Hey, what's your opinion on using liquid latex facepaint as an alternative to water or oil based body paints such as snazaroo or ben nye ?
I actually have very few opinions on this subject, since I have no direct experience with liquid latex body paint, nor have I done much in the way of research on it.
From what I can tell, it is very shiny and most often used for effects (painted on clothing, special effects, etc.) rather than for recoloring skin and making it look like skin. It also seems to wrinkle around joints, probably because it is basically a sheet of rubber painted onto your skin, so it moves a bit separately and can separate from the skin easily. I’d be worried about it for face wear for that reason. You might be able to wear it for a short period of time (such as a photoshoot) and with a lot of powder.
I think that the advantage of this type of paint is that it is very opaque and can be easy to get good coverage, especially for a clothing-like look. It might also work well for smaller designs like tattoos, as long as it’s well-powdered as to not look so shiny.
The disadvantages seem to be that it is basically rubber dried to your skin — it won’t be dangerous (despite the urban legends), but it will trap sweat underneath and will probably feel tight on your skin. It might also be prone to peeling, but as I said, I haven’t used it so I have no idea. One website I looked at says that it only lasts a few hours before it starts to peel off naturally, so it might not be good in a convention-type setting.
I don’t think it’s very suitable for use as a body paint in terms of changing your skin color (going grey for a troll, etc.), but it has its uses in smaller designs and trompe l’oeil syle body painting.
Here’s a few links I’ve dug up in my very short research on this:
This isn’t entirely useful in terms of information, but it is a kit that uses liquid latex body paint for a Blue Man Group look. You can see what the effect is and the information on how to apply it.
This link isn’t entirely safe for work, as it has latexed-over topless women in the header image. You can see the shapes of nipples, but the covering is opaque. Just a warning. It seems to be the best site I’ve found for general information about the paint, and contains some rather extensive information. Keep in mind that the site is also trying to sell a product, so it can be a bit laudatory at times.
This link is to a cosplay.com thread from a few years back where a member tried liquid latex body paint for some tattoos. The OP gives a review of the paint, and another member later in the thread gives some more information.
I hope that helps! Again, I know very little about this subject, but it doesn’t look like the best option for skin-like body painting.
