Along with wearing adorable Halloween costumes, this is the time of year for fun face paint. From cute kitties to scary monsters, doing your tot's face paint is easier than you think — with the right design, the face paint itself could be all the costume your tot needs. With a bit of patience and planning, you can pull off any of these amazing looks. Click through for tips, ideas, and must-have products for successful face painting this Halloween.
Football fans are some of the most passionate folk around. And for many, that means tailgating and cheering on their teams in the most spirited of beauty looks. Sure there's football nail polish to top off any enthusiastic ensemble, but as these following fans prove, the hair and makeup is just as important as well. Are you ready for some football . . . face paint? You know you are.
Check out Spanish design group Atipo's beautiful tribute to some of typography's most iconic fonts. Fontface is a photo series depicting models with their literal faces painted as four typefaces, including Helvetica (of course) and Caslon. The gorgeous making-of video shows the entire creation process, which gives you a sense of just how much time and talent face paint like this takes. To see all the finished face paint, just keep reading.
I choose you, Lipachu! Artist Paige Thompson has been creating this adorable series of lipstick art animals that are both brilliant and fun. They include a Pikachu, a fox, a jaguar, a crab, and a panda. (She's even working on more now.) I recently talked with her about how she comes up with her "Animal-ipsticks," what she uses to create them, and how she makes her lips into the perfect canvas (beauty junkies, take note). Read through to see Paige's 10 favorite Animal-ipsticks and get her tips.
Photo courtesy Paige Thompson
In her photography project "Painted Faces," designer Michelle Samuels had a group of models paint their faces and told them that they could do whatever they wanted. The only caveat was that they weren't allowed to paint anything symbolic. "Abstract was their only option, and the resulting faces ended up showing a bit of each person's personality," she says. The photos are lovely, and the paint jobs are certainly fascinating, but do you think that the way people apply paint (or makeup) actually says anything about who they are?
Artist Liu Bolin has some truly amazing face and body painting skills. The Beijing-based painter and sculptor has been creating new works worthy of Where's Waldo by painting himself into his surroundings until he's basically invisible. It's amazing how accurate he gets the tones and lines. Want to see just how amazing his makeup artist skills are? Check out the gallery below to see whether you can spot Liu in different cool places around the globe.
Photo courtesy of Eli Klein Fine Art
Becoming a ghoulishly pretty calaverita (like this on, by Yolanda Bartram) isn't as difficult as it seems if you've got the right tools. An inexpensive Face Paint Kit ($6) is, of course, a necessity. If you're a good free-hand drawer, you can create the look with a little time and planning, but even if you're not graphically inclined, a stencil set ($5) will make it easy to create cool designs worthy of the wildest dancing skeleton. For a beautiful look like this one, tie the design together with cute alligator clips ($3) and accentuate your sockets with dramatic slanted false lashes like these Shu Uemura False Eyelashes in Slant Black ($15).
Photo courtesy Yolanda Bartram
Still don't have a Halloween costume? Don't stress out, and don't even think of heading to the costume shops today — they'll be a madhouse. Instead, take a look at these face-painting designs by Lisa Smiley of Smiley Orca Face Painting in Monterey, CA. With more than a decade of experience, Lisa has advanced (and award-winning) skills. Even if you can't re-create her designs exactly, they're fantastic for inspiration. And in the off chance that you're in Monterey this weekend, you can stop by her booth on Cannery Row to get done up by Lisa herself.
Eep! This evil Jack-o'-lantern face paint is seriously scary. Face painting artist Lone Wolf Kirkegaard created the spooky design and is letting us show you how she did it. See how she made this creepy pumpkin come to life below.
Photos courtesy Lone Wolf Kirkegaard
Scary witch is a classic Halloween costume, but all the cobwebs and cackling in the world aren't as creepy as some frightening face paint and a prosthetic nose. Face-painting artist Yolanda Bartram from BodyFX in New Zealand created this great witch makeup in just a few minutes. She's shared a straightforward step-by-step tutorial for creating the look with just a fake nose, faux warts, adhesive, and a face-painting kit. So to see how you can re-create this terrifying visage for your own fright night, just keep reading.
Photos courtesy Yolanda Bartram
