Kayla's experiments with Phicen/TBLeague: coloring body, hands and feet

01. Phicen / TBLeague body coloring with powder make-up (NSFW, digitally censored)


When my first headsculpt came from Superduck for YoRHA 2B (Nier: Automata), I had a problem: The skin color didn't match the Phicen/TBLeague skin colors - neither Pale nor Suntan. This headsculpt has a very beautiful, reddish tanned skin color.

Dyeing with Rit Dye Synthetics and hot water seemed too dangerous to me. I didn't want to destroy the expensive body. After some deliberation, I came up with the idea of coloring/painting the body with powder makeup (for people). I already had the right color here and tested this variant on a defective Phicen test body. (Even though the makeup was quite expensive - I didn't use it for a long time.) And the coloring went really well!


Powder make-up from "nude by nature", baby powder (for aftercare) and kabuki brushes





As a basis for the Phicen body to be colored, I used an S25B in the skin color Suntan. The brightness came out quite well, only this strange gray-brown did not fit.

First I washed the brand new body thoroughly and used it to remove the old talc.

And then spread the makeup as evenly as possible with the brush - similar to how I usually apply baby powder as a care product. Correspondingly more here, so that it results in a covering layer.

I left the first layer on for a while and then washed it off again. The color matched really well and was almost even. I put on another layer and then left it on overnight. This then resulted in a nice, even color. After washing it off thoroughly with a mild, fragrance-free shower bath, the body received, as usual, its care and matting with baby powder.



Left Phicen S25B Suntan Original, right S25B colored - powder makeup is on it








Left Phicen S25B Suntan Original, right S25B colored - powder makeup washed off








I am very happy with the result! And the body feels super well-groomed and smooth (the make-up contains very valuable, nourishing ingredients). The strong color pigments of the makeup are well absorbed into the silicone, the color does not rub off (thorough washing provided). But then I apply a little more baby powder in order to achieve even more matting.



And for the final color comparison:
Left Phicen S24A Pale Original, middle S25B colored and powdered, right S25B Suntan Original

Very impressive! It looks like a great color match and the application is very smooth and even. The body honestly looks like it was made that color originally. Again, excellent work!

I’m very new to the 1/6 figure world, and I’m considering buying my first Phicen body. I can’t find any realistic colors of African American skin, but it looks like I might be able to use the same color makeup powder that the friend I’m trying to make a model of uses. I already have a Barbie head that kind of resembles her.

That is brilliant. What is the “color” of the makeup you used? I would love to be able to do this myself. As you say, the Rit Dye technique works, but it does have a tendency to cause a certain amount of damage.

WOW! looks great!

Thank you guys for your interest!  

For the yorha head I used the color N3 - Almond.

For other Suntan headsculpts I used N2 - Classic Beige on a Suntan body when the body was too gray for the headsculpt. N2 gives a natural touch of color to a Suntan body so that the skin looks more like human - (and not as gray as we know it from aliens from films).


And I still have an Phicen S2 body in the old, dark suntan. I would like to color it with C8 - Chocolate, so that it becomes a really dark skin type. I especially bought C8 because I am so enthusiastic about this dyeing method. It is harmless, very caring, and if there are irregularities, you can carefully apply more paint to small areas.

It is really important to wash (and dry) the body thoroughly beforehand. I was impatient in between with one body and colored it new and fresh from the box. That goes wrong because of the talc! So always wash and dry thoroughly - before and after.

Classification of the shades of the mineral make-up by Nude by Nature:

C = cool colors
W = warm colors
N = neutral colors

Smaller numbers are light colors, and larger numbers are always darker.

There are many colors from light to very dark. Dark colors are often rare in make-up. But this is an Australian company and they probably need a wide range of colors. Unfortunately expensive, but here in Germany there are often offers at half price.


You can certainly use other make-up types as well.  But I haven't had any experience with that yet. Trial and error! And courage!

I suspect it's important that the make-up has strong color pigments  because they soak in well and stain the silicone. If the color pigments were weak, it could be that the color is only superficial and comes off spotty after washing. These are my guesses ...  

Thanks for the color breakdown.

Thank you so much for sharing your experience and information, and for providing the informative photos. It looks to me like you have stumbled upon a very viable and safe solution. I'm very interested in finding out more, so here are some follow up questions, if you don't mind:

What is the specific product name and description of the powder you used (as there is a range of Nude by Nature products)?

So no rubbing off, fading, color transfer at all when handling, storing, dressing, and washing the treated body? If you had the treated body bump against another, untreated one, would the coloring transfer (with or without protective baby powder)?

