How To Turn Liquid Foundation Into Airbrush Makeup?

I am a huge fan of airbrush makeup. I think this is because it has a level of elegance to it that you won’t find everywhere. It is associated with weddings and my god do I love weddings! It looks like you do not wear any makeup, its natural and it just makes you beautiful! You can already tell I love it, right?

Now today’s topic is about “how to turn liquid foundation into airbrush makeup”. A good question that I saw someone asking on a forum… So I thought I would let my light shine on it and help the woman who asked the question. After that, I put it into a blog post so that more people can enjoy it! 

After writing this article (yes, the last thing I do is writing an intro) I am pumped about using airbrush makeup so I already messaged some friends and next Saturday we are going to town with it :).

So, how to turn liquid foundation into airbrush makeup? This can be achieved by using what is called an airbrush makeup thinner. You might know that conventional liquid foundation is too thick to be used for an airbrush. But with thinner products, you can make the liquid foundation just so that you can use it as airbrush makeup.

Can I use a liquid foundation in my airbrush?

Yes, you can. It wasn’t an exaggeration of me. Not only because of the reasons above, but also because it is a simple and quick method to put foundation on your face. Now I know that makeup artists often use it with big events like weddings, movie projects, and so on, but it is also nice to use on a day to day basis. 

But as I explained earlier, you can not use liquid foundation without doing something with it. So now the question may have is: how can I thin out the foundation so that I can use it as airbrush makeup?

Below I’ll set out a couple of options for you

Makeup thinner: Now the obvious answer to this is to make use of a foundation thinner. Most of these foundation thinners are colorless fluid mediums that you can mix with your foundation. By using this you are making it yourself a hell of a lot easier when trying to use it with your airbrush.

Using a thinner is the most effective way in my opinion. This is because thinners are super customizable. Thinners can make your makeup experience a lot smoother. You can create medium to full coverage… It only depends on how much you thin out. Another tip I can give you with thinners is to mix in some illuminating drops together with your foundation. This will add luminescence.

Water: If you don’t have any foundation thinner laying around, you can always go for just plain and simple water. This works well if you only have your basic liquid foundation and need it thinned out. It makes it easier to get the coverage you need with the airbrush. This of course is depending on the coverage you need. 

Moisturizer: Now this is something you may or may not know. If you don’t your mouth can drop right open! You can use your moisturizer as a thinner for the liquid foundation! The only thing you need to do is apply a couple of drops onto the liquid foundation and then mix it. The huge benefit of using your moisturizer is the fact that this can also add a level of hydration to your face that other products can’t. The thing you have to keep in mind is that you don’t use too much moisturizer. This can affect the quality of the foundation you are using and that would be a pity.

What kind of airbrush foundations are there?

If you do not want to thin out regular liquid foundation, but just want to use the airbrush makeup that is made for it, you should know that there are different kinds of airbrush makeup.

The first one is a silicon foundation base. This is the one you want if you are looking for something that works excellent in the skin. It lasts incredibly long (more than other bases do), and it also gives you more coverage. Be aware of the fact that because this gives more coverage you need a “stronger” more powerful airbrush gun.

The next one that is often used is alcohol. This one is often used when airbrush makeup is applied to some other body parts than the face. The alcohol base gives it incredible coverage and is often used with special effects or covering up marks on your body.

As we said earlier, another base for the airbrush foundation is water. It sets fast, gives a matt finish and another benefit is that you won’t need a powerful compressor to get the foundation out of your airbrush gun. This means that you can go a bit cheaper on the airbrush gun if you want to.

Mineral is the last one of the types of airbrush foundations. This is great if you just need good coverage and “conventional makeup”. The huge upside to using a mineral airbrush foundation is that it is suitable for almost every skin type! It works for dry, oily, and even combo skin types.

What is the difference between traditional makeup and airbrush makeup?

So, now you have learned a lot about how to turn liquid foundation into airbrush makeup. But I can imagine that you ask yourself what the difference is between traditional makeup and airbrush makeup, so here goes:

Airbrush makeup is normally applied by an airbrush gun and an air compressor to get the mist out of the gun. This is similar to what they are using for spray tanning. (when I say spray tanning I immediately think of the Friends scene where Ross is spray-tanned multiple times! Am I the only one?) 

The foundation comes out of the spray gun as a fine mist and that is also why it needs to be a lot thinner than regular foundation. 

The traditional foundation is often a bit thicker than airbrush makeup and is applied with a brush, puff, or sponge in the form of a liquid or powder. 

The benefits of using airbrush makeup (I think) is that it gives amazing coverage. It can help you wash away imperfections and you can build up the coverage from very light to full coverage. And all this is possible while maintaining to look natural. It also lets the skin breathe which is awesome. I think you now understand why I’m such a fan!

Conclusion

Yes, you can turn liquid foundation into airbrush makeup but you have to thin it out. To do this there are several options you can choose from. You can use foundation thinner, water, alcohol, or mineral. The thing you have to remember is that you keep in mind what you’re going for. As I described above, every thinner and every base is used for different results and even different occasions. Be aware of that and choose the right one! 

Thanks for reading! If you found this interesting you are more than welcome to browse the site and see if there are other makeup questions you have that are answered here. If you miss something, simply send us a message with what information you are missing, and maybe next time I’ll write an article about that!