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Best Airbrush Makeup Kit System Reviews 2023

Best Airbrush Makeup

If you are looking to ‘up your makeup game,’ airbrush makeup is a perfect solution. Airbrush makeup gives you long-lasting, natural coverage with a more hygienic method of application. It is easy to build, blend and contour and looks beautiful in photographs. Airbrush makeup gives you a perfect look, fast and is simple to apply at home. But with so many products on the market, how do you know you are choosing the best airbrush makeup kit?

Why trust us? To save you time and money, we have put in over 50 hours, researching, testing and reviewing the most popular airbrush makeup products around. Scroll down to find our airbrush makeup reviews!

#1 Editor’s Choice

Art Of Air
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#2 Editor’s Choice

Tickled Pink
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Aeroblend
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Belloccio
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Temptu 2.0
Read Full Review

Photo Finish
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The Top 8 Best Airbrush Makeup Reviews 2023

These are our favorite airbrush makeup kits and the models that performed best.

After testing many different airbrush kits for this review, we decided we liked pre-set airflow controls best, rather than a dial. This is firstly because airbrush makeup doesn’t require a huge scope of power, so each graduation on a dial control doesn’t really give you much of a difference. Secondly, dials can be easily knocked and changed, which can affect the application and overall look. Pre-defined controls, on the other hand, give you distinct differences between the settings and therefore, a more consistent output.

1. Art Of Air Professional Airbrush Cosmetic Makeup System

Art Of Air Professional Makeup System
Amy Tribe

Editor’s Choice: The Art of Air Professional Cosmetic Makeup System is a complete kit which gives you everything you need to get started with airbrushing. It is a great airbrush kit for  beginners, home and professional use. Its water based formula gives you natural, professional-quality coverage, fast. In our opinion, the best airbrush makeup kit is the Art Of Air Professional Airbrush Cosmetic Set.

Our first impression of the makeup included in the Art of Air Professional Airbrush Cosmetic Makeup System wasn’t strong. The foundation appeared cheap and the plastic compressor seemed a little tacky. However, once we assembled and started using the kit, our opinions completely changed, and out of all the airbrush makeup kits, we liked this the best.

Foundations

The water based foundation has a fresh, delicate scent. It was extremely easy to apply, and it looked and felt fabulous on our skin. It dried quickly and felt soft, giving an attractive matte finish. It didn’t feel sticky or dislodge at all after it had dried, so we are confident in it lasting.

It was extremely easy to build coverage from sheer to full; however, we noticed that when it is only lightly applied, fine creases appear more apparent. However, as this makeup went the furthest out of all the kits we tested, we didn’t mind giving a more generous application.

Compressor

Art Of Air Compressor

The compressor was very simple to set up and the kit includes a very useful troubleshooting guide. Although we prefer pre-set airflow strengths, the dial on this compressor gave us a great amount of control.

The stylus is also high quality, and is comfortable to hold, giving a consistent and controlled makeup output. We found that our drawing was far more accurate with this than other models. As it expels the foundation, the reservoir completely drains with minimal makeup leftover, so the stylus was very fast to clean, with hardly any waste.

Pros

Cons

2. Tickled Pink Airbrush Kit (5 Easy Steps)

Tickled Pink 5 Easy Steps Airbrush Kit
Amy Tribe

Editor’s choice: Having been created by an esthetician, this comprehensive kit includes a full set of high-quality airbrush makeup and lifetime esthetician support. Tickled Pink makeup kits are used in makeup schools including the Paul Mitchel School and are therefore a perfect option for complete beginners and professionals alike. We believe this is one of the best airbrush makeup systems around.

Cruelty-Free Cosmetics

The water based, hypoallergenic foundations included in the Tickled Pink Airbrush Kit are infused with aloe, giving a soothing feel to your skin. It is 89% organic and paraben, gluten and cruelty-free! It has a very pleasant, delicate scent like some face creams. It is suitable for all skin types, even sensitive skin.

The infused formula is thicker than some others we tested, giving fantastic coverage and dries quickly. We found we needed to be more careful about how we held the stylus because its thickness meant it was more reliant on gravity bringing the cosmetics into the stylus chamber.

