I’ve been experimenting with Mehron Intense powders lately, and the more I use them, the more impressed I am with them as a product. I like the small size of the palettes (which makes them easy to carry in my kit), the color choices, the quick and easy application, and the feel of them on my skin. They’re particularly helpful in hot, humid summer weather, so if you live in an area where you encounter muggy conditions, you may want to give them a try.
Materials
• Mehron Intense powder palette (Wind and Fire used in example)
• Diamond FX white
• Diamond FX black
• Smoothie blenders (one per color)
• #5 round brush (optional for the eyes, but not necessary if you use the #2 for the entire design)
• #1 or #2 round brush for details
Tutorial
Begin by rubbing your smoothie blender lightly in the lightest orange color and making a comma shape on the face. Use the tip of the blender to make the tail shapes at the bottom of the comma/fish. Flip the smoothie and use the other side to apply yellow to the inner side of the comma shape to give the fish a graduated color. Use a new smoothie and the dark pink or purple to add small fins.
Load a fresh smoothie blender with light green and pull the color around the eye and down in a curve toward the fish. On either side of this, add some yellow and orange curved shapes, also pointing toward the fish.
Use your #2 round (or #5 round) and Diamond FX white to add eyes to the fish shape.
Outline your fish with the #1 or #2 round brush and Diamond FX black.
Use the #2 round and white to make swirls over the color up and around the eye.
Add highlights to the fish as well as starbursts and dots to the rest of the design to finish it.
One of the best things about the powders is that you can create loads of designs using just a Mehron Intense palette plus your black and white for outlining and highlights, making it a powerful tool for face painting, especially if you want to travel light and have to work in warm, sticky conditions. It has a softer feel on the face than the Starblends, and it creates less powder during use, so I’d definitely give it a thumbs-up as a product.
Beth MacKinney is the owner of and primary face painter for Face Paint Pizzazz in the NW Chicago suburbs. Stop by Facepaint.com to check out her other face painting blog posts and tutorials. If you’re on Facebook, join the Facepaint.com Challenge Group to showcase your artwork and have a chance to win a store credit for each week’s challenge.