5 Best Face Painting Services in New York (2026)

Independently ranked by our review of ratings, reviews and reputation · How we chose

By Vespera Quill, Expert in Local Experiences and Cultural Analysis · ✓ Data verified August 2026 · 8 min read

A birthday party lives or dies on the details, and a face painter who can hold a toddler's attention while turning them into a tiger is one of the harder details to get right. Face painting services in New York vary widely on exactly that. Between them, the artists and studios on this page have logged 564 Google reviews, and not one carries a rating below 4.9. That kind of consistency across a whole category is rare, so the real question becomes which one fits your event size and budget.

Short answer: Face Painting & Balloon Animals by Magical Teamwork Entertainment leads with a perfect 5.0 across 287 reviews, the deepest track record on this page by a wide margin. Sheila Jordan Art & Entertainment and Illuminated Faces NYC also hold perfect 5.0 ratings, while Face Art By Melissa sits at 4.9 with a specialty in glitter tattoos and fairy hair. Most book by the hour for private parties, so ask each artist for a quote based on your event length and guest count.

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1. Face Painting & Balloo…
2. Sheila Jordan Art & En…
3. Face Art By Melissa
4. Happy Faces Face Paint…
5. Illuminated Faces NYC…
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How New York's top face painters compare

#	Business	Rating	Reviews	Best for
1	Face Painting & Balloon Animals by Magical Teamwork Entertainment	5.0 ★	287	Overall / balloon art combined	View ›
2	Sheila Jordan Art & Entertainment	5.0 ★	70	Custom balloon arrangements and photo booths	View ›
3	Face Art By Melissa	4.9 ★	75	Glitter tattoos and fairy hair	View ›
4	Happy Faces Face Painting, Balloons, and Glitter	5.0 ★	68	Brooklyn-based, glitter body art	View ›
5	Illuminated Faces NYC Face Painting & Balloon Art	5.0 ★	64	Weddings and large corporate events	View ›

5 Best Face Painting Services in New York (2026)

Our top picks, reviewed

#1 Overall🕑 Open 7 days↩ Responds to reviews

Face Painting & Balloon Animals by Magical Teamwork Entertainment

5.0287 Google reviews

Magical Teamwork Entertainment provides face painting and balloon animal services for children's parties and events across the New York area, working as a team rather than a solo artist. The company covers birthdays, school fairs, and larger gatherings, with a broad service window running late into most evenings.

What people praise

287 reviews and every single one rates it 5 or 4 stars, with 284 at a full 5
Balloon designs specifically called out as unusually creative, including animals beyond the standard shapes
Reviewers note staff engage shy children patiently rather than rushing them
Showed up as promised even during severe weather, per multiple reviews

Reputation scorecardrank in New York

Rating5 / 5

Review volume287 · 97th

Confidencehigh

Recency12 days ago

Info completenesssite · phone · hours

Rating breakdown99% 5-star

✓ VerifiedSource: Google

Our take: The clear top pick on volume and consistency. If you want both face painting and balloon art handled by one team, this is the safest call.

Website +1201-528-6080 Directions

#2🕑 Open 7 days↩ Responds to reviews

Sheila Jordan Art & Entertainment

5.070 Google reviews

Sheila Jordan Art & Entertainment offers face painting alongside photo booths, balloon twisting, and glitter tattoos for events across NYC. Reviews describe Sheila working both children's birthday parties and adult milestone events, with custom balloon arrangements built around a client's specific colors and themes.

What people praise

Every review on record carries a perfect 5-star rating
Praised for reliability, including delivering set pieces exactly as planned
Handles both kids' parties and adult events like milestone birthdays

Worth knowing

Review history is older than some competitors here, with the most recent dated roughly a year back

Reputation scorecardrank in New York

Rating5 / 5

Review volume70 · 86th

Confidenceearly

Recencyabout a year ago

Info completenesssite · phone · hours

Rating breakdown100% 5-star

✓ VerifiedSource: Google

Our take: A strong pick if you want more than face painting, since the photo booth and custom balloon options add flexibility for a bigger event.

Website +1917-403-9131 Directions

1763 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10128

#3🕑 Open 7 days↩ Responds to reviews

Face Art By Melissa

4.975 Google reviews

Face Art By Melissa is a make-up and face painting studio on East 95th Street offering face painting, glitter tattoos, fairy hair, and caricature art for children's events. The team sends multiple artists for larger parties, with reviewers describing a system for managing lines efficiently even with many kids waiting.

