Body art: A pigment of imagination

When Lynzie Ruecker picks up her makeup brush, she wields a certain power.

"People don't have to be what they see in the mirror," she said. "I make them be whatever they want."

She first started playing around with special-effects makeup when she was 12. Now 28, she's made it her career.

Her day job is with Image Perspectives, a Carson City company that creates realistic simulations of injuries for training police, firefighters and Homeland Security agents.

However, she's now bringing her body painting skills to the general population for Halloween or other special occasions. She also wants to offer classes in the art.

"I'm trying to take the Hollywood aspect and condense it down into a small-town feel," she said. "If (you) want to have two faces, I'm an expert at two-face."

Working with Hair Studio & Spear Me, a Carson City salon and body-piercing parlor, she's using Kryolan, a line of professional makeup now available at the salon.

The makeup can be used from anything, from formal theater style to casual daily wear, said Spear Me's makeup technician Carissa Wilson.

"It's made to stay on a lot longer," she said. "And it's got a lot more pigment in it than anything you'll buy in a drug store. But it's affordable."

From a new makeup counter in the salon, she will be selling the product and will provide professional applications.

She said that Kryolan, unlike other brands that cater only to edgier customers, appeals to a broader clientele.

"Any type of look you can think of, this makeup is good for," Wilson said. "Any skin type, any age, any skin condition."

The two will be offering a body painting demonstration during a party Saturday afternoon at the Blue Bull in downtown Carson City. They will be painting a woman as an abstract of fall transforming into winter and will be painting a football jersey on a man.

Ruecker said she will answer any questions or take any comments while she's painting.

"Just come down and have fun and talk to us," she said.