AirBrush Foundation

Though airbrush make-up is not new, it is finally becoming something to talk about.

I went to Sephora last week, and had a TEMPTU Air Pod demonstration.

TEMPTU at Sephora

The make-up artist chose the shade (001 Porcelain), and applied it. It took quite a while (and I was afraid of breathing the fumes!) I had my eyes closed the entire time. When I looked at the finished product, it looked a bit shiny, but after an application of setting powder, it looked like normal skin. The shade matched perfectly. She also applied airbrush blush. The coverage wasn't great... you could still see my freckles. Apparently, you need to layer to get better coverage. Here are the available shades:

I was seriously considering buying the product (the novelty made it seem worth it), but after consideration and reading reviews I found a few problems. First, it takes a while to get full coverage, it would be faster to use regular foundation. Second, I had my eyes closed when it was applied to me, and in order to do it myself, I would have to open my eyes. I cringe at the thought of accidentally spraying myself in the eyes, but I would need to get close to cover up dark circles. Third, the pods are said to last 2-3 months, but reviews tell a different story. Lots of people who applied every day for full coverage had them last 2 weeks, and up to 1 month using the lowest dial setting. At 55$ /2 pods, that no longer seems like a good deal.

But it has its perks too! It's more hygienic, because there is nothing coming in contact with your skin. Also, you're not forcing foundation into your pores with a brush or sponge, so some people have found it helps with skin problems. There is no caking of foundation, because you are forced to layer it on a bit at a time.

Here is some before and afters:

You can also buy "tanning" pods to get a faux glow. I didn't try their bronzer (not a good look for me).

TEMPTU isn't your only option though. The other two big airbrush companies are

DINAIR

DINAIR

and

LUMINESS AIR

LUMINESS AIR

I didn't get a chance to try either of them, and the websites are very "as seen on TV". Plus they come with 4 shades, instead of letting you pick a shade (or try, I don't know where you can go to try and buy, other than at a salon that carries the brand). They are cheaper then the TEMPTU brand, but I'm sure they would have the same drawbacks as the one I tried, and not being able to try them, I cannot compare how good they would look.


EDIT:

I recently had the pleasure of getting my face professionally made up, and the MUA used DINAIR airbrush foundation on me. It was quite a different experience compared to the TEMPTU. It went on much, much faster, and gave much more coverage. Unfortunately, the shade was not quite right, but close enough. It felt like real foundation, as in I could feel the make-up sitting on my face, but I guess thats the price you pay for coverage. Also, its a brush with a little pot where you put a couple drops of foundation, rather than having to buy a specific cartridge. It also comes with an airbrush moisturizer, to go over the foundation to prevent the make-up from drying out on your face. The MUA said she loves it, especially for high volume make-up styling, like fashion shows.