Airbase - Professional Airbrush Makeup

Afternoon bloggers!

It's time for my first official post! And what better place to start than a product I have been trained and practicing in myself for the past couple of weeks - Airbase.

Some of you may have heard of Airbase and know all about it, but for those of you who don't, prepare to be amazed!

Airbase is a revolutionary airbrush used to apply foundation and blusher that makes your skin look absolutely flawless for hours on end, without the need to reapply. It's that good it is being used on film, TV and in the professional makeup industry and actually featured on all of the X-Factor Contestants faces this year! It is a sillicone based formula (foundation / blusher / bronzer) that is applied at varying pressures through an airbrush directly onto the clients skin with minimal preparation.

I had my training in Airbase at their head office in Nottingham earlier this month and fell in love with it straight away. It is simple and easy to use and much quicker than applying ordinary foundation with a brush or fingers. Sometimes I feel that if you don't invest in a good brush you can be left with streak marks in your foundation which, as I'm sure you'll all agree, is NOT a good look! Well, with the airbrush you get no gaps and no streaks. Just absolutely flawless buildable coverage with every application.

I purchased the home-use kit to start me off as it is very pricey to buy the professional starter kit. (home use kit - £195 inc VAT, professional starter kit £420 inc VAT [but this does include the stage 1 training at an academy of your choice] ). The home-use kit includes the airbrush, compressor and two foundations of your choice or a foundation and a blusher. I went with Foundation 00 (practically white) and Foundation 02 (light-medium) so I can mix them together to get the right colour as I am extremely pale. Foundation 01 is more of an orange colour which didn't suit my skin at all. The foundation comes out of the bottles in drops so you can easily monitor the amount you put into the canister for a perfect mix every time. Once you've mixed up your perfect colour in the canister you simply start spraying onto your own or your clients face - it's as simple as that!

Now, I've heard mixed reviews on Airbase and I have to say, it is more of a professional product and may not be suitable for those of you who are just looking to perfect your own day look and not practicing on others. However, if you're considering a career in makeup or looking to add an amazing product to your makeup collection then I strongly advise getting this. You can purchase directly from the website but I recommend having the training too as they show you how to look after your airbrush, how to mix colours correctly, how to cover blemishes/tattoos/rosacia on skin and other things you may not even consider or learn by just doing it yourself. You get a free training manual worth £15 and an Airbase badge and certificate to show you've qualified and you're under no obligation to purchase any products.

Like lots of you out there, I have a very oily t-zone and am yet to find a cleanser/toner and foundation to completely solve this problem (next blog will elaborate on this point!). I found that when I applied a primer underneath Airbase foundation it gave a very sheeny appearance which I don't really like on my own skin as I've always gone for the matte look. So to solve this problem I apply airbase with no primer, just sprayed directly onto my cleansed skin. It stays on very well and, although advised not to in training, looks really good with a small amount of pressed powder applied over the top (Rimmel Stay Matte pressed powder £4.95 in Boots).

So there we have it! My first review! I know it may seem a little vague but I'm kind of in a rush to get this one finished so I can see what it looks like and have a proper read through. Please, please, please comment with any thoughts or advice and anything you want to read about for my next review.

Before and after photos of Airbase makeover to follow shortly!

Next review: Clarins Cleanser and Toner for combination skin