Face Painting for Halloween
Need some help with SFX or face paints for Halloween? The Face Paint Shop has your back.
We’re Australia’s largest face paint warehouse, based in Wantirna South, Melbourne — and Halloween is our favourite time of year. Here’s a run-through of the products that will get you sorted for Halloween parties, trick or treating, or just general fun. Every product linked below is live in our store and in stock right now.
Start here: black and white face paint
If you buy nothing else, buy black and white. Skulls, skeletons, zombies, ghosts, witches, mimes, Day of the Dead — nearly every Halloween face painting design is built on a black and white base, with colour added on top.
- TAG Body Art Strong White 32g and TAG Body Art Strong Black 32g — our most opaque coverage, ideal for skull bases
- Diamond FX Essential White 30g and Diamond FX Essential Black 30g — European quality, superb for fine linework
- Fusion Body Art Prime White 32g and Fusion Prime Strong Black 32g — brilliant value
- Paradise Face and Body Paint White 40g and Paradise Black 40g — soft, creamy, very easy for beginners
Browse the full range of face and body paint cakes.
Fake blood
The essential. We stock Mehron stage and coagulated bloods in two sizes each, so you can pick the right look and the right budget:
- Mehron Stage Blood 30ml — Bright Arterial for fresh, wet, dripping blood
- Mehron Stage Blood 15g — the smaller size, perfect for one costume
- Mehron Coagulated Blood for thick, dark, dried-up and gross
- Mehron Coagulated Blood Gel 15g — same effect, travel size
See everything in fake blood. Fake blood sells out faster than anything else we stock in October — order early.
Bruises, decay and dead skin
A bruise wheel is the fastest way to make a face look genuinely unwell. Blend purple, yellow and green around the eyes and jaw and the whole look lifts:
- Heart Face Art SFX Bruise Palette Wheel — our best-value bruise wheel and deepest stock
- Mehron Bruise Palette Wheel — the professional standard
- Heart Face Art Face Paint & SFX Stipple Sponge — the secret to rotting, mottled zombie skin texture
- Mehron Tri-Colour Palette — Monster for instant creature colours
Teeth effects
Cheap, fast, and a genuinely underrated way to finish a costume. Paint it straight onto dry teeth:
- Tooth FX Black — black out teeth for witches, ghouls and the undead
- Tooth FX Blood Red — bloodied mouths and vampires
- Tooth FX Nicotine / Decay — grim, realistic rot
- Tooth FX Spinach Green — witches and swamp creatures
- Tooth FX White and Tooth FX Gold — pirates, villains and vampires with taste
Full range: teeth effects and fangs.
SFX: wounds, scars and burns
This is where Halloween gets serious. Build three-dimensional texture straight onto skin:
- Heart Face Art SFX Liquid Latex 30ml — peeling, rotting and burned skin. Our best-selling SFX product
- Mehron Liquid Latex 30ml White, also in 133ml and 270ml for group costumes and productions
- Rigid Collodion Scar Making Solution — instant puckered scars
- Mehron Extra Flesh Modelling Putty for building up raised wounds
- Mehron Modelling Putty / Wax 15g, 38g, or SynWax 42g — classic scar wax
- Ripper FX Modelling Wax Dark 55g for deeper skin tones
- Mehron 3D Burn Gel — blistered, melted burn effects
- Ripper FX Skin Simulation 30ml and Ripper FX Slime — Gloopy Goo
- Mehron Modelling Putty / Wax + Fixative to lock it all down
Everything together in liquid latex and skin FX. New to SFX? Read our guide to Halloween SFX makeup.
Sticking it on, and getting it off
Spirit gum holds prosthetics, bald caps and hair. You will need the remover too — this is the step people forget:
- Heart Face Art SFX Spirit Gum & Remover Pack — buy the pair, thank us later
- Heart Face Art SFX Spirit Gum 30ml and Spirit Gum Remover 30ml separately
- Mehron Spirit Gum 4ml with Remover 30ml or Mehron Spirit Gum 4ml on its own
- Mehron Barrier Spray 60ml — prep the skin, then set the finished look so it survives a warm Melbourne spring night
- Latex Rubber Bald Cap for zombies, ghouls and aliens
Halloween stencils — the shortcut
If you’re painting a queue of kids, stencils are how you keep the line moving. Crisp results in seconds, no drawing skill needed:
- H04 Vampire Bats, H01 Flying Witch, H05 Jack O Lantern
- H02 Zombie & Ghost, H03 Graveyard, H06 Funny Bones
- H08 Halloween Party, H09 Halloween Crown
- SA6 Widow's Web, MD4 Claw Marks, SA21 Gotham Night
- Halloween Stencils Collection — the whole Halloween set in one go
See all scary stencils.