The airbrush sprays the fine mist on your skin well and dries quickly, leaving your skin feeling soft. Once it was dry, we found we didn’t even feel like we were wearing makeup; it was so lightweight! It looked very natural and didn’t cling to hairs likes others did.

We recommend that you don’t blend this makeup too much. While it goes on well and dries quickly, it can dislodge a little, so it is better to spray it on then set it and leave it once you have achieved the coverage you desire. It has a lovely matte finish anyway, so you don’t need to apply powder to reduce shine.

Pre-Set Pressures

Tickled Pink Air Compressor

This compressor offers the control mechanism for airflow that we prefer. It gives you three levels of air pressure to choose from, which you can control from the ‘mode’ button.

The low mode is a good choice for a light application and for practicing, but we preferred using the higher setting for the thicker formula.

Pros

Cons

3. Aeroblend Airbrush Makeup Personal Starter kit

Aeroblend Personal Starter Kit

Our next choice is the Aeroblend Airbrush Makeup Personal Starter kit. Its cruelty-free, vegan formula is full of the highest quality botanicals, such as avocado, lavender, jojoba and white tea. The set includes practice sheets, so you can perfect your technique in controlling the fine mist of makeup.

Sample Sized Makeup Bottles

The makeup was quite separated when we first opened it, a lot more so than other kits, and some items have a distinct blue hue. However, after a bit of shaking, they mixed to give a lovely selection of foundation shades.

As this is a starter kit, the bottles of foundation included in the set are smaller than the other sets. They are sample-sized so that you can use them to test the different hues to find the right option for you, and then you can order more of the colors that suit you best. If you find that the colors included aren’t right for you, Aeroblend will happily send out more samples in different shades, at no extra cost!

Beautiful Coverage

Beautiful Coverage

The foundation has a delicate, almost citrus smell, which we loved. Application is fast and easy as it sprays on quickly and is very easy to use, giving slightly bigger specks than other kits. It is therefore great for applying to large areas, but may be less suited to finer details.

It dries with an attractive matte finish and gives excellent coverage of blemishes. It feels soft and light on your skin, not tacky at all, plus it blends well to match your skin tone and doesn’t dislodge even if you rub it gently. In our opinion, the only thing that could improve this set is a carrying bag to keep everything in!

Pros

Cons

4. Belloccio Professional Beauty Airbrush Cosmetic Makeup

Belloccio Professional Beauty Cosmetics

The Belloccio Professional Beauty Airbrush Cosmetic System is a fantastic formulation that contains aloe to soothe irritated skin, and hyaluronic acid to hydrate and firm it. It is dermatologist-recommended, hypoallergenic, non-comedogenic and paraben-free, so it should be suitable for almost all skin types.

Simple Controls

We found the Belloccio airbrush cosmetic makeup system very easy to set up. The metallic compressor feels high-quality, and we love that it has three pre-set strengths. The foundation sprays on evenly and has a beautiful finish. Even though the hues we tried didn’t match our skin tones well, it looked very natural.

The finish is not at all shiny, and it blends very well, especially with the egg-shaped blending sponge that is included in the kit. It doesn’t feel at all tacky to touch – it feels good on your skin.

The formula is a little more resilient than some other brands. It takes a bit of elbow grease to remove it with a makeup wipe, and similarly to clean the stylus. Luckily the kit includes thorough cleaning instructions and a generous bottle of cleaning solution!

All-In-One System

All In One Cosmetics System

This set includes an e-video tutorial for getting started with the Belloccio Professional Beauty Airbrush Cosmetic Makeup system, plus a lot of makeup. As well as the four shades of foundation, you get anti-aging moisturizing primer, blush, bronzer and shimmer. You also get three bonus products – the sponge mentioned earlier, a jar of concealer and finishing spray. This combination gives you a natural, flawless complexion that reduces imperfections, such as wrinkle and acne.

Pros

Cons

5. Luminess Air Basic Airbrush Makeup System

Luminess Air Basic System

The Luminess Air Basic Airbrush Makeup System is one of the most well-known airbrush makeup kits. Its dermatologist-tested, water-based foundation is suitable for sensitive skin and is not tested on animals. It levels your skin’s texture and reduces the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles and acne.

