It’s difficult to judge from a photo on a website as to whether or not you’ll like a color or brand of face paint you haven’t tried, so if you haven’t had a chance to get to know some of Facepaint.com’s newer additions, I hope this post will help you get acquainted with them and know which are the best fit for you.

Kryvaline Neon Pink

Nothing glows like neon colors, and as well as standing out on their own, they can make a vibrant addition to any split cake. If you haven’t tried Kryvaline neons yet, you may want to consider the Kryvaline neon pink. The color is gorgeous and fits in well with non-neon colors in splits. As with most neons, it can be a bit sheer, so coupling it with more opaque paints can supply the best qualities of both worlds.

Kryvaline One Stroke Split Fairy Rainbow

Kryvaline’s Fairy Rainbow comes close to perfection as a small split rainbow. The color balance is lovely, and the vivid pink neon on one side gives this little rainbow cake just the right visual kick. The red dominates it a little from the opposite side of the split cake, so I placed it on the top of this rainbow design. Other than that, it performs beautifully as a rainbow.

Kryvaline Metallic Green

The Kryvaline Metallic Green is a definite wow as a radiant, gleaming emerald green. The coverage is excellent on any skin tone, and it provides crisp lines when painting teardrops or delicate line work.

After washing it off (thoroughly with soap and then with water), I was impressed that I could barely detect any stain on my skin. The vivid color would make it an especially good choice for dramatic, masquerade-style masks.

Kryvaline Creamy Essential Blue

If you’ve attempted a Captain America mask, you know the challenges of getting even coverage when using dark blues. Generally they look streaky and require a second coat. I was pleasantly surprised by the Kryvaline Creamy Essential Blue when I tried it out on my arm. While I could detect a little skin tone through it, and would probably add a second coat, it covered well the first time. When using Kryvaline blue, don’t try to apply it to the skin prematurely. Olga Murasev’s tip for good coverage is to work enough water into your paint to build up a creamy, thick consistency before painting. This is important with one strokes as well.

Global Body Art Standard Teal

If you ask a face painter which color stains the worst of all, he is likely to say teal (possibly accompanied by a groan from having attempted and failed to remove traces of it in the past). Global, however, has created a teal that is not a terrible stainer, as long as you begin the washing process only with soap and do not add water until the paint entirely lifts off the skin.

For the photos of the Bavaria small split cake, which also contains Global’s teal, I painted my arm and left it on overnight, just to experiment with the teal’s staining power.

It washed off easily with no staining in the morning.

While not an intensely bright color, it lends itself perfectly for ocean or mermaid designs. It can dry a little tight on the skin, causing a light crackling on the surface, but painting over the top of a creamier paint will help avoid any feeling of tightness on the skin.

Global Body Art Pearl Magenta

If you’ve tried Global’s infamous magenta and loved it, you may consider adding their pearl magenta to your color options as well for vibrant color plus extra shimmer. Pearl magenta is only slightly more sheer than it’s matte relatives, but if you’re concerned, you can couple it with it’s opaque counterpart, the regular magenta. Even when it stands on its own (as in the photo below), it provides good coverage and is a gorgeous color choice for large areas. Like most Global colors, it also gives clean line work, making it versatile as an outlining choice on designs.

Global Split Cake Bavaria

Bavaria contains Global’s teal, white, magenta, and dark purple, and is an excellent choice for adding variety to your small split options, particularly for butterflies and florals. With teal on one side and dark purple on the other, I liked the flexibility of being able to use it with either side on the inside or outside of my floral and butterfly designs.

Global Body Art Neon Yellow

Neon yellows are sheer, and so it’s particularly important to work water into them well before using them, as I did for the sample photo below.

Even though Global’s neon yellow is somewhat sheer, it definitely delivers in terms of glowing under a blacklight.

Some, but not all, neon pigments have been tested by the FDA for cosmetic use. As always, check the label of your face paint for usage recommendations, and make sure to comply with your insurance company’s instructions when using face paints.

Beth MacKinney is the owner of and primary face painter for Face Paint Pizzazz in the NW Chicago suburbs. Stop by Clownantic.com to see more of her face painting tutorials, or check out Examiner.com where she writes as the Chicago Face Painting Examiner.