Best White Face Paint: The Latest Test

As we welcome a new line of face paint into our store (see Fusion Body Art), we wanted to show you how their new white compares with the most popular white face paints we carry at Jest Paint. We researched and tested many different white pigments and base formulas for Fusion Body Art to develop the ultimate white face paint. Once we were sure that the best base ingredients and pigment were chosen, we set ourselves out to test it and compare it with some of the most popular white face paints out there. This blog shows the results of our testing.

The Ultimate White Face Paint Test

Let's be honest; finding the perfect white face paint makeup that can do it all is not an easy task. Some are great for base work but not as great for line work. Some do amazing line work but crack when used over large areas. Some are more opaque but less bright. Others are brighter yet less opaque. Which one is which?

Unless you want to buy 15 different white face paints and find out for yourself, you might want to read the following post as we have made a selection of our top white choices and compared them. Keep in mind that at Jest Paint we sell many, many brands and have two pages of white face paints available for you to choose from.

Also, keep in mind that each face painter will have a different opinion, so take this post as our opinion is based on our own professional experience. 

For this test, we have chosen to work with the following brands: Fusion Body Art, Superstar, Global Body Art, Diamond FX, TAG, Kryvaline, and Wolfe FX. We have made this selection based mostly on what brands are most popular at JestPaint. There are other great brands out there, like Kryolan, Paradise, Graftobian, Cameleon, and more, but we wanted to narrow our selection between those we sell the most and Fusion Body Art, which is a new brand of face paint which will likely become well know by their AMAZING new Paraffin White.

The Opacity Test

One of the first things every face painter wants to know is how opaque white face paint makeup is. We tested all seven brands, and our test concluded that Fusion Body Art Paraffin White was the most opaque white of the ones we chose for this test. That is not unexpected, as we did help Fusion develop a white so opaque that it could outperform any other brand in this aspect. To do that, Fusion used a new finer pigment and a high-quality wax from Japan.

Next in line were Wolfe FX and Diamond FX, in our opinion. All whites provided an overall good coverage, but none looked as opaque as Fusion Body Art Paraffin White when comparing how well they cover the skin underneath.

The Layering Test

Using white face paint to add highlights and details over other colors is very common, yet it is a challenge. Because of the water-based nature of face paints, it is hard for them to go over dark colors without picking up the color underneath. We tested all seven brands of paints to see which white face paint was able to better cover the color underneath, and these are the results.

All of them did very well when doing teardrops. The teardrops stayed white and opaque and did not pick up the color underneath. When doing a wider stroke of white, it became clear that the last four brands performed the best. Keep in mind that although we always try our best to keep the technique, load, pressure, and other factors the same, slight changes in the application can affect the results.

The Blending Test

When painting beautiful backgrounds, one important aspect to consider is how easy it is to blend your paints. The rule usually says that glycerin-based face paints are best for blending as they stay activated and blendable for longer, while wax-based face paints tend to dry faster and hence can be harder to blend unless re-activated. There was no exception to the rule. Superstar outperformed all other brands here as they are glycerin based. Superstar stays soft and blendable for longer periods of time, allowing you to keep blending colors while on the skin. They are soft enough to do "dry" blending better than any of the other brands we tested.

The Brightness Test

This was a surprise to us since we realized that the most opaque whites were not the whiter ones. Fusion Paraffin White, Wolfe FX, Diamond FX, Kryvaline, and TAG looked a bit more off-white when compared to Superstar, Global, and Fusion Prime White. The last three brands do not have paraffin wax in them, which makes us think that it is a result of the paraffin wax, but maybe we are wrong, and there is another component that makes them very opaque yet slightly off-white. 

I would say that Global and Fusion Body Art Prime White is at the top, with Fusion providing a more opaque version at the same brightness level. These whites are like pure white, pure light reflection, but not as opaque as Fusion Body Art Paraffin White is.

The Line Work Test

Although all seven brands performed really well when doing line work, one stood out because of how opaque the line work was. Fusion Body Art paraffin white provided us with really opaque line work, and it flowed off the brush like a charm.

All other brands also did really well, just not as opaque. We want to make a special note on Superstar as being a glycerin-based brand. One would expect it not to provide you with very sharp-looking lines, but they have done some serious work on developing a flexible and soft glycerin base white that can still provide you with sharp-looking lines. Kudos to them for their work!

The Base Work Test

In general, glycerin-based face paints like Superstar, Paradise, Graftobian, and Kryolan are best for base work because they are flexible and smooth. From the brands mentioned above, Superstar is the brightest, most opaque white face paint among the ones better suited for base work. Superstar provides a very smooth finish that feels soft and flexible, allowing the skin to move freely without cracking.