Kits — everything in one box
- Heart Face Art Special FX Collection — our most popular SFX kit, and the easiest way to start
- Mehron Mini Pro Cream Foundation Kit for character and theatrical bases
- Mehron All Pro Cream Foundation Kit — the professional option
- Mehron Special FX All-Pro SFX Kit — the full professional SFX arsenal
Browse all special FX kits and kits for SFX students.
Finishing touches
- Costume contact lenses — including Zombie Grey and Green Werewolf
- Mehron Metallic Pigment Powders for gilded skulls and creature shimmer
- Mehron Creamblend Sticks in black and red for quick, blendable coverage
- Mehron Tattoo Covering Palette Wheel to hide tattoos under a costume
- Half moon sponges and petal sponges — you always need more than you think
- Practice Head — rehearse the look before the night
New to Halloween face painting? Our Halloween face painting tips page covers the technique behind all of it.
Shop by category
Fake blood
Fresh, coagulated and made in house. Order early — this is the first thing to go every October.
Choose your option
Choose your option
Choose your option
Mehron Stage Blood 30ml - Bright Arterial
Choose your option
Mehron Stage Blood 30ml - Dark Venous
Choose your option
Fake Blood - Blue Alien Blood
Choose your option
Grimas Make Up | FILMBLOOD D 25ml
Choose your option
Grimas Make Up | FILMBLOOD B 25ml
Choose your option
Grimas Make Up | FILMBLOOD B 100ml
Choose your option
Classic Dark Fake Blood - 1000ml
Choose your option
Liquid latex, scars and wounds
Build three-dimensional texture straight onto skin — peeling flesh, scars, burns and decay.
Mehron Special FX - Liquid Latex 30ml White
Choose your option
Mehron Special FX - Liquid Latex 30ml Light Flesh
Choose your option
Mehron Special FX - Liquid Latex 133ml White
Choose your option
Heart Face Art SFX - Liquid Latex 30ml White
Choose your option
Choose your option
Mehron Special FX - Modelling Putty/Wax + Fixative
Choose your option
Mehron Special FX - Liquid Latex 133ml Light Flesh
Choose your option
Mehron Special FX - Liquid Latex 270ml White
Choose your option
Choose your option
Ripper FX - Modelling Wax Medium 55g
Choose your option
A bruise wheel is what makes a wound look real
The mistake almost everyone makes is painting a wound red and stopping there. Real injuries are surrounded by colour — purple and blue where the blood has pooled, green and yellow at the edges where it has started to break down.
Work outwards, not inwards
Deep red at the centre, purple and blue around it, then yellow-green fading into your own skin tone. The colour should get older the further it is from the wound.
Stipple, never brush
Broken edges read as skin; drawn edges read as paint. A stipple sponge over the outer ring is the difference between a costume and an injury.
One wheel, a dozen looks
The same palette ages skin, hollows eye sockets and sickens a zombie. If you buy one SFX product this Halloween, buy this one.
Teeth effects and fangs
Black out, rot, gold or bloodied. Paint it straight onto dry teeth in seconds.
Special FX kits
From a first SFX kit to the full professional arsenal, and kits built for SFX students.
Heart Face Art Special FX Collection
Choose your option
Choose your option
Grimas Make Up | Scar Wax Basic Set
Choose your option
Halloween stencils
Painting a queue? Stencils keep the line moving — crisp results in seconds, no drawing skill needed.
Face Painting Stencil - SA6 Widow's Web
Choose your option
DiYeah Face Painting Stencil - K09 Superheroes 1
Choose your option
Face Painting Stencil - D05 Monster Truck & Tire Tread
Choose your option
Face Painting Stencil - MD4 Claw Marks
Choose your option
Face Painting Stencil - H01 Flying Witch
Choose your option
Face Painting Stencil - H06 Funny Bones
Choose your option
Face Painting Stencil - A06 Flames
Choose your option
Face Painting Stencil - H03 Graveyard
Choose your option
Face Painting Stencil - H02 Zombie & Ghost
Choose your option
Face Painting Stencil - H04 Vampire Bats
Choose your option
Patch test, then plan the removal
SFX makeup is the most rewarding part of Halloween and the easiest part to get wrong. Three things worth knowing before the bottle is open.