Do you simply spread the powder onto the surface with the soft brush, leave for a few hours, then gently wash (with a repeat of the process), or do you also rub it in?

How long since you did this, so we may have an idea of the solution's longevity -- i.e., has anything changed in the color (fading, absorption) or lack of transfer?

Can you advise on whether there are any specific properties to the specific Nude by Nature powder that you used that are key here? I ask this because a quick look on amazon showed me very few relevant choices, and most of them very expensive. In other words, what type of powders (some of them hopefully cheaper) might work here besides this? (I realize you are reporting on what you actually had and what you know works, just hoping there might be enough information to spot alternatives.) The oil pastel method, for example, works about the same with various brands of oil pastels (as long as they are not specifically water soluble).

Wooooooow, this is impressive. I would never have thought that the pigments of makeup would wander into the silicone. What a find! Thank you for sharing your process, she looks fantastic!

Great find! Thank you so much for sharing the technique. I know others have tried using artist pigments (?) and powdered pastels, so it seems not too far of a leap to think that makeup powders would also work. She turned out beautifully.

Already knew your technique Anya, but nice to have a well written tutorial here!    Might test this out myself someday to see if it is easier than the pastel technique I'm using right now and learned from this board and ovy (which also works great...but nice to have options)

One thing I am curious about is whether it would work to use the makeup colouring as a 'base' and then add some oil pastel on top of it. I say this because one of the problems with using the oil pastel method is that it doesn't fully 'fill in' the hard to reach and delicate areas of the body. And when you try to rub the oil pastel in, it tends to damage those delicate areas. But because the underlying body is so pale, the non-coloured areas really stand out. Maybe some makeup underneath first would help with that, by making the 'base' skin colour a bit darker/deeper to begin with.

I'm thinking that once I try creating a very specific greyish dark skin tone, I'll first try to achieve the desired results with one dive into Rit dye. That way it should have a good base color to then go in and possibly perfect it with this technique. Exciting!

It's nice that there are more questions - further exchanging ideas is very welcome.   Then I'll try to answer the questions as well as possible ...
So I have guesses   as to why this coloring method works so well and perhaps has advantages over the oil pastels.

Powder make-up contains substances that make it smooth and easy to slide over the skin. And it should form an even, flexible, covering film layer and not crumble off. That is its function on the human skin.

It is therefore very easy to apply to the silicone skin with a large, soft brush - without pressing on and without working in. If the color pigments are still of high quality and rich in color, they will also be absorbed into the silicone.

Therefore I suspect that many other types of powder make-up are also suitable for coloring. My consideration would be if you have someone in your family who uses powder make up, ask for it. And maybe you can try it out on a test body or in an inconspicuous part of the body, such as on the backside.

However, I don't know how the silicone (or TPE) reacts to conventional cosmetics (petroleum-based cosmetics). Nude by Nature is natural cosmetics and contains only natural substances such as mineral powder and vegetable oils. As natural cosmetics, there are also many other manufacturers that are perhaps a little cheaper. Or you wait for local offers with big discounts (I was lucky with a 50% discount at Douglas in Germany).

Here I have, as requested, the exact names of the two types of powder make-up used so far (with a link to the manufacturer):  

Nude by Nature - RADIANT LOOSE POWDER FOUNDATION

Nude by Nature - FLAWLESS PRESSED POWDER FOUNDATION

One pack is enough for several bodies. You don't need a lot of the product because it is just easy to apply with a brush.


I started the experiment in spring 2020, initially only with the one body from the tutorial here. I wanted to observe the permanent results for a while (over several months), whether the color was retained nicely and whether the color would rub off on clothing (test with a white synthetic dress). Everything went well so far and then I colored other bodies using this method.

I'm also going to write something about the coloring of Phicen's hands and feet with acrylic paint. But I suspect that this hobby area should be known to most of the people here.

Thank you very much, Kayla, for the quick and detailed response. And of course, for sharing both your technique and excellent results with us. Given the length of time since you started the experiment, I'd say this is a complete success, and sounds easier to use (provided one has the right color) than the oil pastel technique which has been, so far, my favorite approach to this challenge. I will go ahead and try to replicate your experiment when I find something similar to the product you used.

I'm also looking forward to the additional information on coloring hands and feet with acrylics. Is there a secret to easily matching color, matte surface, and not rub/scratch off the paint? Because these are the most common problems, as one might imagine.

GubernatorFan wrote:

I'm also looking forward to the additional information on coloring hands and feet with acrylics. Is there a secret to easily matching color, matte surface, and not rub/scratch off the paint? Because these are the most common problems, as one might imagine.

