RAVE: Nose Adhesive! (and a new character, I think...)

[NoseyTClown]

Hey Clowns! Anybody out there? Knock-knock! HEY!

Okay, now that I've got your attention. I gotta rave about this great new nose adhesive I just tried yesterday. It's the best and most comfortable stuff I ever found. First, some background:

I wasn't happy with the various noses on the market (although I have a couple I like and keep 'em around for emergencies). From my point of view (i.e. 'behind the nose') they were not big enough. I wanted something really over-the-top. So I went to someone who makes prosthetic devices. She did a life cast of my face, and then we sculpted a nose that fit what I wanted it to look like (don't bother peering at my pictures - I didn't have it yet).

What I got was basically a tennis ball with nostrils! THAT'S the size I've wanted. My clown is over-exaggerated all over the place and tremendously fat (an 80" waist, as the pic shows); a smaller nose was getting lost in my face. I needed something larger. So now I have a custom nose made especially for just lil' ole' me (and it fits my nose exactly). Also, it's made of prosthetic-grade silicone, cast with the color embedded within it, and very durable. (Judges are always saying 'look at that nose!')

It's also a teeny bit heavier than a 'store nose', and I was having a hard time finding a good adhesive for wearing it a long time, and being really active with it, without the adhesive breaking loose. Also, it's verry 'squishy,' and feels like you'd expect a nose to feel, if something this big was real.

What I just found is called "Skin-Tite", by Smooth-On (www.smooth-on.com), the same company that made the silicone used to make the nose. It comes as two parts that you mix together right before applying, and it takes ten minutes to set up once you put the nose on, but boy is it comfortable! You know that sort-of 'drawing' sensation you feel as those other adhesive's set up and dry? None of that here. Yesterday I tried it out, and put the nose on while I was laying on the bed after doing makeup and before getting dressed. I simply could not tell when it was dry or anything, so I just lay there for the necessary ten minutes. Still no sensations.

So after ten minutes, I give it a tug. Stuck solid! I sit up (normally an activity that causes the adhesive to break loose and the nose to fall off). Nothing! I tentatively shake my head back and forth. Still stuck! I violently shake my head back and forth (so hard the silicone nose is bouncing off my cheeks). STILL stuck! Wow!

So I go out and join other clowns for a couple of different walkarounds during a very long hospital visit (about ten hours). STILL stuck! In addition, kids could push on it with their index finger (yeah, I know how dangerous this is, but it WAS a test) and it didn't move. Amazing!

It survived all sorts of perspiration, activity, bouncing around, everything and still stayed stuck. Just for fun (and to see how long it would stay on) I stayed in clown for another three hours while I fixed and ate dinner (and exercised all my facial muscles). Still stuck!

So, finally, I took it (and my makeup) off. It peeled right off - no residue on my face, other than the silicone-rubber adhesive (I'm not worried about this, because it's medical-grade bio-glue, designed for prosthetics), which came off with a Handi-Wipe in about five seconds. The nose itself cleaned up really easily, also with a Handi-Wipe. It's never been so easy!

I know what I'm going to use from now on. I think I'll also try it on the Jim Howle noses and see how they work with it (because they are not silicone, but regular rubber-sort-of material).

It's been worth it to get a nose that fits only me, and made they way I wanted it. If other clowns want to get it done, look up prosthetic makers in the yellow pages, or "anaplastologists." These are the same people that make ears and noses and so forth for people injured in an accident, so they have a lot of experience with this stuff. And its more durable than a 'cold foam' nose, which I've only found is good for a couple of wearings, tops.

I'm getting my costume altered and cleaned, but pictures will be up shortly. Sorry for the long post but I've very excited about this stuff and highly recommend it.

Nosey

P.S. My next plan is to see if I can get one of these noses made so it looks like a real human nose. I've been toying with an 'Auguste-lite' character that I call "a clown on his day off." This means everything you see on an exaggerated clown is real, but no makeup (haven't decided about hair, yet). Still trying to figure out wardrobe - what would an Auguste wear on his day off? Can't be too much like my costume, because those are my 'work clothes.' So what do my 'play clothes' look like? Suggestions welcomed.

[pixcoco]

Well, on my day off I like to wear sweats. Maybe t-shirt and jeans? Or are you on vacation? Hawiian shirt and shorts? That sounds like fun. You could be surprized that people still know who you are.

[Jobee]

A sweatshirt from Clown U

[Chance Marmalade]

Spiderman Pajamas. Ok might just be me...

[Sopey]

I wear clown type suspenders and colorful shirts. Sneakers come in a variety of colors and I've heard that one major manufacturer (Nike, I think) will make them in different color combinations to order.