It is very user-friendly, and even if you are a complete beginner when it comes to airbrush makeup, you will find it easy to use this system as it has a very comprehensive instruction guide. Of all the models we tested, it was the easiest kit to clean.

Strong Air Compressor

Strong Air Compressor With Butterfly Design

We love the butterfly design on the Luminess compressor and its button control. The pressure is strong, even on the lowest setting, but we found that we had more control over this model. It does, however, mean that you go through the makeup faster.

Silk Foundation

You get extremely fast, even coverage with this foundation formula, and it doesn’t appear blotchy. It does, however, have a slight paint-type smell and takes a little longer to dry than other water-based makeup options. It gives more of a silk look, which is reasonable because it is aptly named Silk Foundation. It also clings to peach fuzz hairs slightly more than others.

Overall, we liked this airbrush makeup kit. However, if you have oily skin, other options that give a matte finish may be a better solution.

Pros

Cons

6. Temptu 2.0 Premier Airbrush Makeup Kit

Temptu 2.0 Premier Kit

The Temptu 2.0 Premier Airbrush Makeup Kit is an airbrush makeup kit designed for professionals that is easy enough for beginners. It gives you 12 foundation shades ranging from ‘porcelain’ to ‘espresso.’ The high-quality compressor is dual-voltage for worldwide use and the airbrush gun has a slightly larger nozzle size of 0.4 mm for the thicker foundation formula.

Silicone-Based Foundations

This set gives you a beautiful range of colors. It takes a little longer to dry than other airbrush makeup brands and feels a little tackier to touch, but the coverage is fantastic. We found that a thinner application looked better because it didn’t highlight fine lines or peach fuzz hairs as much as a thicker application did, and thankfully the good coverage allows for this.

12 Silicone-Based Foundations

The foundation is long lasting – it took a lot more effort to remove than other products and it didn’t really have a smell. It feels a little heavy on the skin, but we think this compromise is worth making for special events when you want the confidence that your makeup will last all day. We decided that as it gives a slight brightness, we would prefer to use a finishing powder over the top, to prevent any shine and reflection in photographs.

Single-Action Stylus

The airbrush gun is easy to use, although ours appeared to be dual-action at first glance as the trigger moved in two directions. The design is comfortable to hold, but we found that the air hose didn’t have a perfect seal and was a little loose. This may have been a one-off issue though.

Pros

Cons

7. Photo Finish Professional Airbrush Makeup

Photo Finish Professional Makeup

One of our favorite features of the Photo Finish Professional Airbrush Makeup System is that not only can you choose the foundation shades your kit includes, but also whether the foundation has a matte or ‘luminous’ finish. We recommend the matte finish if you have oily skin.

The compressor included is very similar to the Aeroblend compressor. It gives you large variation in pressure as you turn the dial and the airbrush gun has a slightly larger nozzle than other kits of 0.4mm.

Suitable For All Skin Types

Suitable For All Skin Types

Once again, our first impression of the Photo Finish makeup was that it didn’t seem of high quality. When we tested it, our opinions improved, but not as must as for the Art of Air. The foundations are a lot thinner than other formulations. They take longer to dry and feel slightly tacky, but they give a lovely finish that feels nice on your skin.

The set gives you an excellent selection of colors and we particularly liked the eye shadows. We believe this set is best suited to everyday makeup because it is fast to apply and looks good, but it comes off very easily. If you are looking to use it for a special event, you will need to use the silica finishing powder, which acts as a waterproof sealant and gives it that extra resilience.

Bag

We also liked that the set includes a carrycase. It doesn’t quite fit everything in as the gun has a protective case which is bigger than the footprint of the bag, but we like that we can fit all the makeup products, compressor and power supply.

Pros

Cons

8. Dinair Airbrush Makeup Starter Kit

Dinair Starter Kit

The Dinair Airbrush Makeup Starter Kit contains everything you need for a full face of makeup. It gives you a fantastic variety of foundation colors, as well as moisturizer, brow tints, eye shadows, blush, highlighters and lip stains, which are multi-purpose.

