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By Kathleen Furore
Almost three decades ago, Terry Sinopoli and others from the team at Arlene’s Costumes in Rochester, New York, were attending a trade show when they saw Scott Morris of Morris Costumes demonstrate a new airbrush machine for applying makeup — a process only being used in Hollywood at that time.
“Scott was showing how you could use the machine to do stencils and explained you could use it on kids. It didn’t use acrylic paint, but makeup that was alcohol based and washable,” Sinopoli recalls.
That was the start of Arlene’s entry into the world of airbrush face painting and temporary tattoos, which this 60-year-old costume shop has been doing for more than 25 years.
The Costumer reached out to ask Sinopoli to share some of the secrets to Arlene’s success with that aspect of the business.
The Costumer: How did you decide to start doing face painting at events?
Sinopoli: We started working with entertainment companies and schools and the word spread that we were very good at not only the painting but at exciting the crowd and keeping everyone engaged. We worked with local soccer teams and our local professional lacrosse team after getting referrals from existing customers. Then we were hired by an entertainment company on a contract basis to work with the Buffalo Bills at every home game in 2018. We were early for every game, the crowd loved us, and the designs were crisp, clean, and stayed on even during western New York snow and rain. The entertainment company unfortunately was not as good at their job, and we were called back the next season and hired directly by the Buffalo Bills — we’ve done every game since.
We also do several off-season events each year, including training camp for the entire 12 to 14 days each summer. The Buffalo Bills, Sabres (hockey) and Bandits (lacrosse) are all owned by the same company. They started sharing that we are great at what we do, so now we do business with all of them.
The Costumer: What is the process like? And what products work best?
Sinopoli: Our application process using airbrush guns makes our designs much more hygienic than traditional face painting. We use makeup, not paint, which is non-toxic, safe and FDA approved for application on skin — face or body. We started out using Morris products and still use those a little bit. Now, the makeup company SOBA — ShowOffs Body Art — provides most of the paint we use. We use a hybrid product that is good for face and body painting. Our colorful designs can stay on for one to three days depending on skin type and care or can be removed with liquid soap, a little rubbing alcohol, or an oil-based makeup remover. Mehron also has makeup that you can water down and use as an airbrush product. You also could use regular makeup, but that takes more time — so you might have lines [of customers] and won’t be able to get to everyone.
The Costumer: How much do you charge for face painting and tattoos?
Sinopoli: For the big events, the companies, organizations, and teams pay [a flat fee per event] and the people attending the event get the painting and tattoos for free. That accounts for about 98 percent of what we do. And we charge the same fee for everyone — we charge by the hour, and if an event goes longer than five hours, we negotiate the pricing. For smaller things like festivals, we charge per person. The Rochester Lilac Festival is one example. It is in its 126th year — it started out as a way to celebrate the flowers and turned into a food and entertain- ment event. We bring little two- to three-inch stencils and also offer half-face, arm and whole face designs. The small stencils are $5 per person, the half faces are $8, and a full face is $12. We do mostly kid stuff, and some popular designs are unicorns, dragons, and animals — and we don’t skimp on color!
The Costumer: You’ve been doing this a long time — you must find that it is worth the time and effort you and your staff put into it all year round.
Sinopoli: Yes! We started this with the idea, “Let’s promote our business a little bit and have some fun.” It has become a business builder and an income generator. It leads to a lot of other events like birthday parties and after-prom parties. People who come for the face painting and tattoos say, “Oh, you have a costume shop, too!”
The Costumer: Do you have any advice for someone who wants to start offering face painting services?
Sinopoli: Start by looking for equipment that someone is selling. You can get an airbrush machine that uses a single air brush and keep pouring in different colors — but for kids, the more colors the better, so we took a chance and bought a set so each color has a different brush. That way we can do 80 to 100 kids an hour — so if we’re doing an event at a school with 500 kids, it will take several hours.
Also do research on what you want to do, and what kind of products you should buy. We use makeup that is gluten-free and hypoallergenic. It’s also vegan — some people even want that in their makeup. Always make sure you know about what you’re getting.
Do you have pictures of face painting events your shop has participated in? Email pictures to Editor Kathleen Furore at kfurore@yahoo.com and we’ll feature them in upcoming issues of The Costumer!
Face Painting Opportunities in Your Community
Arlene's Costumes has built a successful face painting and temporary tattoo business by tapping into local events. The most recent example is the 2024 Solar Eclipse. Because Rochester is in the path of totality on April 8, Arlene’s has created special stencils and designs and is even offering to create custom designs for a nominal fee to commemorate the event.
Don’t forget to consider the myriad opportunities your shop can take advantage of if you offer or are considering adding face painting services.
- Company picnics
- Summer camps
- Birthday parties
- Family reunions
- Holiday celebrations
- Graduation parties
- Pride events
- School festivals
Have pictures of face painting events your shop has participated in? Email pictures to Editor Kathleen Furore and we’ll feature them in upcoming issues of The Costumer!