Here we go, I am on a soap box this entire time so be prepared for some passionate typing. The question I get asked every single bridal trial and appointment "should I do airbrush makeup?" So let's talk about it. First let me enlighten you on what exactly airbrush foundation is. Hers a more in depth link to Temptus blog on the history of airbrush makeup if your feeling a little nerdy. But it was created to paint large areas of prosthetics, body tans, and do it quickly on the set of movies in the late 50's. Basically a bunch of people on movie sets needed to do things quickly and flawlessly and bam airbrush foundation was born. Airbrush foundation was known as the BOUGIE alternative, the flawless look it was only for celebs and people on tv. Then it slowly creeped into the territory of late night infomercials selling to stay at home moms promising "quick and easy, flawless application, making you look years younger." Now if you have actually ever tried to apply airbrush to yourself this should make you giggle. Its most literally the opposite of all of those things. Before I say my very controversial opinion let me give you all the facts. Airbrush makeup is beautiful, creates a layer of flawless looking skin like makeup, for a perfect camera ready look. Airbrush has become so much more portable with hand held machines. 10-15 years ago you had to lug a 8 pound compressor, all the tubes, the gun itself, and all the foundations. It was A LOT offering airbrush was a luxury in itself because of how expensive it is. With the innovation of the hand helds this is made airbrushing accessible to virtually anyone and everyone.
The positives
Airbrush makeup is glowy, thin, skinlike, and covers everything you need it too all rolled into one. It fits a lot of criteria that most if not all brides are looking for. On the artist side its lightweight, you can easily mix and match shades so less shades you realistically need to carry. Most of the formulas dry down, so it notoriously is much more longwearing than many of its competitors. These few things make it perfect for bridal. I personally find it to be a better choice for my natural brides looking for medium coverage and not a lot of powder. Airbrush is ideal for two skin types, combo skin, and moderately dry skin. I say this with caution which I will get to why, but you have to asses the skin deliberately before deciding on if airbrush is the right choice on how you want the makeup to look.
The Negatives
Okay, please don't come for me. I personally do not like airbrushing my clients. NOW before you come at me let me explain why. I like to compare airbrush to spray paint, we have all spray painted something once or twice. When you spray paint the underneath has to be perfect for the paint to look smooth. You cannot have any textured spots or fuzzies or bumps because the spray paint only highlights them. Well airbrush unfortunately does the same. If you have dry patches, if you have acne or any sort of skin texture, airbrush will highlight it. 99% of humans have some sort of texture on their skin. So airbrush only looks perfect and flawless on an already flawless canvas. Now the other downside is if you are super oily, I do not recommend airbrush at all. Most of the foundation formulas are dewy and hydrating, and even with proper skin prep this can just turn you into a giant grease ball. Oh and you have to be very specific about the skin prep you put on, most normal skin prep will not mix well and turn that into a mess. I find airbrush to be more trouble than it's worth, now with that being said I still offer it as a service. During my trials I will always evaluate my clients skin texture, and what they are wanting with their makeup look. I will always discuss and make an informed decision on them. I will say out of the 5 people I airbrush 4 of them do not like the way it looks. That is my experience, and I know you might have been in your sisters wedding and it looked amazing on you when she put it on. I'm not saying airbrush is bad, because its not its beautiful and works for a lot of artist, but not me in the climate I live in and the style of makeup I do.
Comparing traditional foundation
So if airbrush is out of the question what is next, traditional foundations are your next option. The word traditional is kinda broad that encompasses all the foundations besides airbrush. This includes, cream, liquid, and powder. I use a combination of all 3 of these 75% of the time. I mix different formulas to create a custom finish. Liquid and creams you have much more playing time you can adjust and add and build. You have so many options when it comes to brand and finish. Everyone's skin is so different and I think that is what makes it fun, the mixing and experimenting. I trust traditional foundation as I know exactly how it will behave on my clients skin. I am a control freak and let me tell you it's not the vibe to play the guessing game with a bride.
So in conclusion, airbrush is great, traditional foundation is great, but let your artist be your artist. Trust what they say, you hire us on our expertise and if we think something might be better hear us out. I see people get hung up on airbrush because they think it's better when in reality it might not be better for YOU. Okay I am jumping off my soapbox for now but the next time you come back rest assured I will be right back on it.
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