Pot of gold seen from aboveBlack, gold, yellow. A thick black ring on the cheek filled with gold, yellow shine dots on top like coins in a pot.
Shamrock vine from temple to jawTwo greens. A thin vine curves from the temple down to the jawline; seven shamrocks of three leaves sprout along it.
Bare-skin shamrock inside a green sponge patchGreen. Hold a paper shamrock on the cheek and sponge green around it; lift it to leave three bare leaves and a stem.
Bare-skin shamrock inside a green sponge patchGreen. Hold a paper shamrock on the cheek and sponge green around it; lift it to leave three bare leaves and a stem.
Giant shamrock filling one cheekGreen, dark green. Three wide leaves cover the cheek, a dark vein down each, the stem ending at the jawline.
Polka-dot shamrockGreen, white. Three round leaves on the cheek, five white dots on each, a white outline around the whole shape.
Shamrock chain along one cheekboneGreen, white. Five small shamrocks, three leaves each, in a row from beside the nose to the temple; white dots between.
Shamrock crown high on the foreheadGreen, gold. Seven shamrocks of three leaves in a row high on the forehead, the middle one largest; gold dots between.
Shamrock edged in goldGreen, gold. Three leaves on the cheek, a thin gold line around each, a gold dot where the three meet.
Shamrock in white line on a green cheek patchGreen, white. A sponged green circle on the cheek; three leaves and a stem drawn over it in thin white line.
Shamrock next to a lucky clover with one leaf moreTwo greens. A shamrock of three leaves and a clover of four on one cheek, stems crossing: the four is the lucky one.
Shamrock outlined in dark green and filled in light greenDark green, light green. Three leaves and a stem in outline on the cheek, the lighter green dabbed inside each leaf.
Shamrock vine from temple to jawTwo greens. A thin vine curves from the temple down to the jawline; seven shamrocks of three leaves sprout along it.
Shamrock with a dewdrop on one leafGreen, light blue, white. Three leaves on the cheek; one round drop on a leaf, pale blue with a white shine.
Shamrock with a notch in the tip of each leafGreen, white. Three round leaves on the cheek, a small notch in the tip of each, a white shine dot, a straight stem.
Shamrocks tumbling down one templeTwo greens. Six small shamrocks of three leaves at different angles, from the hairline past the temple to the cheekbone.
Smiling shamrock with stick armsGreen, black. Three leaves on the cheek, a smile on the top leaf, a stick arm from each side leaf, one of them waving.
Sprig of three shamrocks on one stemGreen, dark green. One stem on the cheek splits into three stalks, a shamrock of three leaves on the end of each.
Rainbows and gold 15
Coin with a tiny rainbow across its faceGold, red, yellow, blue. One large gold coin on the cheek, a three-band rainbow painted small across its middle.
Gold coin turning in the air above one browGold, white. Three shapes in an arc above one brow, a circle, a thin oval and a circle: one coin mid-flip.
Half rainbow rising out of a pot of goldBlack, gold, red, yellow, green, blue. A pot on the jawline; four bands rise from it and fade at the cheekbone.
Lucky gold horseshoe with a shamrock insideGold, green. A U-shaped horseshoe on the cheek, open end up, a small three-leaf shamrock standing in the gap.
Pot of gold seen from aboveBlack, gold, yellow. A thick black ring on the cheek filled with gold, yellow shine dots on top like coins in a pot.
Pot of gold with a shamrock on its frontBlack, gold, green. A round pot on the cheek, a three-leaf shamrock on its belly, gold dots heaped over the rim.
Pot tipped over at the temple, coins along the cheekboneBlack, gold. A pot on its side at the temple, its mouth facing the nose; gold coins spill out along the cheekbone.
Rainbow ending in a pot of gold on the cheekRed, yellow, green, blue, black, gold. An arc starts at the temple and comes down into a small black pot on the cheek.
Rainbow in greens and gold onlyDark green, green, light green, gold. A four-band arc on the cheek in three greens, the inside band gold.
Rainbow raindrops falling into a potBlack, gold, red, yellow, green, blue. A pot on the cheek; four drops above it, one of each color, falling in.
Rainbow stripes inside a shamrockRed, orange, yellow, green, blue. A shamrock outline on the cheek, its three leaves filled with rainbow bands.
Rainbow with a shamrock at one foot and a pot at the otherRed, yellow, blue, green, black, gold. A small arc on the cheek; a shamrock where it starts, a pot where it ends.
Shamrock coin: a gold circle with a green leaf in the middleGold, green. One large coin on the cheek, a three-leaf shamrock in its middle, a thin darker line inside the rim.
Stack of gold coins on the cheekGold, yellow, brown. Five flat ovals stacked like a pile of coins, a brown line under each, a shine on the top one.
Trail of gold coins from temple to cheekGold, yellow. Seven coins, each a gold circle with a yellow shine, in a curving line from the temple onto the cheek.
Hats and beards 16
Beard made of tiny shamrocksGreen. Small three-leaf shamrocks packed side by side along the jawline from ear to ear, in place of beard hair.
Black buckle shoe in side viewBlack, gold, white. A black shoe seen from the side on the cheek, a low heel, a white sock line, a square gold buckle.
Buckled green top hat high on the foreheadGreen, black, gold. A tall hat high on the forehead, its crown running into the hair; black band, square gold buckle.
Green bowler hat with a curled brimGreen, dark green. A round-topped hat on the cheek, the brim curling up at both ends, a darker band and no buckle.
