Susan's Place Transgender Resources

I have been considering getting an airbrush makeup system. Has anyone used one and what was your experience with it? Is it really that much better than regular foundation?

I love love love my airbrush makeup. I find it much easier to get good coverage evenly, and lightly. A few drops is all that's needed. This makes it ideal as your face is able to breathe. Even if I'm sweating it stays in place.

Also, if you're still in the process of facial hair removal it works extremely well to cover up stubble/root color without looking like you dipped your face into a cake.

Also lots of flexibility. You can get the all natural look quite easily, while still covering up any flaws.

I use mine everyday.
Highly recommended!


~Brooke~

Thank you Brooke. I do not have facial hair to cover but I like perfect looking skin. But I do not like using heavy foundation. Do you have to use specific makeup or can you use any liquid foundation?

You will need airbrush makeup. Regular liquid foundation is too thick, and not quite as concentrated.

I've even had some airbrush makeup that I left open for a couple days. Evaporated enough to make it get stuck in the airbrush gun. Lesson learned always cap the makeup.

On the plus side the makeup I use is about $15 and lasts for three months. You do also need to use a primer, about the same price. The primer is basically a clear coat that becomes tacky once dry. Helps the foundation stick better.

I went with this brand.
Photo Finish Professional Airbrush Cosmetic Makeup System Kit / Fair to Medium Shades 5pc Foundation Set with Blush, Concealer, Shimmer, Primer and Silica Finishing Powder (Matte Finish) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00N9I59CY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_LDIlzbVWJACFJ

About 3 months after purchase the button used to turn on the compressor broke, wouldn't lock to the on position. I contacted the seller letting them know what happened. Within two hours I had an email from them letting me know a new compressor was in the mail. No questions asked. 3 days later I got the new compressor and haven't had any issues since.


~Brooke~

Thank you Brooke. This is very helpful. May I ask how much you paid for your system? I looked at several on amazon and I found them from $50.00 - $300.00. How much would I need to spend for a decent one?  Also do they have a good selection of shades for the makeup? I sometimes having trouble finding the right shade. My skin is very pale.  I apologize for so many questions. I am just happy to find someone who has one of these.
Hugs

I am happy to help out! I don't feel like you're bugging me at all :-)

I ended up paying $99 for the one above. I honestly couldn't find a huge difference between most of them. They all seemed to be a compressor unit with some type of airbrush gun.

The unit I linked to is a kit, and comes with sample bottles of about 4 different shades, plus the primer and pearl shimmer. Either in matte or glossy. Even those samples will last a month or so each.

Airbrush makeup can also be mixed to get just the right shade. Just put a drop or two of the colors you want, and mix. (I sometimes use a toothpick to mix it in the gun's reservoir).

Also airbrush makeup works differently than liquid foundation. With airbrush makeup you get the super fine mist, and are able to control the strength and flow (fast vs slow) of the mist. Airbrush makeup unlike regular liquid foundation gets built up over the course of several passes on the skin. This helps with that flawless makeup look, as you can cover any flaws with a couple extra passes, and simply by moving the gun closer or further away from the face can "blend" the areas with flaws into everything else.

The other advantage to the build up technique that airbrush makeup uses is that you have a ton more flexibility with the colors you choose for the foundation. If you have pale skin you can go with a color that is much darker than you could get away with if you were instead using the classic liquid foundation. Reason for this is your skin color still influences the color even after makeup application. I.e.  Because the makeup is applied so thinly you can balance out any darker shades with lighter skin. (Where's liquid foundation has more of a tendency to simply cover up the color of your skin, and then your stuck with trying to blend it into the edges where you're not using it and it's super obvious when it's not a perfect match. (Same thing when the face is completely covered with a typical liquid foundation, the face itself might look great, but it doesn't match the skin color on the rest of your body.)

Hope this helps, any more questions let me know!


~Brooke~

Thank you so much. This has been very helpful. 😊

Hugs.

My pleasure! Just a warning the first few applications are going to be inconsistent. Trying to get the pressure on the gun and compressor requires a bit of practice to know what works best for you.

I.e. Don't use it for the first time right before you need to be somewhere.

Hugs!


~Brooke~

This is very interesting topic indeed! <3

Make sure you do your research on this and get a good quality system. There is a danger factor to airbrush makeup a lot of people don't seem to know about. The air pressure needs to be below a particular level otherwise it can actually inject the paint or makeup into the skin rather than onto it. You don't want to use an airbrush at the same pressures used on, say, auto detailing. I don't have the details on this, but you can find it all online if you look around.

Personally, it seems to me that it would be tricky to use an airbrush on you own face. It seems like you'd have to be getting overspray in you eyes all the time. I'd be interested in hearing how people manage that.

I have Luminess Air system and love it! The only thing is the coverage is a litter sheer because I still have some blue showing thru as I have not finished laser and electrolysis yet, so I just purchased Urban Decay all nighter foundation which gives better coverage for now.

Quote from: Lyric on June 10, 2017, 09:54:01 AM
Personally, it seems to me that it would be tricky to use an airbrush on you own face. It seems like you'd have to be getting overspray in you eyes all the time. I'd be interested in hearing how people manage that.

The systems that are out there typically have a compressor that isn't powerful enough to penetrate skin. Not nearly powerful enough. Also if you practice with water once or twice you know how to control the pressure well enough for it not to be an issue.

Anyone who tries full force once will find out quickly a lot of pressure equates to a big blob on your face.

You're only using literally 2-3 drops of makeup.

As for makeup in the eyes. Easy

Just adjust the pressure via trigger to something a little lower, and move the gun closer. The closer the gun the smaller the radius of the spray.  Despite what you might think you have very fine control of both the power of the spray as well as where it goes.



~Brooke~

Thanks for the reply. That's very interesting. It sounds like it would save on cosmetic costs, for sure. I still think I'd want something like plastic monocle or something to protect the eye that's open. I'm going to check out a few YouTube vids on airbrush MU and see how this works in action.

I did use some glasses in the beginning but soon realized it was a non issue. I also have various eye conditions that make me super sensitive to any environmental factors, and even water in my eyes. (Can't tolerate cleaning chemicals, strong perfumes, even direct air on my face. )

Yes, definitely helps with costs. I think I'm at around $7/mo for the airbrush foundation

This video review for the system I have included a good quick demo on how an airbrush works.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/review/B00SXMY1SY/R1I1YNWSLZLXQ7/ref=cm_cr_dp_mb_rvw_1?ie=UTF8&cursor=1



~Brooke~

I'm sorry that I resurrect the old topic, but it's just that I myself once encountered this issue, and spent a lot of time to find really useful information



Have used temptu (trained by a superb MUA) and Dinair (bought the pro kit). Principle is the same and I'm happy with my Dinair kit. You can get extra coverage with their paramedical shades, which I believe are silicone based. They've got a new line called collar, that I've not tried yet. Temptu can be cordless and run on the battery pack, which is neater than the Dinair battery pack. Dinair is a better-looking machine in my opinion. On YouTube there are a lot of useful videos on a similar subject, I'll leave here one, I hope this will help someone in the future. Hope this helps


<link removed by moderator>