You’ve heard that airbrush makeup looks flawless and lasts all day long without touchups. That’s true. Better yet, with a little practice, anyone can learn how to use airbrush makeup. It’s not hard as long as you have patience and a steady hand.
What are the benefits of airbrush makeup?
Airbrush makeup sits on the surface of the skin, leaving it smooth and radiant, not patchy or cakey. Once it’s applied, airbrush makeup can last for 12 hours or longer. It’s very resistant to smudging, transferring, sweat, and high humidity. Plus, it’s hygienic as you don’t need to reuse brushes and sponges.
The coverage is another benefit of airbrush makeup. You can apply a light layer or make it fully cover blemishes, too. However, in some cases, you may need to color-correct or apply a regular concealer before airbrushing foundation on top.
How does airbrush makeup work?
Think of airbrush makeup as spray paint. You’ll use either a special spray gun with a compressor or pressurized cans of makeup to apply light layers.
Although there are many videos available online, if you want to see airbrush makeup applied in person the most likely places are backstage at the theater, on film sets, or wherever bridal makeup is done. It’s fun to watch an airbrush makeup artist at work!
Why use airbrush makeup?
If you want a perfect HD-filter look and the ability to go all day without touching up, use airbrush makeup. It’s also a smart choice for normal to oily skin as it doesn’t clog pores or cause an oil slick by noon.
However, airbrush makeup isn’t ideal for flaky, dry skin as it may emphasize dryness. Also, it may not provide enough coverage to hide dark blemishes or disguise tattoos.
Can airbrush makeup be applied with a brush?
If you’re wondering how to apply airbrush makeup without an airbrush, we’ll just say that it’s possible, but not ideal. Most kinds of airbrush makeup dry quickly, so if you dispensed some onto your hand before blending it into your face, you’d have to work rapidly and the finish may not look flawless. On the bright side, don’t be surprised if you see airbrush artists using tools to fine-tune someone’s makeup.
But there is one exception. The brand TEMPTU says that you can use your hands, a brush, or a sponge to apply its makeup.
What are the different kinds of airbrush makeup?
Alcohol-based, silicone-based, and water-based formulas are the three types of airbrush makeup.
If you want fully waterproof makeup, choose one with an alcohol base. It’s excellent for special effects and body art.
But if you prefer a dewy look and a soft-focused finish, choose silicone-based makeup. It’s long-wearing and resistant to water and smudging.
Meanwhile, matte water-based makeup is kindest to the skin, but has the sheerest coverage.
MagicMinerals Deluxe AirBrush Foundation by Jerome Alexander – 5pc Spray Makeup Set
You won’t need an airbrush makeup gun to apply this water-based makeup. Each can is pressurized and ready to use. It’s great if you want to try airbrushing makeup without spending a lot of money on equipment.
The kit features primer, foundation, and setting spray. Not to worry, the foundation is available in various shades to match most skin tones.
Begin by shaking the can and holding it about six inches from the skin. Use small circular strokes to apply a light layer of the silicone-based primer. Allow it to dry for a minute before airbrushing the water-based foundation.
The mineral foundation sets to a matte finish that provides light concealment (The good news is that it’s buildable). The makeup is breathable and very natural-looking. What’s more, it has rejuvenating ingredients like hyaluronic acid and Matrixyl 3000, and it’s paraben-free.
Use the included brushes to blend the makeup along the hairline, etc. Then finish with the setting spray. It’s just that simple.
Reviewers say that it only takes about 5 minutes to complete their makeup with the system, and it stays on for at least 12 hours. Those with mature skin love how it leaves the complexion looking smoother and younger and it doesn’t settle into wrinkles.
How do you apply airbrush makeup?
TEMPTU makes some of the world’s most popular airbrush makeup. This brand’s airbrush makeup gun is straightforward for beginners and advanced enough for pros. Here’s how to use it.
Primer
If you struggle with achieving the right look with your makeup, are you using primer? It can make all the difference as it prepares the surface for foundation and concealer to adhere properly and set smoothly. It keeps oil under control, so makeup lasts longer, too.
Use the airbrush gun to mist the skin with primer. It doesn’t need to be a thick coat. If your T-zone gets extra oily, feel free to apply a second coat of primer there.
Foundation
After a couple of minutes when the primer has dried, switch to using the foundation by inserting the proper bottle. Hold the sprayer about four inches away from the skin and use small circular strokes to apply the makeup. Do a light layer because you can always go back and add more to build coverage. At the end, pull the sprayer back to six-inches distance to create a soft finish.
Blush
Wait a minute for the foundation to set and smile. Seriously, smiling will help you find the apples of your cheeks which are where you need to apply the blush.
Hold the sprayer about an inch away from the cheek and sweep it upward towards the temple. Let the first layer set for ten seconds before adding a second layer if you desire.
Highlight
Apply highlighter by holding the sprayer about three inches away from the skin. Move it in a C-shaped motion from the brow bone to the top of the cheekbone. Keep the layer sheer as you can always add more if you want.
