Alternatives to Max Factor Panstick for Drag.

I have been getting a LOT of questions lately about what other foundations one can use for drag since our old standby Max Factor Panstick has been discontinued in the United States. 

It has always been a bonus in the past that we could go to a local Wal-Mart or drug store, and pick up a new foundation for $5-$8 when we ran out. Sadly, at least in the US, those days are over when it comes to our Panstick. Luckily there are alternatives. Not all of them meet the same price points or convenience as Panstick, but in the long run, they are just as usable.


1. Kryolan TV Paintstick.

This is a stick foundation that has been used for years and years. It is very popular among drag artists, and theater actors in general. I have not used this foundation myself, but I have heard nothing but good things about it. It is a wax based foundation, so it gives good coverage, excellent blend ability, and it’s less greasy that other cream foundations..

You can get the Kryolan TV Paintstick at http://www.glamoursupply.com/, and costs $8 per tube 25ml tube.

The site has a color matching guide to some of the most popular Panstick foundations on the site.

Pros: Excellent coverage. The company makes over 120 shades. Almost twice the size of a Panstick tube.

Cons: Harder to obtain. I can’t find anyone selling this locally, so I would have to buy it over the Internet. They have over 120 shades. If you are unable to see the colors in person, it makes selecting your shade more difficult.


2. Ben Nye Foundation

I have tried out several of the Ben Nye foundations now. So far, I like them a lot. Ben Nye makes several different formulations of foundation. We will talk about the cream and matte foundations for this article. Both of these foundations come in many shades. Neither of them come in a stick applicator. But they both can be easily melted and poured into a empty Panstick tube for application.

So far, in my experience, the cream foundation has more coverage than the matte foundation. But I have not tried every shade, so this could just be the shades I have tried. 

Ben Nye Cream Foundations can be purchased at: http://www.makeupmania.com/. The cost is $7 for a 0.5oz/14gm jar (same size as Panstick)

The Ben Nye Matte Foundation can be purchased at: http://www.fxsupply.com. the cost is $9.00 for a 0.5oz/14gm jar (same size as Panstick)

Pros: Good coverage. Lots of shades. One of the most popular theatrical brands out there.

Cons: No stick packaging: Usually can only be obtained from theatrical stores or the Internet.


3. Makeup Forever Panstick Cream Foundation

I will admit I have not used this foundation. In fact, I have no used any Makeup Forever foundation. From what I have heard this is a very creamy foundation that is not oily. It has good coverage, and comes in that much sought after stick packaging. I do know Makeup Forever is a very high quality brand that has wonderful products.

MUFE makes this product in 10 shades.

The Makeup Forever Panstick can be purchased in Sephora stores, and at http://www.sephora.com. The cost is $30 for a 0.7ox tube.

Pros: Well respected brand. Good coverage. Comes in white. Not a lot of brands make this color. Availability. Most large cities in the US have Sephora stores.

Cons: Price. Fewer shades than some of the theatrical brands. Did I mention price?


4. MAC Full Coverage Foundation.

MAC Cosmetics has been the leader in the makeup industry for a long time. They are highly respected in the TV/Movie/Photography industry, as well as at home makeup users. Again I have not had a chance to test this foundation, but again this is mainly due to store location. I am very leary of buying a foundation without seeing it in person, and there are no places that sell this anywhere close to me.

MAC Full Coverage Foundation can be purchased at MAC Pro stores, and at http://www.macpro.com. The cost is $29.50 for a 28gm jar.

Pros: Well respected brand. Many color choices. Full coverage.

Cons: Hard to obtain. There are no pro stores anywhere in my area. No stick applicator. 


I am going to end this on a good high note! If you just HAVE to have your Max Factor Panstick, and you wear a color other than Deep Olive. LOL, you can still buy it at http://www.drugstore.com. the price is still $8.00 a tube, and they are saying that they are going to continue to stock it for a while.

So Happy Foundation Hinting guys! And if you know if any other alternatives, leave it in the comments below. I would love to know what other foundations are good for Drag Makeup!