Liquid latex contains natural rubber latex
Patch test on the inside of the elbow at least 24 hours before the night, and never apply it over broken skin or fine facial hair without a barrier. With a known latex allergy, use modelling wax or a premade prosthetic instead.
Buy the remover with the adhesive
Spirit gum has to be dissolved, not pulled. It is the step people forget, and the one that turns a great night into a painful morning.
Australian Halloween falls in spring
Warm rooms are the main reason makeup fails here, so prep the skin with a barrier spray and seal the finished look with it too.
Halloween makeup questions
What do I need to buy for Halloween face painting?
What do I need to buy for Halloween face painting?
For most Halloween designs, a strong white and a strong black face paint plus one sponge and one brush is genuinely enough — skulls, skeletons, ghosts, witches, cats and Day of the Dead are all built on a black and white base. Add fake blood, a bruise wheel and a stipple sponge when you want the look to turn gruesome, and liquid latex or scar wax when you want real three-dimensional texture.
What is the difference between face paint and SFX makeup?
What is the difference between face paint and SFX makeup?
Face paint adds colour to the surface of the skin. SFX makeup builds texture on top of it — wounds, scars, blisters, peeling flesh and decay — using liquid latex, scar wax, modelling putty, rigid collodion and fake blood. Most convincing Halloween looks use both: SFX for the injury, face paint for the skin around it.
Is liquid latex safe to use on skin?
Is liquid latex safe to use on skin?
Liquid latex contains natural rubber latex, which a small number of people are allergic to. Patch test on the inside of the elbow at least 24 hours before you plan to use it, never apply it over broken skin or fine facial hair without a barrier, and remove it by loosening the edges with warm soapy water and peeling slowly. If you have a known latex allergy, use modelling wax or a premade prosthetic instead.
How do I remove SFX makeup, spirit gum and fake blood?
How do I remove SFX makeup, spirit gum and fake blood?
Never pull SFX pieces off dry. Loosen liquid latex with warm soapy water and peel gently. Spirit gum must be dissolved with a dedicated spirit gum remover, which we sell separately and bundled with the adhesive. Fake blood and cream products lift most easily with a cleansing oil or micellar water, followed by a gentle cleanser and a moisturiser.
Do you sell Halloween makeup in Melbourne?
Do you sell Halloween makeup in Melbourne?
Yes. The Face Paint Shop is Australia’s largest face paint warehouse, at 1/1 Sherwood Court, Wantirna South VIC 3152. Shop in store Monday to Friday 10am–4pm and Saturday 11am–2pm, or order online for delivery Australia-wide. Australian orders over $115 ship free.
When should I order my Halloween supplies?
When should I order my Halloween supplies?
Early October at the latest. Fake blood, liquid latex and costume contact lenses are the first things to sell out of our Halloween range every year, and once a colour or size is gone it may not return before the 31st. If you are painting for an event or supplying a group, talk to us early and we will hold what you need.
Do you supply SFX makeup for film, theatre, cosplay and study?
Do you supply SFX makeup for film, theatre, cosplay and study?
Yes. We supply SFX artists, screen and theatre productions, cosplayers and makeup students across Australia, and stock larger 133ml and 270ml sizes of liquid latex for productions and group work. Email your requirement list to ask@thefacepaintshop.com and we will tell you exactly what you need and in what quantity.
Stuck for Halloween face painting designs?
Working as a face painter for Halloween and short on ideas? Here’s a list worth keeping.
Vampire — Vampiress — Monster — Zombie — Gothic butterfly — Evil Queen — Pumpkin — Bat — Bats across a starry sky — Black Cat — Witch — Wizard — Ghost — Graveyard — Spidercat — Spiderwebs — Haunted House — Evil Joker — Bloody Mouth — Mummy — Skull — Skeleton — Day of the Dead sugar skull — Werewolf — Scarecrow — Devil — Frankenstein's monster — Mad scientist — Broken doll
Want them explained? Our Halloween face paint ideas guide walks through the most popular, and Face Painting Tips at Halloween covers the technique behind them.
Need anything else?
Pop into The Face Paint Shop at 1/1 Sherwood Court, Wantirna South VIC 3152 — Monday to Friday 10am–4pm, Saturday 11am–2pm — or shop the full Halloween range online. Australia’s largest face paint warehouse, with free Australian shipping on orders over $115.