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Top tips for doing creative make-up safely

Media caption,

WATCH: Make-up artist Samantha Helen turns Hayley into a mermaid

Having your face painted and using creative make-up (like glitters and sprays) can be heaps of fun and look brilliant when you want to dress up!

But it's really important that you do it safely.

Ahead of World Book Day, when lots of you will be dressing up and possibly using products like face paint, Newsround spoke to make-up artist Samantha Helen to find out all of her top tips for using creative make-up safely.

Read on to see what she had to tell us!

World Book Day costume ideas

If you want some costume inspiration, here's what you've dressed up as in previous years!

2018

2017

2015

2015

1. Always do a test

Before you use any make-up, you should always do a little test on your wrist or the inside of your arm the night before to check that you are OK to use the products with your skin. Get an adult to help you with this.

To do it, draw or smear a small amount of the product on your skin, wait for an hour and if there is no irritation, then voila, you are good to go! If you find irritation, make sure you show an adult right away and do not use those products.

Image source, Instagram/samanthahelenmua
Image caption,

Samantha Helen shares images of some of the incredible make-up looks, which she does on herself

2. Top tips for using sssssprays

If you are using any funky hair sprays on the skin and hair, take note of these three important steps:

  1. Always open a window in the room to allow good ventilation to get rid of any excess spray.

  2. Hold the can about a-can-and-a-half's length away from the skin to have the perfect spray.

  3. Make sure you close your model's eyes - so if you want to use them on yourself, close your eyes and get an adult to spray for you.

3. Sparkle dos and don'ts!

When using glitter, make sure it is cosmetic glitter that you're using - not craft glitter that you might be in an art shop. Craft glitter can be too sharp for the skin and it's not designed to be used as make-up.

Apply cosmetic glitter with hair gel rather than eyelash glue, as hair gel is skin-friendly and won't hurt when washed off.

Media caption,

WATCH: Samantha turned Hayley into a super spooky skeleton for Halloween

Make sure you don't apply glitter around the eyes unless it is from a make-up pallet and designed to be used here.

Finally, make sure you apply as much glitter as you want to create the ultimate sparkle! You can never have too much glitter !

4. Stick-on gems

When applying stick-on gems, make sure the skin underneath is lovely and dry. This means the sticky plastic on the back of the gem won't slip and slide on the skin.

Take a small tissue and pat-pat-pat across the area to which you want to apply the gem.

A top tip if you have any foundation on the skin is to make sure you set the area with powder before applying the gem, to make sure it sticks nice and firmly.

Image source, Instagram/samanthahelenmua
Image caption,

As well as working with glitter, she also does amazing creations on herself using face paint like Jack Sparrow and Yoda, as pictured above

5. Safe removal

When removing your beautiful look, use these three products - baby wipes, an oil-based product and foaming wash.

Use baby wipes to remove the top layer of your make-up. Then, take an oil-based product - for example, baby oil or coconut oil - and massage this into the skin over any glitter so it sllllllllides off your skin! Finally, in the shower or over the sink, use a foaming wash or facial wash to remove anything that's left.

Top tip - be gentle whilst removing stick-on products from the skin! Always push a little oil underneath it so they glide off easily.

Thanks so much, Sam!