MAC Riveting Haul

So today I felt the need to go to MAC and check out the Riveting collection that just came out. I had not heard of this collection until I got an email about it today. So off to Macy’s I went. I had in mind that I wanted to check out the Show Orchid lipstick, and Full Fuchsia blush and those were the only things in the collection I found calling to me.



The MUA/Sales Guy. was really trying to sell me on the Bubbles lipstick. But I just couldn't get  the mental image out of Mr. SP Nation’s description of the color in his video about the collection. LOL.

I did end up getting the Show Orchid lipstick though, AND the Full Fuchsia blush. The sales guy said the magic words, “We only have one left.” If anyone says that to me, I HAVE to buy it. I don't know why I am wired that way. LOL

So let’s talk about Show Orchid.


This color is GORGEOUS! Its a bright hot pink. Being an Amplified formula, it has really good coverage too. So this is going to look amazing when worn with other bright colors. I can see pairing this with bright blue or green on the eyes. Heck, or even bright pinks and purples. cant wait! :D

I will talk more about the Full Fuchsia blush in my next post. Talk to you all later on! :D 

Fashion Doll Inspired Look

This last weekend I picked up a copy of Fashion Doll Quarterly magazine at Barnes and Noble. I have loved dolls for a long time, and lately I have been getting a lot of inspiration from the makeup applied to one of a kind repainted dolls.

In the magazine there was a picture of a Numina Asher doll. Numina dolls are resin ball jointed fashion dolls similar to Sybarites. Take a look below at the inspiration picture.

So this last week I decided to do a makeup look based on this doll’s makeup. In the picture it looks like she has a silvery blue eyelid with a dark black crease fading into bright pink. I loved the sound of this look so much. So this last Tuesday night, I did it for my BlogTV show. I recorded it for a tutorial video which will be posted in the next couple days. So be looking for that!

I would like to take a moment to mention the wig I am wearing. This is actually a wig I have had for a long time. If you go back and look at some of my older videos, this is the blonde curly wig I used to wear quite often. Since it had just been sitting, and I hadn't done anything with it, I decided to play wit it. I figured, but I messed it up, there was no real loss. So I pinned it to a wig head, teased it a bit, and then went crazy with the hairspray. I hung it upside down, and left it overnight to dry. This was the result. I think its a fun piece of hair. Not one I would wear all the time, but I think it looked cute with this look. Let me know what you think.

Sneak Peek at Blue, Silver and Black look.

Here is a sneak peek at my upcoming tutorial. I was asked recently to do a look that did not have a distinct cut crease. I had also been asked to do a blue look. So I decided to combine the two, and this is what I came up with.

Oh, and I don't want to forget to mention, the only MAC I used on my eyes was blacktrack fluidline for my top eye liner. everything else was a drug store/theatrical product. The most expensive individual item was $7.00. Woo Hoo for that!

L.A. Colors Makeup Haul!

I have been talking a lot lately about using cheap makeup. One of my favorite cheap makeup brands is L.A. Colors I have not tried any products from this company, other than eye shadows, but so far they have all been very good. They are super pigmented for cheap products. And since stores like Dollar Tree, Family Dollar, and loads of 99 Cent stores carry them, a lot of times you can from them for one dollar.

Today on our way from filming an episode of Tranny Talk 101, Jay and I stopped at the Tomball Dollar Tree. I was very happy to see that they had several of the L.A. Colors 6 pan eye shadow palettes. I have used other varieties of these and I really like them. So yeah, here is what I got.

BEP411 – Precious	BEP412 Hipnotic
BEP413 – Sweet Pleasure	BEP414 – Café Au Lait

I am really looking forward to doing a look with Café Au Lait and the Precious sets. In the Café Au Lait palette, it has a lovely bronze metallic color, a shimmery brown color, a taupe, a peach, a beige and a lovely cream color. I can see doing a beautiful vintage look with this, pairing it with some true red lips. Fabulous!

So, anyway. Get to your local Dollar Store and look for some of these L.A. Colors palettes. They really are worth the little bit of money you pay for them. :D