Review: Snazaroo Face Paints Mini Starter Kit

The brushes and the sponges are a little stained from use

Around a month ago I finally invested in a good set of Snazaroo face paints. I figured that if you're going to buy face paints, and it's going to cost you, get some from a trusted brand - so I bought the mini starter kit, which cost me about £25 on Amazon, but the RRP is £34.50.

I actually wanted this paint for some sugar skull looks and more bold artsy looks for when eyeshadows just didn't cut it.

If you're interested as to how that went...

I think we all know that Snazaroo is the most trusted brand for a reason, and all these colours were super-bright, kind to the skin, stay on great and wash off easily. Now let's get down to the nitty-gritty.


Thoughts on what you get in the set:

Ok, so the set comes with:
5 18ml paint pots in white, black, red, blue, yellow and green
Three synthetic brushes (a small rounded brush, a larger rounded brush and a square-tipped brush)
A pot of glitter gel
Two high-density sponges
A little instruction booklet
A carry case

The paint pots:
These were a great size and I don't think I'll be running out any time soon. In termsof colours supplied, I think the only thing I've really felt the absence of is a good pink colour (I might buy one separately), and I suppose a brown and purple would be nice too. Everything else you could probably create by mixing.

The brushes: 
I'm sure there's a reason they want you to use specific Snazaroo paint brushes, and these ones are very good quality with soft bristles and absolutely no shedding. Honestly, though, I've just not found the smaller bush to to be small enough for detail, and have taken to using my regular paint brushes.

The glitter gel:
You have to be careful how you apply this as not to mess up the paint under, but overall it's good. The glitter's very fine in the gel and doesn't feel scratchy, even when you remove it, so I'd hazard a guess that it's ok for sensitive skin. A nice extra. Even so, I can't help wishing they'd ditched it and put in another face paint colour instead.

The sponges:
These sponges hold paint much better than foundation sponges do, and with the right pressure can work to either fully cover the face or create fine stippling effect. They're really bulky though, and I'm tempted to cut one in half so I've got something a little more manageable for gradient work or detail. It's best to use a sponging motion than to drag it along the face, because then it feels a little scratchy. Nothing major, but could upset younger kids.

The instruction booklet: 
Ok, this seemed like a nice but ultimately useless addition. (Maybe it's just because I'm not really planning to use it to entertain kids who want to be dogs or whatever) The step-by-steps are clear but sometimes require colours that don't come with the set, which is reeeeally annoying.There's a colour wheel and some basic colour theory at the front to help with mixing, too, and some image banks with ideas. It was separated into "girls'" and "boys'" designs, which really pissed me off, but lets not go into that.  I don't know, it's only a little booklet, I didn't find it all that helpful.

The carry case:
This is a bit of an eyesore in all its bright yellow glory, but ultimately very practical. It fits everything easily with plenty of space for you to add your own paints as you build up your collection. I've taken to putting all my SFX makeup in there. It's sturdy, too.

Like I said, a lot of space (the paints are stacked in twos here)

Comparing Snazaroo paint pots to other kinds of face paint: 

Cream face paints: Before using these paints I'd been using those cream face paints you get in tubes from cheap halloween makeup sets (specifically the white). The main pro of said cream sets is also it's main weakness: it applies thinly. This means that the white almost works like white foundation and pales the face nicely, but it doesn't give an opaque coverage without a LOT  of layers. And then it's cakey and uncomfortable to wear. Because cream face paints are in tubes, you can conventional mixing methods. With Snazaroo paints, mixing is best done on the face itself and is a little harder to get to grips with.

Face paint crayons: These are basically solid grease paints in stick form and I hate them. They're the ones me and my sister always used to use as kids and they drag on your face and you can't colour in with them and just no. They suck. I suppose you could use them for  outlining, but I'd rather just use more water-based face paints and a small brush. Also, these things stayed greasy forever, meaning loose hair and stuff stuck to them and they were a pain to remove.

Grease paints/alcohol activated paints: Unfortunately, I've never tried either of these, so I can't make that comparison. I will say that from what I've seen, grease paints are suited mor to special effect makeup, while Snazaroo face paints are for actually painting designs onto the face.


Overall:
I'd actually call this set great value - if you buy face paints individually, it adds up quickly, so I'd say this is the best way to do it. It's one big cost up front, but after that you're invested. You're not going to have to spend that quantity of money again, because then it's all about replacing/adding individual pots. Great quality, a good selection of colours (although still annoyed that there's no pink) and generally a well-thought out little set. Perfect as a first set of professional-quality face paints. Now go! Children's birthday parties await you!