Last night, 8-year-old Sophie invited a friend over for her first ever sleepover. As it's the holidays and I'm getting to spend some quality time with the kids, we went all out for the perfect girlie pyjama party : DVD in pyjamas, bowl of popcorn, nail varnish, facepaints ! Hang on, did somebody say facepaints ? Oh blimey, I have a go at Halloween (using the contents of my makeup bag !) but the finished design never looks as good as the "professional" facepaints at summer fetes and playdays ! Oh well, I can but try !
Luckily, Snazaroo, "the world's favourite face and body paints", had kindly sent me a selection of face paint kits to review so now was the perfect time to try them out. The kits come in various sizes, from three-colour themed kits that have enough face paint to do ten faces in one popular design (for example, butterfly, clown, camouflage, dizzy dog, Dracula ...) to bigger palette kits, which is what I broke open for the sleepover. As you can see in the picture at the beginning of this review, it contains everything you need to get started : face paints, glitter gel face paints, brushes, sponges, a booklet of ideas and advice ... The website explains : "This Snazaroo Face Painting Kit can paint up to 60 faces. A really comprehensive kit containing a paint palette with 2ml Black, White, Red, Bright Yellow, Grass Green and Sky Blue, and a glitter palette with Sparkle Pink, Sparkle Orange and 4 different glitter gel colours, together with 3 brushes, 4 sponges and a 28-page face painting guide. Perfect for children's parties." At £13.99, it seems a really good value set because it really has got everything you need for the most popular designs that kids of both sexes choose.
So, how did it go ? Well, I'll let you judge for yourselves with the photos below but I was quite chuffed and the girls were well impressed. You just need a little water to work the paints into a smooth paste-like texture and you're away. The colours don't run or streak, they cover the skin really well with vivid, pretty colours and you can even blend them if you need various shades (for example, for a camouflage face, when one green and brown won't be enough). The girls loved the glittery colours and the glitter gels, which look much more impressive in real life than in the photos. Huge smiles all round !
So, how did it go ? Well, I'll let you judge for yourselves with the photos below but I was quite chuffed and the girls were well impressed. You just need a little water to work the paints into a smooth paste-like texture and you're away. The colours don't run or streak, they cover the skin really well with vivid, pretty colours and you can even blend them if you need various shades (for example, for a camouflage face, when one green and brown won't be enough). The girls loved the glittery colours and the glitter gels, which look much more impressive in real life than in the photos. Huge smiles all round !
Rachel, Sophie's friend, has sensitive skin so her mum told her to apply face cream before putting on the face paints. I wasn't sure how they would stick to her face after that and had visions of them sliding off her chin (!), but it worked absolutely fine and she had absolutely no reactions whatsoever. Having checked on the website, they say that "the company's emphasis on quality and safety - all paints comply to the strictest toy and cosmetic regulations, are water-based, easy to apply and remove - has inspired huge brand loyalty over the years."
I handed out Johnson's facial cleansing wipes when it was time to get ready for bed and the face paints came off really easily - no need for rubbing hard and repeatedly rinsing with a facecloth, as is the usual rigmarole when the girls have had their faces painted when we're out and about. The only bit that was hard to get off was the remnants of glitter in their hairlines and eyebrows but they were quite happy to keep a few glittery reminders on their face until morning anyway !
I love the huge variety of products on offer. As well as the usual face paints, you can buy a Special FX kit which would be absolutely fantastic for Halloween as it contains gel blood, face paint and Special FX sculpting wax - "everything your kids need to create the illusion of broken fingers, scars and scabs" ! Another one that is sure to go down well when the World Cup kicks off is the Supporters' Face Paint Kit that contains eight colours that will allow you to create the majority of the World Cup contesters' flags. I can see the dads having fun with that one !
Now I've seen how easy it is to get impressive results, I won't hesitate to drag out the face paints the next time we're holding a kids' party. It's also a great way to keep the kids entertained during the school holidays and it's so easy, you could even enjoy some quality time together and let them paint your face too !
star rating : 5/5
RRP : kits start at £3.49
for more information : http://www.snazaroo.com/
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