Special Effects Makeup

Special effects makeup is a different craft from face painting. Face paint sits on the skin and reads as colour. SFX changes the shape of the skin, so a wound has depth, a burn looks wet, and a scar catches the light from the side. Everything on this page is chosen to build that texture, and all of it is held in our warehouse at Wantirna South in Melbourne.

Where to start if you have never done SFX

Most people begin with three things: a bottle of liquid latex, a pot of scar wax, and fake blood. With those you can build torn skin, a raised cut and something running out of it, which covers most of Halloween. Add a bruise wheel and the same wound suddenly looks days old rather than freshly painted. Our SFX student kits and special FX kits bundle the basics if you would rather not assemble a kit piece by piece.

What we stock, sorted by the job

• Building texture: liquid latex, scar wax, modelling putty and rigid collodion, for wounds, ageing and peeling skin.
• Blood: stage blood, squirt blood, coagulated gel and bulk bottles, from bright arterial through to dark drying blood.
• Colour and bruising: bruise wheels and SFX palettes, plus Grimas crème make-up in skin tones that blend a wound edge into a real face.
• Teeth and eyes: fangs and tooth effects and costume contact lenses, the two details that sell a character instantly.
• Applied pieces: premade prosthetics, hair and beards, and spirit gum to hold them on.
• Prep and removal: barrier sprays, sealers and removers. Getting it off matters as much as getting it on, especially on young skin.

The brands behind the range

This collection is built around Mehron, which has supplied theatre makeup from New York since 1927, Grimas, the Dutch house that manufactures in its own factory and publishes a full ingredient listing for every product, and Ripper FX, which is made in Brisbane and has been used on productions including Thor: Ragnarok and Aquaman. Between them you can work at school play level or at film level from the same shelf.

Buying special effects makeup in Australia

Two practical notes before you order. Liquid latex contains natural rubber latex, so patch test on the inside of the elbow a day beforehand, and build with wax or a prosthetic instead if you know you react. And SFX sells out faster than anything else we stock in the last fortnight of October, so if you are making something for Halloween, a shoot or a school production, order while the range is still complete.

For step by step looks, see our Halloween SFX makeup guide, the zombie face paint guide and what to buy for a first SFX kit.