Green hat on the cheek with a shamrock in its bandGreen, black. A flat-topped hat on one cheek, a black band, a three-leaf shamrock tucked into the band at one side.
Hat and beard togetherGreen, black, gold, orange. A buckled hat high on the forehead and a curled orange beard along the jaw; cheeks bare.
Hat brim and buckle onlyGreen, black, gold. A green brim line across the upper forehead, a black band above it, one gold buckle in the middle.
Hat over one brow, beard on the other sideGreen, gold, orange. A small buckled hat above one brow; orange beard strokes along the jaw on the opposite side only.
Hat with three shamrocks growing from its topGreen, black, gold. A buckled hat on the cheek; three small shamrocks of three leaves sprout from its crown.
Leprechaun's orange beard along the jawOrange, yellow. Short curled strokes along the jawline from ear to ear and over the chin; yellow lights on the curls.
Orange mustache with eyebrows to matchOrange. A brushy mustache in short strokes on the upper lip, and both eyebrows brushed over in the same orange.
Orange sideburns down to the jaw cornersOrange, yellow. Curly strokes from in front of each ear to the corner of the jaw, widest at the bottom; chin bare.
Pointed orange chin beardOrange. A small pointed beard on the chin only, its strokes all ending at one tip; jaw and cheeks bare.
Rainbow beardRed, orange, yellow, green, blue. Beard strokes along the jaw in blocks of color, red by one ear, blue by the other.
Small leprechaun face under a green hatGreen, orange, black. A buckled hat on the cheek; under it two dot eyes and a smile on bare skin, an orange beard below.
Upside-down hat full of gold coinsGreen, gold. A hat upside down on the cheek like a bucket, gold coin dots heaped above its brim.
Quick, cheek only 15
Clover patch dabbed on one cheekTwo greens. Seven small shamrocks of three dots each, dabbed close together on one cheek like a patch of clover.
Four-leaf clover from four small heartsGreen. Four hearts with their points touching on the cheek and no stem: four leaves is the lucky clover, not a shamrock.
Gold buckle on its ownGold. A thick-sided square outline on the cheek, the middle left bare, one short bar across it for the prong.
Green hat from two rectangles and a gold squareGreen, gold. A tall rectangle standing on a wide flat one on the cheek, a gold square where the two meet.
LUCKY in green capitalsGreen. Five capitals in a row across one cheek, a tiny three-leaf shamrock after the Y.
Matching shamrock on each cheekGreen. One shamrock of three leaves on the apple of each cheek, both stems pointing down and out.
Mini rainbow over a single shamrockRed, yellow, blue, green. A small three-leaf shamrock on the cheek, a short three-band arc over its top leaf.
Shamrock drawn in one green lineGreen. One line on the cheek without lifting the brush: three loops for the three leaves and a tail for the stem.
Shamrock whose stem ends in a curlGreen. Three leaves on the cheek; the stem runs down and finishes in a small spiral.
Single gold coin with a shine lineGold, white. One gold circle on the apple of the cheek, a white curve of shine near its top edge.
Three coins in a row on the cheekboneGold. Three gold circles side by side along the cheekbone, the largest nearest the nose, each one smaller than the last.
Three green dots and a lineGreen. Three round dots from a cotton swab touching on the cheek, a short line below: a shamrock in four marks.
Three-band rainbow with a gold dot at its footRed, yellow, blue, gold. A short arc on the cheek from one pull of a sponge, a single gold coin dot where it lands.
Three-thumbprint shamrockGreen. Three thumbprints touching in the middle of the cheek are the three leaves; one brush line for the stem.
Tiny pot of gold from a half circle and five dotsBlack, gold. A black half circle on the cheek, flat side up, five gold dots piled along the flat edge.
How it works
These St Patrick's Day face painting ideas are 61 designs for March 17: 15 shamrocks, 15 of rainbows and gold, 16 of hats and beards, and 15 quick ones for one cheek.
Read the full guide
Shamrock or four-leaf clover
A shamrock is a three-leaf clover worn on Saint Patrick's Day; the word means young clover. A rare four-leaf clover has one leaf more and is said to bring luck. Paint three on each shamrock, as in Shamrock vine from temple to jaw. Both are in Shamrock next to a lucky clover with one leaf more.
St Patrick's Day face paint ideas with a hat or a beard
In Irish folklore a leprechaun is a small bearded figure in a coat and hat, and later stories give him a pot of gold where the rainbow ends. The hat is Buckled green top hat high on the forehead, the beard is Leprechaun's orange beard along the jaw, and the gold is Rainbow ending in a pot of gold on the cheek.
Questions and answers
What are easy St Patrick's Day face painting ideas for kids?
Fifteen designs are filed under Quick, cheek only. Three-thumbprint shamrock needs a thumb and one brush line, Single gold coin with a shine line is two marks, and Green hat from two rectangles and a gold square is three shapes.
How do you paint a shamrock on a cheek?
Paint three heart shapes with their points touching, then pull one thin stem down from where they meet. Three green dots and a line is the same plant from a cotton swab.
What colors do you need for St Patrick's Day face paint?
Two greens and a gold or yellow cover the shamrocks, coins and hats. Add black for a pot or a hat band, orange for a beard and the rainbow colors. Rainbow in greens and gold only leaves out the red and blue.
What paint do you use for St Patrick's Day face painting?
Face paint sold for use on skin, never craft paint or a green marker. For a product you have not used before, the US FDA's advice is a dab on the arm for a couple of days first, then the face.