The mum was shocked when she realised she couldn't wash off the blood. Photo / Supplied
The mum was shocked when she realised she couldn't wash off the blood. Photo / Supplied
At $1, Kmart's fake blood seems like a Halloween bargain too good to pass up, but multiple mums have warned you will have blood on your hands if you do decide to use the product.
Not literally, of course — well, kind of, not literally. You will end up with red-stained hands and skin if you apply it directly to your body.
At least that's according to one woman who took to the Kmart Mums Facebook group to warn others after she got caught red-handed by the Halloween product.
Sharing a photo of her hands, which were stained an unmistakable crimson shade, she wrote: "Don't, I repeat don't, put this fake blood on your kids faces for Halloween. Damn thing stains like a mofo."
Thankfully the woman said she had only used it to paint her windows red, but other mums said they hadn't been as lucky with the Kmart item.
"I used it on my daughter's face last year lol big mistake haha poor kid," one woman wrote, while another added: "Yep we made this mistake and the kids had to miss some days off school."
"Our school always has school photos straight after Halloween – so many kids have stained faces from this blood," one person commented.
"We stopped using it before the kids started school because I hated scrubbing it off."
"Same mistake here … all over my daughter's arm," another wrote.
Some parents had even used it to paint their children's faces. Photo / Supplied
Several commenters said the mum could have fun with the red stain, with one person joking she should "walk into a police station & ask how they clean up crime scenes".
Others said the problem happened with fake blood purchased from places other than Kmart, with one mum saying she had discovered it was easier to make her own version.
"Cornstarch, water and a drop or 2 of food colouring work better and easier to clean, learnt that lesson the hard way lol," she said.
Fortunately several commenters shared their solution to removing it, saying that fake tan remover or coconut oil would take it off.
"Try baby shampoo, works wonders getting fake tan stains off hands," one person suggested.
This Kmart Halloween product might literally leave you with blood on your hands. Photo / Supplied
It comes as shoppers in Melbourne rushed into Kmart stores at midnight on Tuesday to shop as soon as restrictions on retail stores trading were lifting.
The decision of some to hit the shops hard at the first opportunity has been criticised by other Melburnians who labelled them "selfish".
"Are people seriously going to Kmart at midnight, just because they can??" one person tweeted.
"This kind of crap will have us seeing a third wave in no time."
In a statement Kmart retail director John Gualtieri said the store was "committed to delivering a safe and seamless shopping experience to all the community".
"The excitement and energy ahead of opening has been electric and we wish to thank our customers for their patience during this time and our team working tirelessly to keep up with demand."