How to make your own Halloween face paints

By scentednights Sep 26, 2011

My kids both love Halloween. How can you get any better than dressing up in costumes and being given candy to do it? Like many other families, we have to watch our expenses and Halloween is no different than any other expense. While giving homemade treats for trick or treat is frowned upon, one of the areas we can save money on is making parts of the kid's Halloween costumes. Some years we luck out and can make the entire costume.

Halloween face paints can be really expensive to purchase. Since they're very simple to make from scratch, this is one area that we generally try to save on. You can make several varieties of Halloween face paints from common household ingredients that you probably already have in your cupboard.

It's very important that you start with a clean and dry face before you apply the paint. You'll get better coverage and it will go on smoother. Here are a few of my favorite recipes:

Face Paint Recipe 1

1 tsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp Noxema or other cold cream
1/2 tsp water
Liquid food coloring (variety of colors)

In a small container, mix cornstarch and cold cream until well mixed. Add water and stir. Add food coloring one drop at a time until you get the right color. Store covered. This can be removed with soap and warm water.

Fake Blood Recipe

Corn syrup
Red and blue food coloring
Milk

Add some red food coloring to the corn syrup, and then add a tiny bit of blue to make it a darker color. Milk will make the blood look more realistic. This is sticky and can stain clothes.

You can apply the face paint all over the entire face if you're trying to make them match a costume like for a monster costume. You can also use a little paint brush and some stencils if you want to add hearts or butterflies or lightning bolts as an accent.

This is a great way to help make Halloween a more frugal holiday. You can save the face paint in a reused butter tub to use it again for play dress up or if you don't plan on using it again, it's less messy to mix it up in a paper cup.

How do you save on Halloween expenses?