What people praise

Artists praised for efficiency, including a numbered-ticket system that avoided long lines
Repeat customers across multiple children and multiple years
Offers services beyond face painting, including caricature art at the same event

Worth knowing

Slightly lower rating than the leading picks, at 4.9

Reputation scorecardrank in New York

Rating4.9 / 5

Review volume75 · 92nd

Confidenceearly

Recency5 weeks ago

Info completenesssite · phone · hours

Rating breakdown97% 5-star

✓ VerifiedSource: Google

Our take: Worth booking specifically if you want fairy hair or glitter tattoos alongside standard face painting, since fewer competitors on this page offer that combination.

Website +1212-876-3332 Directions

220 E 95th St, New York, NY 10128

#4🕑 Open 7 days

Happy Faces Face Painting, Balloons, and Glitter

5.068 Google reviews

Happy Faces Face Painting, Balloons, and Glitter is a Brooklyn-based service run out of Dekalb Avenue, offering face painting, glitter body art, and balloon twisting for birthday parties, corporate events, and festivals. The business emphasizes environmentally responsible, easy-to-remove materials in its designs.

What people praise

Every review on record is a perfect 5 stars
Named artist Marissa praised repeatedly for both talent and warmth with kids
Turned an unexpected mermaid request into a design the whole party wanted, per one review

Worth knowing

Smaller review base than the leading picks on this page

Reputation scorecardrank in New York

Rating5 / 5

Review volume68 · 81st

Confidenceearly

Recency8 weeks ago

Info completenesssite · phone · hours

Rating breakdown100% 5-star

✓ VerifiedSource: Google

Our take: The pick if you're based in Brooklyn and want a locally run option with a strong, if smaller, track record.

Website +1646-450-7238 Directions

7 Dekalb Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11201

#5🕑 Open 7 days

Illuminated Faces NYC Face Painting & Balloon Art

5.064 Google reviews

Illuminated Faces NYC provides face painting, balloon art, airbrushing, and mehndi design services, working events from weddings to large-scale corporate activations. Reviews describe the team managing dozens of artists at once for bigger events while keeping the work consistent across every station.

What people praise

Every review on record carries a perfect 5-star rating
Handled a full wedding reception's face painting with no scheduling issues
Uses biodegradable balloons, a detail several reviewers specifically praised
Described managing over 25 artists at once for large corporate events without a drop in quality

Worth knowing

Smaller review count than the top pick, though every review is strongly positive

Reputation scorecardrank in New York

Rating5 / 5

Review volume64 · 75th

Confidenceearly

Recency3 weeks ago

Info completenesssite · phone · hours

Rating breakdown100% 5-star

✓ VerifiedSource: Google

Our take: The strongest choice on this page for a wedding or large corporate event, given the team's demonstrated ability to scale up without losing quality.

Website +1631-704-4270 Directions

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How we score

Rating is each business’s live Google average. Review volume measures how many customers actually left a review, ranked against the others on this page. Confidence blends rating with volume, since a perfect score from a small number of reviews carries less statistical weight than one built on hundreds. Recency checks how recently people are still reviewing. No business can pay to change any of these numbers.

How much does face painting cost in New York? (2026)

None of the businesses on this page publish specific hourly rates in their reviews or site text that we can verify, and pricing depends heavily on event length, guest count, and whether you’re booking one artist or a team. Request a quote directly based on your event details.

Serving all of New York

These cover a wide range of the city and surrounding area, from Brooklyn’s Dekalb Avenue to the Upper East Side and beyond into the greater metro. If you’re searching for face painting near me for a party anywhere in New York, one of these artists likely travels to your neighborhood.

What to ask before you book a face painter

How long will the artist stay, and how many kids can they realistically paint in that window?
Do you bring your own supplies, and are the paints hypoallergenic?
Is there a travel fee if the event is outside your usual service area?
Can you also do balloon art or glitter tattoos if we want more than face painting?
What’s your policy if the weather turns and the event needs to move indoors?

Frequently asked questions

Are these rankings paid?

No. Rankings come from public Google data. A business can pay to be a Featured Partner (badge and top placement), but that never changes another business’s score or position.

How did you choose these face painters?

We pulled real Google ratings and review counts for face painting services across New York, then ranked them by a mix of rating, review volume, and how recently people are still leaving reviews.

How often is this updated?

This page reflects data verified in August 2026. We revisit it periodically as ratings and review counts shift.

Which of these can also handle a large corporate event?

Illuminated Faces NYC has the clearest track record with large-scale events, with reviews describing them managing over 25 artists at once for corporate activations.

The bottom line

Magical Teamwork Entertainment is the safe default given its perfect rating across the deepest review history here. For a wedding or a large corporate event, Illuminated Faces NYC’s demonstrated ability to scale up is worth the call instead. Either way, book early, since the best-reviewed artists fill up fast on weekends.

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