Buyer Beware: Halloween Safety Squad

Trick-or-Treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat! Not too big and not too small, just the size of Montreal!

Witches, vampires and Hannah Montanas will be invading the streets of Winnipeg at the end of this month. Some of them will be wearing masks, and other will be using face paint to attain their goolish looks. Reports on the dangers of wearing masks on Halloween have been popping up frequently, so face painting has become the go-to option for many families. But families are busy and don't have time to compare brands and test which product can outlast a Winnipeg Halloween. That's why we did.

During the course of five days, me and my gang (Kiley, Kiran, Stacia and Jeremy) tested six different products purchased from Walmart, Superstore, Dollarama, Value Village and Party Stuff, what we believed to be the most popular Halloween outlets.

We tested the products using a grading template with the following specs:

- Ease of Application (because kids will be squirming and antsy to get Halloween on!)

- Longevity (because kids should be able to go from day to night without re-applying)

- Removal from skin (because what's worse than having your face scrubbed until it's blue while on a sugar high!)

- Skin Irritability (because kids won't hesitate to scratch your beautiful butterfly artwork if it's itchy)

- Exercise test (because kids want to still look like a clown after running around)

- Removal from clothing (because moms don't like stains)

Day one

Brand: Dollarama

Store bought: Dollarama

Cost: $1

Colours: black, red, white, blue and green

Age group: 3+

Confusion: Product claimed to be non-toxic on the front of the packaging, but at the back read "if swallowed, contact the poison information centre or seek medical advice."

Overall results: 3.076/10 (Yikes! Last place!)

Day two

Brand: Fun world

Store bought: Walmart

Cost: $2.93

Colours: black, white, red, yellow and blue

Age group: 13+

Confusion: On the front of the packaging claims to be hypoallergenic, however; on the back reads "some individuals may experience an allergic reaction."

Overall results: 6.408/10 (Honourable second place)

Day three

Brand: Rubie's

Store bought: Superstore

Cost: $2.99

Colours: white, black, red, green and blue

Age group: 8+

Confusion: No confusion on packaging. It even came with a sharpener!

Overall result: 5.872/10 (Mediocre Third) 

Day four

Brand: Seasons

Store bought: Value Village

Cost: $1.99

Colours: white, black, red, yellow and blue

Age group: 8+

Confusion: The packaging reads "Do not swallow or use blue makeup sticks on lips." Does that mean we can eat the red one?

Overall result: 5.412/10 (Right-in-the-middle fourth)

Day five (A)

Brand: Danson Decor

Store bought: Party Stuff

Cost: $2.19

Colours: green,white, yellow, blue, red and black

Age group: 5+

Confusion: Claimed to be non-toxic on the front, but on the back read, "contact poison control if ingested." It also claimed to be labratory tested, but we weren't really sure what that meant.

Overall result: 5.195/10 ( Ouch! Second last)

Day five (B)

Brand: Lucky Art

Store bought: Party Stuff

Cost: $1.99

Colours: blue, black, yellow, green, red and white.

Age group: unspecified but says "children under six years old should use ONLY with adult supervision."

Confusion: No confusion.

Overall results: 8.915 (Tada! Our winner!)

Another thing we concluded was that face paints aren't meant for people with darker skin. The only one that actually worked well on our group member with darker skin was Lucky Art!

After our experiment was conducted we talked to dermatologist, Dr.Earl Minuk. He spread some light saying that "non-toxic does not always mean safe for the skin." He also said the hypoallergenic means it's free of the most common allergies, but it is not a guarantee. 

We also talked to Simbo the Clown who told us that if we wanted great quality, we'd have to dish the cash.

My advice for consumers would be: Trust us! We tested these products and Lucky Art won by a landslide. But as always, test the product on a sensitive part of your skin before putting it all over your face . Happy Halloween! 

If you want to know more about why masks are unsafe for children this Halloween, please visit the following sites (shortened by http://bit.ly)

http://bit.ly/tka4v

http://bit.ly/UIGuu

http://bit.ly/Ua7kh

http://bit.ly/IoAKa