.

Has anyone else just gone to the FPF Shop and filled their cart with everything they want, just to see what the total comes to? Or am I the only loon?

Lori B. I am always window shopping. I love filling my shopping cart up

You can get close to all the TAG rectangle colors for $350 from the forum shop. Take the time to cut half out of each container and replace it with a complimentary color so your entire kit 2 color splits. Then use the other half of the containers and paint to make yourself a bunch of rainbows and splits. I never buy my splits. It's far cheaper to make them. Don't buy brushes in bulk yet. Try a bunch before you invest in a lot of the same brushes. Get a scrapbooking case and velcro. Having your paints in a case that you can just open and start painting is awesome. It cuts down your set-up and breakdown time significantly. Other than that, I agree with what everyone is saying. Don't just focus on paint. Consider insurance and marketing materials. Gotprint.com, bannersonthecheap.com, and just4banners.com are my favorites to order from because they are usually the cheapest.

This company has Snazaroo large pallettes and single cakes for incredibly inexpensive prices. I originally found this site through an older posting on the forum, and I recently ordered from them. They also delivered really quickly. It's a nice way to get a basic Snaz pallette if you want one.

http://allartsupplies.com/article.php?subsectionId=146

I started a year ago and have spent maybe 700 in product. I work every weekend. So I think $200 to start is a good number def start with the big 90gram white, black, For me Also a good size Spider-man Red, Princess Metallic fushia. I have a Silly Rainbow Cake case it came with 12 cakes i picked boy colors, neon & true rainbows, Butterfly colors, metallic rainbows I also like to keep my kit small and condense what ever I can. So i can get in & out of a gig fast & easy... def get ins so you can paint Anywhere. oh so fun. Lucky you, you have a great budget to start with. lol I used a snaz from Micheal's till I had enough $ to buy real paint. Have Fun! Oh Definitely watch Lisa Joy Young's videos she has tutorials on everything from getting started and beyond. I probably only continued with Face Painting because she made it so easy to learn. Good Luck

Wow what great advice! totally agree on the insurance and business cards. I would also suggest a t-shirt. I get cards and t shirt from vistaprint.com I have had several jobs say "you are so much more professional than........." I did get a banner from vista also...but really have only used it once. Over a year in it, I still dont use display boards...but, prefer to paint by request. Learn to use the small tag splits if you dont already. call beauty schools for a practice head...they will give them to you..not pretty, but free is free. practice on wax paper for your one stroke and./or design layout. works great! and..it dries and you can keep the paper for reference. Rolling cart (scrpbooking or sewing machinge type) is a MUSt MUST have. I still just use wal mart black folding stool and sams club folding table. These three are a MUST have. If you dont have a website yet...add that to your list free from wix.com or for $10/month (what i reccomend) there are no ads on it......the cards, tshirt, website and insurance all give you credibility immediately. good luck!

This is all great advice..I have only been facepainting myself since August this year and I think that the most important thing I am learning is not to invest in things you may not use. I def agree that the "business" stuff like cards and insurance is # 1. It allows us facepainters to get in better places. I use a large amount of Snazzaro paints but found that some of the kit colors I have yet to touch. Take time to do some events with what you have before getting to much of whats out there to see what you as an indivisual work best with. again I love being able to be on here and have the more experienced facepainters point me in the right direction. Its exciting. but def hold on to some of that $$ because you never know what you may need later on.

Tasha wrote:I started a year ago and have spent maybe 700 in product. I work every weekend. So I think $200 to start is a good number def start with the big 90gram white, black, For me Also a good size Spider-man Red, Princess Metallic fushia. I have a Silly Rainbow Cake case it came with 12 cakes i picked boy colors, neon & true rainbows, Butterfly colors, metallic rainbows I also like to keep my kit small and condense what ever I can. So i can get in & out of a gig fast & easy... def get ins so you can paint Anywhere. oh so fun. Lucky you, you have a great budget to start with. lol I used a snaz from Micheal's till I had enough $ to buy real paint. Have Fun! Oh Definitely watch Lisa Joy Young's videos she has tutorials on everything from getting started and beyond. I probably only continued with Face Painting because she made it so easy to learn. Good Luck

I def agree again Lisa Joy Young is great and is a big help to me as well. Idk I would be doing as well if I didnt subscribe to her.

Thank you all so much for your awesome advice....actually feel like i can focus again...lol. I am so thankful for this site and you guys. if you havent already i'd love for you to check out my pics i uploaded in the gallery and tell me what you think. Thanks again

I don't see where your gallery is, but I would love to see your pics....

I cannot see your gallery either. But, your Avatar picture is adorable.

Nobody mentioned getting something to put the water in. Micheal's rectangular water container with lid and brush holder.

What about investing in some Glitter Tattoo supplies and incorporating that into your services?

Wow, really! You are all so helpful!

Here's the link for her gallery. She doesn't have the little brush icon yet: http://www.facepaintforum.com/gallery/Personal-album-of-heavenly_touch-cat_u4810.htm

I would save some of the money to use for advertising too! That can get expensive! Please let us know how you spend it!