Body painting is the coolest! We’re convinced there is no better way to impress a crowd this Halloween with your costume. And good news! Kaleidoscope is taking face and body painting private appointments in CT and MA this Halloween to make all of your awesome/sexy/terrifying-costume dreams come true.

So as we count down the days to our all-time-favorite holiday, here are a few tips and tricks for body painting this Halloween!

DON’T use acrylics or other cheap paints as body paint. Body paints are actually giant tubs of makeup similar to liquid eye liner or foundations. Acrylics, temperas, or other paints aren’t made for humans! Click the image on the left to open it up and read it. Remember this guy? He used cheap submarine paint (instead of body paint) to become the Hulk. And then remained the Hulk for months afterwards. Or, even if you can get the paint off you, acrylics can end up staining furniture, clothing, or anything else you touch. Plus, most colors (especially yellow or red) contain heavy metals known to cause cancer. No thanks! And if that’s not enough to convince you, other non-body paints can crack, smudge, and just generally make your costume look awful!

DO go to a professional. Professional body painters use FDA-approved makeups which are made specially for human skin. Even sensitive skin usually does well with this stuff! Plus our body paint is water-soluable (aka comes of quite easily), is applied by professionals (no streaks or smudges!) and we seal it in (aka it doesn’t come off until you want it to.)Now, we get a lot of requests for people asking us where we get Kaleidoscope gets our body paint from because they want to do it themselves. (The short answer is that we get it through professional suppliers up in MA.) But generally, even for a simple painting you’re going to end up dropping $50-75 dollars on enough paint to cover you. And, more than likely, because you’re not used to painting with makeup, you’ll also probably end up frustrated with streaks or uneven coverage. Call a body painter today and see what they’ll give you for a quote or simply tell them your budget. You might be surprised! (If you live in the Hartford or Boston areas, drop us a line for a quote today!)

DON’T Google “[character] body paint”. Okay! You’ve decided to go to a body painter and get the sweetest costume ever. Go Glen Cocoa! But now, you’re looking for ideas… so you type “Poison Ivey body paint” into Google images and get your heart set on an image. But, more than likely, a professional body painter can make your costume look even better with that! We take into account your body type, skin tone, other costume possibilities, and budget. We can take whatever your idea is and make it into a killer body painting!

DON’T have the budget? DO consider other options! So you’re in college, have insane rent, or just otherwise broke. But you have your heart set on going as Ivy because you’re man is going to be Batman! Figure out your budget for costume and body paint. Call your local body painter and tell them exactly what you want to spend. Because guess what–we can do partial body paintings! If you’re like us and live in CT, MA, RI, or just the north east in general, you’re probably going to be freezing walking around Salem without clothes anyway. Consider just getting your face done, or wearing more clothes and just getting a partial body painting done… there are a ton of options for body painting and we can help you sort them out! On the left is a partial-body paiting we did for a FloJo costume. She didn’t have to spend a ton, but it was an amazig addition to a costume on budget!

DO consider prosthetics. Your Avitar can look a whole lot better with a flat nose and pointy ears. Mystique could be a great body painting, but even better with a few scales. Ask your body painter about your options within your budget!

DON’T forget the pasties! If you’re planning on going totally painted (and otherwise topless), trust us on this ladies. Pasties will help when a sudden breeze enters the room. Pasties will help you from getting flagged on Facebook every time you post a selfie. And most importantly, pasties will keep the girls in check if someone spills a drink and your paint comes off. You can also get creative by using costume elements like scales, feathers, or flowers to cover you up!

DO consider a photo shoot! Congrats! You look wonderful! No one’s iPhones are going to capture how awesome your body painting is. Whether or not your body painter offers it, see if you can get a package option with professional photos taken. You’re probably going to want this to be your Facebook default until Easter, so get some great photos! You put money into your costume and you deserve to remember it.

Kaleidoscope is currently taking appointments for face and body painting in Hartford, CT 06105 on Saturday, October 26 and Salem, MA 01970 on Friday, Oct 25 and Halloween. Face painting is a great alternative to masks that your kids have trouble seeing out of or that you’ll lose at the second bar anyway. Body painting is just a show stopper, and Marissa’s body painting clients have won up to $5,000 in first-place prizes at costume contests! If you live in the Hartford CT or Salem MA areas and would like to make an appointment to get body painted, contact us today for your free quote!

(Don’t live in the Hartford or Boston areas? Feel free to message us on Facebook and we can recommend another body painter in your area.)