Face Paintoos - Review

(AD/Gifted - We received this item for the purpose of this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.)

My children absolutely love getting their face painted. As soon as we've got an invitation to a birthday party, they're already thinking about what to ask the face painter to do.

Unfortunately, mummy is not creative at all so me trying to paint the kids faces at home ends up being a shambles.

Face Paintoos by Interplay eliminate the faff and mess of face painting and make it so simple that anyone could do it.

We received the Party Pack and inside there were 5 'Wild Animal', 5 'Pet' and 10 'Magical' face tattoos. You also receive a sponge for application and 30 individually wrapped removal sheets.

As soon as the kids had a look at what there was to choose from, dog lover E typically chose an Dalmatian and C went for a leopard.

Firstly you need to cut each part out and apply them individually working from the top of the face down. You remove the plastic sheet and apply to the correct area of the face, similarly to a temporary tattoo. It works in the same way; you dip the sponge in water, sweep it over the paper of the transfer then hold each bit down with the sponge for around 15 seconds. By this time, you should be able to remove the paper and the design should be on the face.

Parts of this I found a little tricky, especially on E because her face is quite small. The proportion was slightly off but it worked better with C as he's older and bigger. A few times I found that I hadn't held the sponge on long enough so it would lift, particularly around the bridge of the nose, but patting it gently with the sponge seemed to restick it.

All in all, they do remove the faff and I think they'd be great if you were having a small party and were planning on doing the face painting yourself. C and E didn't keep them on very long because they felt a little tight on their face but weren't opposed to trying them out another time when we have an event to go to.

Removal wise, we needed to use two wipes each due to the size of the design then rinse with soap and water as the wipes feel a bit slimy. We had no reaction to the wipes or actual transfers which I was very pleased about.

Face Paintoos retail at £19.99 and are available from Very and all good retailers.

Weekend Box with Snazaroo - Review

If you haven't heard of Weekend Box, it is a fornightly subscription box for children filled with items that are fun, educational, engaging and stimulating. They recently teamed up with face paint company Snazaroo to include their items in the Weekend Box. 

I have heard of Snazaroo before but had never actually tried their face paints so I was really excited to give them a go. When the box arrived through the letterbox, I loved that it was so brightly decorated and addressed to my son. He's five and is delighted when he gets post with his name on it.

Inside we found two mini Snazaroo face painting sets - a tiger set and stamper set. There was also some information on entering their Monthly Competition by submitting photographs of your creations. I really like the additional "Meet the Gang" imagery inside, the children enjoyed this little touch - I think my daughter is definitely Hattie and son is Oswald!

My three year old daughter E was desperate to be painted as a tiger so of course, she had to go first. The tiger set has only three steps so even a beginner like myself can follow it easily. You get three different colours: yellow, black and white; a brush and a sponge. All you need to do to use the paints is dip either the sponge or brush in some water and you're ready to go. 

I covered E's face in the yellow first, brushed a little white paint around her nose then used the black for her tiger nose, whiskers and stripes. I don't think I did too bad a job!

C was a little less eager but for a child who has sensory processing issues, I wasn't surprised. He did, however, let me do the stampers on each of his cheeks - a smiley face on one and music notes on the other. He kept them on for a full five minutes whereas E was happy enough to wear hers all night!

After a wash with soap and water, all traces of the paints were removed easily and it didn't seem to irritate either child's skin. They are fragrance and paraben free and are suitable for sensitive skin.

We have had tons of fun with our Snazaroo paints and, if anything, it's made me want to practice my skills a bit more and buy a few other sets!

The Weekend Box that we received is priced at £2.99 which is very affordable and makes for a fun, bonding afternoon between you and your little ones. 

(We received this box for the purpose of this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.)