Hi all, it has been a while!
And so much has happened. Not just in my immediate world here in South Africa, but also globally since the COVID-19 outbreak. All I can say is that it has been interesting times indeed.
As I’m sitting in total lockdown for 21 days (and possibly more after that), I’ve decided to put some good intent and energy into my website. One of my aims during this time is to really stay positive and with a grateful heart embrace all the gifts present in my life.
Face painting is one of these gifts. For me, it’s a means to spread joy and happiness. And for many reasons it brings equal amounts of joy and happiness back into my life. To make a kid happy, and to see that gorgeous big smile, must be one of the most rewarding things ever. So in this blog I would like to share with you, some highlights from my recent face painting adventures.
A new face painting case
I finally invested in a professional face painting case. Gone are the days when I arrived at a job with my black toolbox. My new case is a beautiful rosewood colour and turns heads wherever I go. The fold-out sections,built-in mirror and lights that can be set on 3 different settings creates a completely different face painting experience.
Kids are totally fascinated with everything about this case. They love playing with the wheels and they LOVE looking at themselves in the big mirror – NON-STOP hahaha.
Thanks to the built-in lights around the mirror, I never have to worry about lighting at night-time events anymore. In the past this often created stressful and unsatisfactory results because the lighting that is provided at these events are just not adequate enough for face painting. So, having this as part of my own set-up has really made my life so much easier.
And when it comes to neon face painting, the lights have a specific UV setting to show the glow in the dark paint off brilliantly. I can also play music via Bluetooth or a USB stick. How cool!
Which are the popular face painting designs for kids at the moment
When I grew up there wasn’t such a thing as face painting at parties. And knowing how popular it is amongst boys and girls today, and how much they love it, I really think we missed out. What could possibly be better than having your favourite character, animal or a pretty design painted on your face?
For all you moms out there it’s great because not only are your kids super happy, but you also get all these stunning photos of your kids with their painted faces. A win-win situation, except for when bath time comes – ha ha ha! I’ve often had to hear about the struggle moms have to wash those pretty painted faces when it’s time for bed, because they don’t want to take it off! You will find it reassuring to know though, that we only use hypo-allergenic paint that is water-based and comes off very easily with a bit of soap and water.
Over the years I’ve had so many different requests for so many different designs and themes. Some of them way-out and some obvious favourites that have stood the test of time.
Superheroes for instance. I don’t think Spiderman and Batman face paint designs will ever lose their popularity. And these days there are such cool outfits out there so kids can really dress up and get into their favourite character.
I must have painted probably a thousand Spiderman faces already. In fact, this was the first design that I learnt to paint, and I have had to think of ways to recreate this look, just to keep it interesting for myself.
When it comes to girl superhero face paint designs, Supergirl and Wonder Woman face paint designs are the most popular ones. And I was recently asked to face paint Batgirl on a very young girl. I modified my usual Batman face paint design into a very easy design suited for little ones who can’t sit still for long.
Amongst the Disney face painting designs, Frozen Elsa is still very popular. She took a backseat to unicorns for a little while but thanks to the Frozen 2 movie that was released here at the end of last year, she’s back on top. I haven’t come across a single girl that doesn’t love her. Even older girls often ask for this Frozen Elsa design because it just looks so pretty with shades of light blue, white snowflakes and glitter. I have also had to re-imagine this Frozen face paint design many times over the past few years.
Unicorns have become increasingly popular as a face paint theme at parties in Johannesburg and Pretoria the last year or so. The unicorn face paint design that I paint is in the shape of a mask that frames the eyes. I paint little ears and a horn on the forehead and use a special rainbow split cake to create wisps of magical rainbow hair. In case you were wondering, a split cake is a pan of face paint with a combination of two or more colours. It works beautifully to shade and blend the colours together. To finish this unicorn face paint design off I add flowers or stars and off course glitter to make the whole design pop and sparkle. Little girls LOVE this unicorn face paint design!
South African moments
A theme close to my heart which became increasingly popular at adult functions this last season is also a theme that is close to home: Africa.
You may remember dotted face paint designs from visits to Moyo restaurants. In the 2018 Marvel movie, Black Panther, we see the Wakanda warriors with these white dotted designs painted on their faces. Even though the designs are simple, they are so effective and striking. At our local functions, guests often wear vibrant African attire, so these African face paint designs stand out beautifully. I love it!
For the 3rd year in a row we were lucky enough to paint for the Entrepreneurial Institute’s Graduation Dinner at the exquisite Tau Game lodge. Out of town jobs are always a treat and this one in the Madikwe Game Reserve is no exception. Not only is the scenery breathtaking with a deck that overlooks a watering hole, but the rooms and food is amazing too.
There are always a lot of overseas guests at these annual events so it’s a wonderful opportunity to show them some of our African hospitality.
This years’ theme was “Go Wild in South Africa ” so everybody dressed up as leopards, cheetahs and zebras. And because it’s the last night after 7 days of hard work, it’s always a big celebration and a lot of fun for us as well. This zebra face paint design was one of my favorites of the evening and looked so good with the whole zebra costume on.
One of my go-to face paint themes for adults and teenagers are animal prints. Sometimes adults are a bit skeptical of having their faces painted at an event and these type of designs usually convinces them. The animal print designs are very elegant and at the same time still adds an element of fun.
Some lovely face painting designs for women
These days, creative face painting is not only for kids. I am so thrilled to see more and more adult events incorporate a bit of fun and colour with face painting. One of my favourite jobs towards the end of last year was a 30th birthday celebration with an Under the Sea theme. The party took place At The Beach outside Pretoria.
My colour palette consisted of shades of blue, turquoise and white. I also used my shell stencil to create shells and sea star shapes and added lots of diamantes and glitter. The results were gorgeous. Here are some of the photographs
Occasionally I get a request to paint a single face for a special event. For this 40th birthday celebration the theme was Papillon (which means butterfly in French). The birthday girl came to my house and after discussing what she had in mind, I painted this pink butterfly design which complemented her hair and headpiece beautifully. I love the one-on-one interaction that jobs like this bring. Because painting someone’s face is a close-up, personal experience, I get to connect with that person while painting their face.
Face painting at bachelorette parties
I had a few bachelorette parties in Pretoria and Johannesburg where I face painted and if you ask me, its way nicer than having a stripper or playing corny games hahaha 😉 Old and young are always keen for a pretty face paint design, so it works really well to get everybody in the swing of things. I especially love it if there is a specific theme for the party, because then I can easily incorporate this into the face painting designs and it ties things together nicely.
Thank you for taking the time to read this article. If you want to see some more photos of my work, please pop into my face painting gallery for kids and for adults.
Wishing you great health and a peaceful state of mind in these crazy times. Stay strong and stay safe
Much love, Christa xxx