These steps make it sound quite easy. In reality, it takes practice to get the right amount of distance to apply the desired amount of makeup. Then, you have to be careful about overspray getting on hair, clothes, and other surfaces. If you view the tutorial video, you’ll see that the artist uses a shield to catch overspray.
Airbrush makeup tutorial video for beginners
Howcast created a short video for beginners about how to apply airbrush foundation. It’s not specific to any brand, so it makes for a nice overview.
TEMPTU Air Intro Airbrush Kit
If you’d like to get airbrush makeup for everyday use, this set covers the basics. The TEMPTU brand offers twenty-four custom-blendable foundation colors plus a decent selection of blush shades, bronzer, highlighter, and more.
Of course, the kit includes the rechargeable Airpod Pro sprayer with a built-in compressor. It comes with airbrush foundation in the shade that you choose, blush, highlighter, and bronzer/contour.
All the longwear makeup is water-resistant and sets to a semi-matte finish. It’s amazingly lightweight and free from artificial fragrances, phthalates, parabens, and oils.
If you’re worried about sensitive skin or an acne-prone complexion, the formula is hypoallergenic and won’t clog pores. Even better, it’s infused with anti-aging ingredients like peptides, gotu kola, and white birch.
As for the sprayer, the handheld cordless Airpod Pro has a soft-touch trigger for precision application. Moreover, it offers light, medium, and full-speed settings. The tiny air compressor inside is surprisingly quiet and doesn’t vibrate much at all. It weighs just over half a pound and it’s pretty easy to control even if you’ve never picked up a tool like this before. Still, there’s no shame in starting by airbrushing an arm or leg just to practice.
Thankfully, it’s covered by a 2-year warranty plus a 45-day money-back guarantee. You won’t lose out if you decide that airbrush makeup isn’t for you after all.
Keep in mind that you’ll need to flush the airbrush gun clean after every use. On the bright side, the set includes cleaning liquid and a cleaning brush, but you won’t have to use them much. The top-feed system lets you switch out cartridges and mix custom colors in the chamber without tearing apart the airbrush gun. If you have any questions, TEMPTU has a ton of educational material on its site.
Art of Air Professional Airbrush Cosmetic Makeup System
If you’d like a more traditional airbrush makeup kit, this system is like what the pros use. We wouldn’t be surprised if you saw it in action at a salon.
It comes with the airbrush gun and compressor plus a full selection of makeup. Let’s talk about the sprayer first. It comes with a mini compressor that has adjustable airflow control. There is a 6-foot hose that connects the gun to the compressor and the whole thing runs on regular US household voltage. (Which is a bummer if you travel overseas and want to do airbrush makeup. In that case, we recommend the cordless TEMPTU kit above).
The single-action gravity-feed gun has a 0.4mm tip for precision application and little to no overspray. There’s also a 1/16-ounce cup where you place the makeup you’ll be applying. (Yes, this gets annoying because you’ll need to clean the cup each time you switch from primer to foundation to blush and so on. We highly recommend purchasing more cups so you can switch them without washing in the middle of doing makeup).
One of the pros is that you can custom blend colors in the cup. After all, the kit includes a selection of fair and medium-tone shades you can play with. It also has primer, bronzer, blush, and highlighter. Everything is hypoallergenic, silicone-free, oil-free, and fragrance-free. Plus, you can fit the whole kit into the nice black carrying bag.
OPHIR Basic Airbrush Makeup Kit
When you start searching for airbrush makeup, you might find your eyebrows meeting your hairline because of the prices. Don’t get discouraged; here’s a cheap airbrush makeup kit. It’s perfect for beginners and provides surprisingly good results. Furthermore, it’s covered by a 1-year warranty.
The set comes with four foundation shades as well as brown, pink, and pearl white makeup that can be added to the other colors or used as blush and eye makeup.
Meanwhile, the sprayer has a traditional-style airbrush gun plus a compressor with five speed settings. The gun has a tiny nozzle diameter so you won’t get a lot of overspray.
The package comes with a stick of concealer, too. It’s a thoughtful addition so that you can cover up acne scars and the like and therefore get more mileage out of the foundation.
Conclusion
If you want your makeup to look better, try airbrushing it on. The flawless finish is why this technique is used on movie sets and wherever a flawless finish is required.
You can learn how to use airbrush makeup with a little patience and practice. The key is to build layers and use a light hand.
Go ahead and get a kit today. We’d love it if you drop by to tell us how it’s working out for you.
| The best airbrush makeup kits | Why we love them |
|---|---|
| MagicMinerals Deluxe AirBrush Makeup Set by Jerome Alexander |
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| TEMPTU Air Intro Airbrush Kit |
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| Art of Air Professional Airbrush Cosmetic Makeup System |
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| OPHIR Basic Airbrush Makeup Kit |
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Source:
1. https://youtu.be/yBPry8aJ3oY How to Apply Foundation | Airbrush Makeup by Howcast