Chris Mills wrote:
There is a company called KopyKake (kopykake.com) that does small airbrushes and compressors for cake decorating, about 10 PSI. The whole system is a hundred and fifty bucks. It's a great one to learn on before graduating to a more expensive one.

Sounds pretty good for eyes and such, but 10PSI would not cut it for most bodypaint/effects use (for those who are interested). Most food colors are as thin as water, makeup tends to be much thicker. Good info though.

Glamour Boulevard wrote:
I guess the ol` Badger system is out huh,LOL.

Anyway, do any of you recall the CO2 catridge based airbrush makeup set put out around Halloween last year? I think Revlon made it. I saw it in the MU section at a big drugstore actually. I thought that would be interesting to have around just for the heck of it.

You can still buy Badger, but frankly most of the ones I have bought fell apart in short order. I also distrust anything that uses canned air.

BodyPainter Rich  wrote:
You can still buy Badger, but frankly most of the ones I have bought fell apart in short order. I also distrust anything that uses canned air.

eh, the CO2 ones were just novelty basically, use it a couple times and toss it out. They put it out for halloween and it also had tattoo templates. Not something you would consider high end body painting and such,lol.They were around 10 bucks.

BodyPainter Rich  wrote:
If you have time and patience you can do alot better by building your own kit from dixie art or bearair (both have .coms) Dinair can work very well for beginners but is VERY expensive and so is their makeup.

(One of these days I'll get around to a FAQ post, I promise)

~Rich

Rich... you're my hero! I am a Dixie Art junkie. I've bought quite a bit from them and they are quite reliable, reasonably priced and ship quickly as well. I have owned an Iwata HP-C professional illustration airbrush for a few years now, and adore it. I've yet to use it for makeup, but as it has several different needle sizes, and is gravity fed, it should work quite nicely. It's been amazing in my illustration and concept work. I'm planning to try it out with makeup on a concept shoot coming up in March though. Just want to try a few things out... should be fun! =-)

I forgot to mention... I've used this airbrush on clothing and it's been really reliable with the thicker textile paints... although I use a nitrogen tank for the continuous air feed and drier air when working on clothing or illustrations. I rarely use my Iwata compressor, but it can certainly do the job. But... that's another story. I sure wouldn't use a nitrogen tank when applying makeup! lol.

... Andrea

Tracey Masterson wrote:
Thank you Rich!!
Not everything needs to come packaged in a beautiful little kit.  I love BearAir.  They have wonderful service and the catalog is so helpful.
I have 2 airbrush guns, right now.  The cheap one I bought to see if I liked airbrushing.  (And it works just fine) and my Iwata which is like butt-ah, I tell you.
I have a regular compressor and I can easily regulate the psi.
I have used everything from samples Kett sent me to BritonColor to Mac face and body to Bobbi Brown through my airbrush.  Don't get holed up in the whole package deal.
Just remember, this is not a whole entire new way of doing things.  People have been airbrushing forever.  It is being capitalized on because it is relatively new in terms of applying makeup.  It is not a secret, it is just a different way of applying foundation or body paint.  Do lots of research.

I use the Iwata too, and I loooove it!   How do you go about getting samples from different companies?  (I'm a makeup artist too, I'm on my model account, lol)