Goes A Long Way

You only need to use a little bit of product each time, because it gives you great coverage and using too much can look caked and overdone. It takes a little longer to dry than other brands, but when it does, it gives you a nice matte finish. While it isn’t shiny, it does give a certain brightness, so we felt it could still do with being finished off with translucent powder. We also noticed that it made our skin feel a little tight.

Double Shade Range

Double Shade Range

Dinair also offers some smaller kits, for example, in fair, medium, tan and dark shades, known as “The Original” sets. These kits each have a smaller foundation set of only three colors each, and they don’t have as many multi-purpose colors.

This Airbrush Makeup Starter Kit, however, encompasses two shade sets, fair and medium, and adds in the extra multi-purpose products.

Unfortunately, it appears to only be available in the fair to medium foundation option, so those who have darker skin tones would be better choosing one of the other brands that offer the same collection of products. We hope that this kit will soon be available with darker foundation tones.

Pros

Cons

We Don’t Recommend:

We Don’t Recommend Ophir

We were disappointed with the Ophir airbrush makeup system. While it includes a good range of makeup, a decent-quality carry bag, and was easy to set up, our compressor didn’t turn on. The buttons lit up, but there was no power to operate it. From our experience, we recommend against choosing this model, however many people have liked it, so if you are still interested, you can see more reviews on Amazon here.

Buyer’s Guide

Using an airbrush is a common method of applying cosmetics, paint and coloring illustrations. A makeup airbrush may be slightly different from those used in the automotive industry, for example, for painting cars. This is due to several reasons, including the lower viscosity of makeup and therefore the pressure requirement.

Similarly, the foundation formulas are different in each airbrush makeup kit. These are the things we think you should consider when buying an airbrush kit, so that you choose the best airbrush makeup kit for you.

Airbrush Makeup Ingredients

Different Types Of Makeup

Just like regular cosmetics, each makeup brand and product will have a slightly different formula, as when it comes to makeup, one size does not fit all. Different occasions will require different levels of makeup resilience and therefore, a different type of makeup, so consider when you will use your airbrush makeup. There are several different types of airbrush makeup that have different formulations and levels of resilience.

Water-Based Makeup – offers fast application as it dries quickly and gives a healthy skin look – not dry, but not glossy. It is lightweight and less resilient than other forms of airbrush makeup, and therefore perfect for everyday wear. It is also the easiest to clean from the airbrush stylus. To improve resilience, you can add a waterproof sealant.

Silicone-Based Makeup – thicker than some other types of airbrush makeup and therefore will require a higher pressured-device to dispense it, along with a wider nozzle. It creates a flawless, natural finish, and can be re-blended a few minutes after it is first applied. It is also highly water-resistant, so is best for special occasions. It may also be a better choice if you have oily skin.

You can also get polymer-water-based, polymer alcohol-based and alcohol-based makeup, but these are less suited to everyday use and are generally only used by professional makeup artists, for example, to cover up tattoos.

Different Types Of Airbrush Applicators

Different Types Of Airbrush Guns

Airbrush guns typically have three features, which are varied between products. These are:

1. Trigger Action

Trigger action determines what effect pushing the airbrush trigger has.

Single-action trigger mechanisms only control the airflow from the chamber as the amount of product released is determined by the setting of the needle inside the chamber. It is great for beginners as you will always release the same amount of product until you change the needle setting, so as you build up layers, you will get even coverage.

Dual-action trigger mechanisms control both the airflow and the amount of product released, so you can change the width of the line created and the density of the spray without pausing. Generally, you press the trigger down to control the air and pull it back to control the product flow. It enables you to create patterns, for example, a line that is increasing in thickness, in one stroke.

Professional makeup artists often train using single action airbrushes then progress onto dual-action airbrushes.

2. Makeup Supply Mechanism

This refers to the way that the product feeds into the airbrush gun. It can be fed in via a gravity feed, bottom feed, side feed or a combination of gravity and bottom feed.

