Face painting: history, products and techniques

Alexander Pushkar, professional makeup artist, stylist

A little history

The history of face painting began many thousands of years ago, when our ancestors, who participated in ethnic rituals and games, transformed themselves using a variety of bright colors. With the help of makeup, they scared away evil spirits, expressed themselves, and decorated themselves. Ancient theater used makeup to embody characteristic and mystical roles.

At that time, paints were primitive and were created from soot, clay, flour and juice of various plants. Today, face painting is very popular among makeup artists as one of the options for expressing creativity. The market for face painting products is vast, and almost every professional brand of cosmetics for makeup artists/makeup artists has a line of water paints. How to choose them?

How to choose the right water paints?

The first and most important thing is to find out the composition of the drug, whether it contains toxic or harmful substances, how hypoallergenic it is, and whether it is suitable for sensitive skin and also for children’s skin (after all, this type of art is especially popular among children’s audiences). As a rule, a self-respecting cosmetics company does not make a secret of this, but provides all the necessary information about the quality of products in documents, and also offers to use the help of consultants when choosing: they will tell you about the features of working with drugs.

Makeup, hairstyle: Alena Semenets

Photo: Vadim Sery

Model: Victoria Landysheva

The second thing that is important to pay attention to is the color rendition of water paint, namely lightness, saturation, hue, the possibility of color mixing, glossiness or matte. It is necessary to test products to know the result you want to get from a particular color.

Third and important: you need to pay attention to the expiration dates of products and learn the rules for their storage.

The process of applying face painting is similar to the artistic technique of painting with watercolors. There are general rules for working with aqua paints that are diluted with water. Before you start applying paint, your facial skin should be evened out using foundation. Powder is not used to make the shading of the watercolor smoother.

What brushes are suitable for face painting?

When working with paints for this type of art, it is necessary to use brushes with synthetic bristles. It is tougher, easier to clean and lasts longer. For clean work, it is advisable to have a separate brush for each color, especially for novice makeup artists. Brushes should be large and small in size and of various shapes. This simplifies the task of creating makeup of different types and degrees of complexity. The brush should be slightly damp when working; it can be moistened in a glass of water and blotted with a napkin to remove excess moisture, or lightly sprinkled with a water spray.

Face painting techniques

Water paint is applied without gaps, its density ideally resembles a thick, stretchy paste. It should not be too dry (so that the color blends out without holes) or too watery. If you do not take this nuance into account, then the face painting paint may crack during the drying process.

It is worth noting that you need to work moving from light to dark tones, since light shades are easier to paint over, and this will help to avoid irreparable mistakes. The color of aqua paint can be independent, not requiring addition, and it can also be duplicated with shadows - both matte and shimmering. The shadows are applied using punching movements.

Water paint can be decorated with both coarse and finely ground glitter. For good adhesion, this should be done when the paint is still wet. Don't limit yourself to just brushes. Face painting paints can be applied with a sponge, a napkin fan, or a brush with an unusual cut. This will make it possible to make non-standard solutions in the drawing - create the effect of splashes, dots, stencils, etc.

Idea, style, makeup: Vika Pisarenko

Photo: Vadim Sery

Model: Irina Stroy (PM Management Int.)

For a more lasting result, makeup using aqua paints is fixed with a special spray at a distance of 30 cm. This makeup is removed using a cotton sponge soaked in warm water and liquid soap. At the end of work, the brushes are cleaned and disinfected. And when closing a jar of aqua paint, make sure that there is no water left in it, as this can lead to the growth of bacteria.

Makeup made with aqua paints is distinguished by its color brightness, richness and richness, as well as versatility. The key to success in its creation is systematic practice, which will make it possible to implement a variety of creative ideas for your clients!

Main photo:

Makeup: Olga Kondratyuk

Hairstyle: Oksana Andrienko

Photo: Vadim Sery

Model: Yulia Shpachinskaya

The article and photos were first published in MAKEUP&YOU Professional magazine