Grimas Make-up: The Complete Australian Guide
Grimas is one of the oldest names in professional make-up and one of the least understood in Australia, mostly because almost nobody here stocks it. This page is the guide we wanted to be able to hand people: what the brand actually is, what each range does, which one you need, and how to get it off again afterwards.
Grimas was founded in 1981 and still develops and manufactures everything at its own factory in Heemstede, in the Netherlands. It is not a face-paint-only brand. The full Grimas assortment runs from water make-up and crème make-up through camouflage, special effects, glitter, powders and brushes, and the same products are used in theatre, film and television as in a school hall on book week. Grimas publishes an ingredient listing for every product and every individual colour it makes, which is a genuinely unusual level of transparency in this category.
We stock Grimas in Australia at our Grimas collection, dispatched the same day from Melbourne. Below is everything worth knowing before you choose.
What we stock from Grimas
Two formats, one idea: a palette when you need control, a stick when you need speed.
Shop Grimas
Every Grimas product we hold, with live pricing and stock. Dispatched the same day from Melbourne.
Grimas Crème Make-up Pure Palette V - 12 x 2.5ml
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Grimas Crème Make-up Pure Palette B - 12 x 2.5ml
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Grimas Covercream Pure - Dark Grey 16ml
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Grimas Covercream Pure - Dark Blue 16ml
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Grimas Covercream Bright - Aqua Splash 16ml
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Grimas Covercream Bright - Envy Green 16ml
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Grimas Covercream Pure - Deep Red 16ml
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Grimas Covercream Pure - Black 16ml
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Grimas Covercream Pure - White 16ml
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Forty years of making its own make-up
Grimas is not a brand that buys in bulk product and puts a label on it. It develops and manufactures at its own factory, and it is unusually open about what is inside each pot.
Made in Heemstede, the Netherlands
Founded in 1981 and still developed and manufactured at its own Dutch factory, supplying theatre, film and television as well as face painters and schools.
Every colour has its ingredients published
Grimas lists the ingredients for every product and every individual shade, which makes it far easier to check something before it goes on a child, a client or your own face.
Oil based, so it stays workable
Crème make-up does not flash off the way water make-up does. You can keep blending, stippling and layering, which is exactly what bruising, ageing and wound work need.
Covercream Pure is vegan
Grimas describes Covercream Pure as a vegan make-up made from plant-based oils and waxes. That claim is specific to Covercream Pure, so ask us before assuming it for other Grimas items.
Palette or stick?
This is the question we get asked most, and the honest answer is that most working kits end up with both. The stick blocks in the shape. The palette makes it look real.
Choose a palette for control
Several colours, mixed and blended on the back of your hand. Shading, detail, bruising, ageing, matching a skin tone, or a face that has to change across a show.
Choose a stick for speed
One colour, fast and opaque, with nothing to wet and nothing to carry. A white skull base, a black socket, a green witch, a red devil, done in under a minute.
New to it? Start with Palette B
Palette B has the white, black and grey for structure, the reds for wounds, and skin tones to blend the edges. It is the closest thing to a whole SFX kit in one box.
What to pair Grimas with
Crème make-up builds the skin. Blood, wax and sealers build the damage. These are the products our SFX customers buy alongside it.
Mehron Tattoo Covering Palette Wheel
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Heart Face Art Face Paint & SFX Stipple Sponge
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Mehron Special FX - Liquid Latex 30ml White
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Choose your option
Mehron Special FX - Liquid Latex 30ml Light Flesh
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Heart Face Art SFX Bruise Palette Wheel
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Choose your option
Mehron Special FX - Liquid Latex 133ml White
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Heart Face Art SFX Spirit Gum & Remover Pack
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Heart Face Art SFX - Liquid Latex 30ml White
Choose your option
Grimas questions
What is Grimas?
What is Grimas?
Grimas is a Dutch make-up manufacturer founded in 1981. It develops and makes its products at its own factory in Heemstede in the Netherlands, and supplies theatre, film and television alongside face painters, schools and hobby users. Grimas publishes a full ingredient listing for every product and every individual colour it makes.
Is Grimas make-up available in Australia?
Is Grimas make-up available in Australia?
Yes. The Face Paint Shop stocks Grimas in Australia. Orders are dispatched the same day from our Wantirna South warehouse in Melbourne, with free standard shipping within Australia on orders over $115, and you can also come and see the colours in person six days a week.
Is Grimas make-up vegan?
Is Grimas make-up vegan?
Some of it. Grimas describes Covercream Pure specifically as a vegan make-up made from plant-based oils and waxes. That claim applies to Covercream Pure and should not be assumed for the rest of the Grimas range. If a particular product matters to you, ask us and we will check the current declaration for that item before you buy.
What is the difference between Crème Make-up Pure and Covercream?
What is the difference between Crème Make-up Pure and Covercream?
Both are oil and wax based cream make-up. Crème Make-up Pure comes as 2.5ml pans in a palette, so you get twelve colours to mix, blend and layer with a brush or sponge. Covercream comes as a 16ml twist-up stick in a single colour, applied straight onto the skin. Use a palette when you need control and several colours; use a stick when you need one colour fast and opaque.
What is the difference between Covercream Pure and Covercream Bright?
What is the difference between Covercream Pure and Covercream Bright?
Covercream Pure is a flat, opaque finish in shades such as white, black, deep red, dark blue and dark grey. Covercream Bright has a pearl shimmer through it, currently in Envy Green and Aqua Splash, which catches stage and camera light. Pure is the one for skulls, shadows and wounds; Bright is the one for scales, frost and fantasy.
Is crème make-up better than water-based face paint for Halloween?
Is crème make-up better than water-based face paint for Halloween?
For special effects, usually yes. Crème make-up is oil based, so it stays workable on the skin far longer than water make-up. That lets you build bruising, wounds, ageing and stippled texture in layers rather than in one pass. Water-based paint is still faster and cleaner for bright, graphic designs and for painting a queue of children.
How do you remove Grimas crème make-up?
How do you remove Grimas crème make-up?
Lift the bulk of it with an oil-based remover or a cleansing cream rather than scrubbing, then wash the residue with warm water and a gentle soap. Removing cream make-up with water alone tends to smear the pigment around instead of lifting it. Follow with a moisturiser, especially after a heavy SFX face.
Do I need to set Grimas crème make-up with powder?
Do I need to set Grimas crème make-up with powder?
For anything that has to last, yes. Press a translucent or fixing powder over the finished make-up with a puff rather than brushing it on. Unpowdered cream make-up will transfer onto costumes, collars and other people, which matters at a performance and matters even more at a party.
Come and see the colours
Photographs of make-up only get you so far. Australia’s largest face paint warehouse is open six days a week at 1/1 Sherwood Court, Wantirna South, and you are welcome to look at a palette before you commit to it.