I can't speak for Kayla, but I have had success with using multiple layers of dry brushing vallejo paints on tbleague hands.

I used acrylics to color hands and feet (as evidenced by my Dejah Thoris figure), and I did exactly what sky described: multiple layers of dry brushing. The only issue, since the hands are a different material from the TPE bodies, is the constant shine (even after applying matte finish).

Thanks for the very informative post Kayla!

skywalkersaga wrote:I can't speak for Kayla, but I have had success with using multiple layers of dry brushing vallejo paints on tbleague hands.

Stryker2011 wrote:I used acrylics to color hands and feet (as evidenced by my Dejah Thoris figure), and I did exactly what sky described: multiple layers of dry brushing. The only issue, since the hands are a different material from the TPE bodies, is the constant shine (even after applying matte finish).

Perhaps I should try more specifically dry-brushing, as you two suggest. My issues with using acrylics here, apart from trying to match the body's skin tone, have been two -- shine, even with matte finish, and the possibility the paint might get scratched off. I have a solution for the first problem -- I can reduce the shine thanks to Sky's suggestion of Liquitex ultra-matte medium, which works great -- but not for the second. After my custom Gamora wore high heals, I have to repaint the edges of her soles -- and match the earlier paintwork! (I have also tried using the real touch Gundam paint markers -- if there is a color that is appropriate -- but on the harder plastic those can rub off or fade with handling.)

It's taken me over two years now, but through trial and error I've realised that Vallejo paints seem to work better in general when used as sparingly as possible and in multiple thin layers. They also work best when just slightly thinned with water. I used to think water was bad to use with them, and over the years I have tried both a medium that was supposed to keep them wet longer (but found it had more propensity to leave brush streaks), as well as an airbrush thinner (which dried quickly but also didn't work well on plastic as the alcohol in it had a tendency to remove the underlying layers of paint), and honestly nothing beats just water. (Though I use de-ionised water since the water in my taps leaves limescale marks.)

No idea what to do about the shine when using only brush-on paints. You could probably get rid of it by spraying Mr. Super Clear or some equivalent, but that stuff is toxic and I don't dare work with it even with a mask on.  

And regarding the paint scratching off.... eep. The only thing I can think of would be to use a primer first before applying the paint (though maybe you already did that).

ETA: Sorry to derail your thread, Kayla...

02. Phicen/TBLeague hands and feet coloring with acrylic paint


For the Phicen hands and feet I used Golden Liquids - a very fantastic (and unfortunately also expensive) acrylic paint that is very highly pigmented with very pure color pigments. For such small things I treated myself to a few colors in small 30 ml bottles. You don't need a lot for this.

First I cleaned the Phicen hands and feet very thoroughly with alcohol to remove any traces of skin fat (from previous handling). I also wore disposable gloves myself to avoid transferring new skin fat (although I have dry skin, but better safe than sorry).


I chose these colors for mixing my own 3 skin tones:




I started with one of the body color to approach me as exactly as possible and thereby experience how the color mixture reacts to the Suntan Phicen hands. It looked a little different than in the bowl, because the original color only showed through very slightly.

From the first mixed skin color, I poured color into 2 other small containers for the other 2 bodies, as it were as a base, and from there I continued mixing. (I had the 2 color mix containers upside down, that's why they look so full now. There's just a little bit of color in there. But that should be better sealed off air, I had read.)


Here are the 3 mixed and applied skin colors in the first intermediate result:





After drying, the acrylic paint still looked too shiny. So the Phicen hands and feet got a matting protective coating with Golden Matte Varnish. I hope that this will also increase the durability and that there will be no problems in the long run when using the hands (bending fingers) and feet (e.g. in tight shoes).





And here with attached hands and feet for the final color comparison:







It was a whole new experience for me and I am very happy with my result. Depending on the light source, I still see minimal deviations, but this is also the case with the original Suntan hands/feet, because they reflect the light differently than the body.

I was also "allowed" to test the strong adhesion of the acrylic paint: When I wanted to wash off an imprecise shade, immediately after applying it. And then I had to scrub really hard with a scratching sponge. So I'm going to assume that it will hold up well. However, I have not yet tested heavy use.

And if you want to know more, just ask ...

Those turned out excellent! Beautiful skin tones, and beautiful photography!

And yes, I forgot...I also clean them thoroughly with alcohol before painting, as well. It's always important to do that with plastic as it helps adhesion.

The results look amazing! and thanks for sharing, how close would you say you can match the body pigment to a specific headsculpt? and for a probable mistake, do you think you can lighten the pigment from a darker tone? also, can you mask certain body parts to create specific marks like tattoos with hard edges or blends?