At this point I have only used them on the test limb. I can tell you that if you are used to the eye shadows they are very different. These are loaded with pigments and they do stain/grab easily to the vinyl. I can say that you can not just work them with a brush like you do eye shadows, which are not pure pigments but do indeed have makeup binders in them. You will have to use the special sponges. You will need the blending powder to tone down the shade of some colors. You can do this by adding the blending powder directly to your color pallet and mixing it there or scraping some of each off onto a glass plate to mix and then apply. If you are mixing 2 or more colors together and adding blending powder you might find that easier to do on the glass pallet. The PanPastels can be mixed to form other colors just like other paints. The blending powder is very translucent and said to be colorless. It has an ever so slight white tint to it but it is indeed translucent.
I know that those of you who have followed the Coastal Scents methods have been warned about too much white causing the skin tones to lose translucency. However, if you look at the recommended Coastal Scents colors many of them DO have white in them. There is no way for example you can come up with Appletini and Cornflower blue without adding some white to green and blue pigments. So it is not that white is a bad thing, it is that the ratio of white must be kept to a bare minimum. We are painting on vinyl, not real skin. Just because one person teaches a particular method they like to use does not mean that there are not other ways to paint dolls. There are LOTS of reborn artists who use white and black in their painting and their babies look fabulous! I have seen others who used a specific recommended method to paint a doll and it came either over blushed and red or lifeless and ugly. The ability to bring to life on the vinyl canvas a vision of art is individual specific and not everyone has the same ability. A lot goes into making a doll beyond just having a knowledge of color theory. I have also seen a growing trend of reborn dolls being painted to look like a vintage baby come to life. These reborn babies do not so much look like "real skin" in translucence and coloring but yet they are fascinating and catching on with a lot of people. Reborn doll art is about a lot more than just mimicking one person's idea of what looks best. I encourage anyone to experiment with color and determine what works best for them.
When asked how the PanPastels compared to the Baby FX painting powders this is my thoughts. The two products are somewhat different in the way they can be worked on the vinyl. Baby FX tends to not grab to the vinyl quite so much as the PanPastels but it is easier to work with a regular brush and is much more forgiving than the PanPastels. You can also use a damp brush to apply Baby FX for watercolor like shading. The damp brush did not work so well for me with the PanPastels. With the PanPastels you have to mix them with your blending powder to reduce the intensity before applying them to the vinyl. Therefore you need to feel comfortable mixing colors and working to blend. The speical Sofft Sponges must be used to blend them well on the vinyl. With Baby FX you can work straight from the powder as it is already shaded for you correctly and just use your brushes to blend. Overall I like them both for different reasons and applications. For those who want a more soft look with simple application, the Baby FX might be your preferred choice. For those who like to play with color to mix your own hues and are not afraid of some extra work in blending the PanPastels can be a good choice.
I will have to post later how the ethnic shading tones I chose work for me. Below is a photo of the end of my test limb where I just smeared a little of the powders on so you can see how a couple of the other colors looks.
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