Hi everyone! Me and my girlfriend are planning full coverage in frosting/icing. We wanted to buy it already made but it's not really sold in our country. So we decided to make it ourselves

We heard that vegetable shortening instead of butter because
1. It doesn't melt and separate as easily
2.cheaper
3.easier to clean
4. Doesn't smell rancid.

So our question is, if anyone tried making it this way, and will we be able to to get creamy and fluffy texture similar to mascarpone (if it's fluffier and creamier it's even better)

I've made chocolate cake topping (albeit not for WAM) using vegetable based margarine and it resulted in a decent consistancy that could be thinned with liquid and would fluff well. No idea about how it washes off or any after effects.

I would say factors 1, 2, and 4, definitely. #3. Easier to clean.... I don't know there. Rub some vegetable shortening on your hands and see how easy it is to get off. I'm thinking a 'grease cutting' dish washing detergent (eg: 'Dawn' here in the states) would be better than a bath soap which might not be geared toward grease.

'Creamy and fluffy' usually comes from a lot of whipping (ideally electric mixer and a whisk) and some sort of protein in the mix. Egg whites is a classic example. If I had to do it, I'd probably mix up the shortening/frosting and in a separate bowl, whip up some egg whites and a bit of sugar, then look at mixing the two. If you want 'really' fluffy and creamy, maybe just go with the egg white base and mix in some sugar to 'stiffen up' the consistency a bit, and maybe a bit of vanilla extract if you're feeling extra fancy - forget the shortening all together. This would also give you the best chance at hitting all four points listed above. No grease in the mix means easier clean up.

There are some off-brand variants of Cool Whip/whipped topping in the US that use shortening as a base. It definitely does not melt and is not rancid at all, but the biggest thing is that it can be somewhat annoying (though not impossible) to take off your body. After you've gotten the bulk of it off, your skin/body hair has a somewhat sticky feel to it and it requires quite a bit of scrubbing to get rid of that last layer of residue. The advice about using dish soap from the post above is a good one! It's well worth the effort!