Gravity Feedgravity-fed airbrushes are the best and most popular for makeup artistry as they require lower air pressures. The product is loaded into the cup on top of the airbrush and gravity draws it into the internal chamber. An airbrush for makeup may achieve airflow of up to 35 PSI. It gives you much more control so you can create fine detail. All the makeup airbrushes we have discussed are gravity-fed.

Bottom Feed – also known as siphon-feed mechanisms because the product is drawn into the airbrush chamber via a siphon tube often underneath the chamber. This is unnecessary for airbrush makeup, but may be used in model painting, for which airflow may be 60 PSI.

Side Feed – Side-fed airbrushes are good for working on a vertical surface as the product cup sits on the side of the airbrush and rotates.

3. The Point Of Mixture

Internal – the foundation and air meet within the chamber inside the mechanism of the airbrush. This gives a finer, more consistent mist dispensed from the airbrush and therefore finer detail. This is the best option for applying airbrush makeup.

External – introduces the product from the side of the airbrush makeup stylus, resulting in a less consistent pattern because the product is atomized less. It can cause more splatter, so finer detail is harder to achieve.

How To Use An Airbrush Makeup Kit

Airbrush makeup kits are generally very easy to use once you get started, but just like when you apply traditional makeup, there is a technique that you will need to master.

  1. Set up your airbrush cosmetic system by attaching the compressor, tube, stylus and power supply.
  2. Add in some droplets of airbrush makeup into the cup on the stylus.
  3. Choose the lowest setting and turn on the airbrush compressor.
  4. Hold the stylus about 3 to 6 inches away from your face and keep it perpendicular.
  5. Gently squeeze the trigger to release the airbrush makeup. It should feel like a fine mist against your skin.
  6. Keep the stylus moving in gentle strokes around your face so that you get an even spread of airbrush foundation and adjust the pressure as you feel best.
  7. When you are happy with your makeup application, give it a minute to dry.
  8. If you have used water based airbrush makeup, you may wish to apply a waterproof sealant over the top to ensure it is long lasting.

How To Clean Your Airbrush Makeup Kit

Airbrush makeup kits are very easy to clean. Many sets include an airbrush cleaning solution. For a simple daily clean, once you have emptied the airbrush foundation from the stylus, put a few drops of the cleaning solution in the reservoir, then gently hold a tissue against the nozzle and pull the trigger.

This will cause the solution to bubble, cleaning the inside of the stylus. Do this for a few seconds then bring the tissue away from the nozzle and let the solution flow out. You can repeat this stage if necessary, but if you do this daily and you use water based airbrush makeup, this should clean up quickly.

You will then want to clean the nozzle with a soft brush. Keeping the nozzle clean will ensure smooth application and prevent splattering. Don’t forget to wipe down the airbrush compressor too!

Frequently Asked Questions

We decided the best airbrush foundation brand is the Art Of Air kit. It is easy to apply and feels soft and lightweight on your skin. The next best airbrush makeup kit is the Tickled Pink 5 Steps kit.

Yes, we think airbrush makeup is far better than traditional makeup, whether you want to wear it every day or for a special occasion! Airbrush makeup is breathable, gives great coverage and looks beautifully natural. Plus, you aren’t just limited to airbrush foundation, you can also use airbrush blush, bronzer and eyeshadow.

It is best to use makeup that is specifically designed for airbrushing in an airbrush. If you do use regular makeup, you may have to water it down first. Using regular foundations therefore may give you a poor finish. However, you can mix different foundation shades to perfectly match your skin tone.

Airbrush makeup is applied using an airbrush compressor and stylus, while traditional makeup is applied using brushes, sponges, or your fingertips. We believe airbrush makeup is best for both daily wear and for special occasions as it is a more hygienic makeup application and feels lightweight, yet it lasts many hours.

Conclusion

I hope you have enjoyed reading our airbrush makeup reviews and that we have helped you choose the best airbrush makeup kit for you. Once you get started with airbrushing makeup, you won’t look back! Our favorite airbrush system was the Art of Air. We are huge fans of airbrush makeup, thanks to its many benefits and we really enjoyed researching and testing for this airbrush makeup kit review. If you would like to find out more about airbrush makeup, please visit our blog.