If that is what you are looking for, then Superstar is the choice. If you are more concerned about the base looking solid white, almost like if the skin was painted with house paint, then Fusion Body Art Paraffin White is best. We covered Anna's face with Wolfe FX white and Fusion Body Art Paraffin White, and the results are posted below. We were amazed at how solid the coverage from Fusion was.

There was no cracking, but to be honest, for such large areas, it might feel uncomfortable to use paraffin wax-based face paints since they make the skin feel tighter when they dry than glycerin-based face paints like Superstar do.

The Smudge Test

This was an easy test. All brands performed really well. We thought the glycerin-based face paint from the list was going to be easier to smudge, as that is usually the case, but Superstar has developed a tremendous smudge-proof formula that, under normal conditions, it is very smudge resistant. 

We have tried some other brands before, and if smudging is an issue, personally, we would avoid brands like Kryolan, Ruby Red, Graftobian, and Mikim FX. Although they are all good brands, they tend to be very easy to smudge due to their higher glycerin content. All four of those brands are tremendously soft and flexible and blend like heaven because of their consistency, specially Graftobian, but they are not very resistant to smudges. 

The Loading Test

 As important as opacity is, having a brand that can go a long way with one load is also important, as it reduces the time you spend going back to your cake for more paint. We tested this by loading a sponge evenly and then painting as much skin surface as we could with one load. Fusion Body Art Paraffin White was once again the winner. We were able to paint the largest skin surface with one load while not sacrificing opacity. 

Bellow, we will show you a different test we did so that you can see how long of a stroke you can make with one load before the brush starts to run out of paint. Fusion Body Art Paraffin White, Diamond FX, and Wolfe FX did best. 

Wolfe FX

Fusion Body Art Prime White

Diamond FX

Superstar

Fusion Body Art Paraffin White

Global Body Art Standard White

Kryvaline Regular White

TAG Body Art White

This was something we did not see coming either. When we worked with Fusion to create the perfect white, we were mostly concerned about opacity and consistency. This was just a bonus! Superstar ran out quickly, but that was because the paint was so thick that it didn't leak through the brush as the other paints did. If you flipped the brush and used both sides, you would get a much longer line of solid paint. 

Consistency While In Cake Form

We have all heard stories about white face paint makeup turning into marshmallow paste, and we have seen almost every brand turn into that when exposed to very hot and humid conditions. The exemptions for us have been Superstar and Paradise. Both are very stable under the most extreme conditions. Although we have to keep testing Fusion's whites, we did expose them to hot and humid weather, leaving the cakes really wet and closed for a few days (don't do that at home as bacteria can develop), just to see if it would turn into a sticky paste, and they did not. Clearly, these are not scientific tests, and things might be different under other circumstances, but at least you can use this as a reference. 

Top  (left to right): Superstar, Diamond FX, Fusion Body Art Prime, Fusion Body Art Paraffin White
Bottom (left to right): Global Body Art, Kryvaline, TAG Body Art, Wolfe FX

When helping Fusion Body Art develop their new white, one thing we noticed is that some pigments can be very sticky, to the point that where when you press a sponge against the wet cake, you can lift the cake by pulling on the sponge. We did not want that to be a big issue, so we ditched a few pigments until we found the perfect one. Notice in the GIF above how Fusion Body Art Paraffin White does not stick to the sponge as much as the other wax-based whites do. Superstar is the winner for this test, as the sponge does not stick at all! A note should be said about Kryvaline, TAG, and DFX. Since those containers are smaller, they are more likely to hold on longer to the sponge since there is very little weight pulling them down.

Other Things to Consider

A few other things that you should keep in mind are potential allergies to specific ingredients, special requests from customers (like vegan face paints), water resistance needs, and price (if you are on a budget). Of course, whatever your choice is, make sure that the face paint you are using is compliant with your own country's regulations and that you have done your research to make sure the product is safe, hypoallergenic, and overall good quality. All brands mentioned in this article are considered professional grade, safe, and high quality. 

Our Final Choice

As mentioned above, it would be hard to choose just one white face paint makeup to work with as they all have different properties. There are some great, very comparable options, like Wolfe FX, Diamond FX, and Cameleon, which are all good. Then there is Fusion Paraffin White, which is amazing! We could also not go out without some Superstar white in our kit for bases and blending, and we love to use Starblend powders, too, for hot, sweaty days.

And that doesn't even cover situations like pool parties when you need water-resistant paint, in which case we can't do without ProAiir!

You won't be able to have just one white, and we will leave the choice up to you, but we hope that our blog has helped you choose the best white face paint for your needs. 

Please leave us your comments with your experiences so others can read them too!