Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Review: Luminess Air Makeup Airbrush System

**Disclaimer:  This post has been compensated through a free product (s) or monetary payment.  Opinions are solely mine. All links are "no-follow" links.**
Luminess Air Makeup Basic Airbrush System.jpeg
Luminess Air Makeup Airbrush System

I hate to admit this, but I never used an airbrush makeup system.  Maybe I never considered one before since it rather intimidated me spraying my face with a pen filled with makeup. Then, Luminess Air invited me to test out a system.  At first, I wasn’t sure if would take them up on their generous offer, but then after seeing the beautiful results that could be had airbrushing foundation over applying it the traditional way, convinced me that I had to at least try my hand at operating that pen without making a mess or squirting makeup in my eye.

I picked out their Basic System in Pink ($199).  What I got was the compact compressor, the stylus, and the Airbrush Cosmetics Starter Kit that include two bottles of Silk Foundation (shade 2 and 3), Moist Primer (M 1), Blush (Tulip-3n), and a bottle of Brightening-Glow (G-1).


Luminess Air Makeup Airbrush System unboxed.jpeg
Luminess Air Makeup Airbrush Basic System,  unboxed

Before I attempted to experiment with this unit, I watched the very helpful five minute DVD that came packed with my system and looked through their enclosed manual.  By the time I finished, I felt more confident about how to operate my machine.

Though I knew basically how the system worked, I still was a novice.  Before putting in the makeup, I decided to practice my application technique first with the moisturizer to see if I got the hang of it.  I plugged in the system, then dropped in about six drops of the moisturizer to the cup of the stylus.  

Luminess Air Airbrush Cosmetics Starter Kit.jpeg
Luminess Air Airbrush Cosmetics Starter Kit

I remember the need for keeping some distance of about six or eight inches from the pen to the face before turning the machine on and pushing down on the trigger.  Otherwise, if standing too close and releasing that spray could result in blotchy, caked up makeup. 

I tried to pull back that lever as evenly as I could until I felt that fine moist mist on my skin because the speed of how you pull back affects how the spray is released and shows on your face.  The first shot or two was a bit tricky until remembering that I needed to keep my hand moving while using a circular motion.  When I did that on my third time, I was shooting that trigger better.  I still wasn’t an expert but I was improving.

I am fair with yellow undertones.  I did request the lightest warm shades in the Silk formulation with Shade 1 and Shade 3, the next warm tone, but received Shade 2 (fair cool tone) and Shade 3.  The Silk line seemed appropriate for a dewy finish with my dry skin.   There are three other foundation formulations from Satin, Ultra to Matte, depending on your skin type and needs.


Luminess Air Makeup Shade 2 on the right, Shade 3 on the left.jpeg
Luminess Air Silk Foundation Shade 2 is on the right closest to my wrist with Shade 3 on the left.  Before use, shake the foundation well first.


After some color experimenting by pouring a combination of drops from both shades into the stylus cup, I kept my finger over the trigger while the system custom blended my foundation in its cup.  Using about three drops of the lighter Shade 2 to each one drop of the darker Shade 3 was the closest match for my summer complexion. 

The coverage is extremely sheer with one application.  I do recommend another coat to catch areas that you might have missed and even the coverage out.  For my skin, two layers were all that I needed to make my complexion seem beautifully flawless.  What amazed me was how perfectly natural makeup applied this way really looked compared to my face using traditional foundation, which is still beautiful, but a bit more obvious. My application also held up from early morning until evening without fading or gathering in my laugh lines.

The next thing I attempted was loading a few drops of the Tulip Blush into the cup.  The rosy shade worked nicely with my coloring.  I also played with the Brightening-Glow and loved how it especially brought out my cheekbones. 

This airbrush makeup system might seem more complicated than using a bottle or compact with your fingers or brush, but the payoff of what your made up complexion looks like is worth it.  Just like anything else that you ever learned, including how to use makeup when you first bought some, airbrushing makeup on just takes practice to apply it properly.  To simplify the process, the company has great online tutorials that are worth viewing.

I’m still practicing myself, but I am loving my Luminess Air Airbrush Makeup Basic System ($199).  Now I will be figuring out how to properly clean and care for it because I plan on continue using it.  The system even comes with a bottle to help keep it clean.

As to myself, I am curious about their other products to use with this system.  They have a lovely array of bronzers, concealers, eye shadows, translucent powders, lipsticks and glosses available that I need to try soon.

Have you tried Luminess Air yet?  If not, don’t you think it’s about time to try it yourself because I think that you’ll love the difference of this finished look.