I Tried The New TEMPTU Air Airbrush Kit, And It’s Like, Why Did I Ever Use Normal Makeup?

Just about drugstore and department store beauty brand has, at one point or another, advertised that their products (foundations, concealers, powders, etc.) will give you “airbrushed-looking” skin.

The idea behind it is pretty simple: They’re using “airbrush” in lieu of “flawless,” and, if I’m being honest, that alone convinced me to buy far too many drugstore foundations in my time. I’ve since moved on from wearing foundation every day, simply because I’m not patient enough to apply it evenly every morning, but I’m always hoping for that just-airbrushed look when I apply my daily concealer and powder.

So, I thought, why don’t I stop going for the “airbrushed look” and go straight for “airbrushed”?

(Related: Your Guide to Brow Products: How To Get Thicker Eyebrows?)

That’s where TEMPTU comes in. You may have heard of them before—they’ve been around for years and are pretty much the authority when it comes to airbrush makeup technology.

They’ve worked on tons of commercial and editorial spreads, and even on some well-known movies (fellow Marvel fans have seen their work in the X-Men movies, where they did all of the body paint on Rebecca Romijn and Jennifer Lawrence’s character, Mystique).

In addition to all of that fun, they just launched the TEMPTU Air, a brand new, handheld, personal airbrush system that claims to whittle down your makeup application time to just under five minutes. Being the lazy, makeup-obsessed girl I am, I had to give it a try.

The airbrush tool itself is pretty light and is easily chargeable via a USB port that comes with the tool, but since this is a big-deal professional system we’re talking about, it doesn’t come cheap.

The airbrush tool itself will set you back $195, and, unfortunately, that doesn’t include any of the separate product pods, adorable called Airpods. But guys, if you’ve got the money to spare or an open spot on your holiday wish list, it’s definitely worth the money. Here’s what the tool looks like once you’ve unwrapped it from its (v classy) packaging:

Sleek, no? It’s also ridiculously user-friendly, even if you’ve never tried your hand at airbrush makeup before. In fact, pretty much everything you need to use is located on the back of the handle:

Turning it on and off is as easy as holding down that very clearly-marked power button for a few seconds. You can switch between three different power levels (which are indicated by the three blue lights located just above the power button. The little handle-esque button at the top of the tool is what you press down on to start the actual airbrushing process. The USB port is at the bottom, and the button on the side (which can be seen in the first picture) is used to release the product pods. Speaking of pods:

They look futuristic and scary, but they’re kind of incredible. From left to right, we have foundation in the shade Warm Ivory (BTW, TEMPTU’s resident makeup artist was able to color match me within three seconds, just by looking at my face, so you know these guys know their stuff), their universal Bronzer, highlighter in the shade Champagne, and blush in Peony Pink.

Before you get spooked, yes, the products are really pigmented in the pods (the bronzer and the blush, especially), but when you actually get to applying them, you’ll find that the products are sheer and super buildable, the hallmarks of a great product.

After a quick tutorial in the TEMPTU studio, during which I was told to hold the tool about one palm’s length away from my face, to apply in the makeup in a circular motion, and that if I could actually see the makeup, I’d applied too much, I felt ready to take on my first airbrushing experience.

I started with a clean face, and if you’re curious as to what that looks like, here’s a photo:

Then I set to work applying the foundation all over my face and neck, the bronzer in all of the right contouring places (if you’re not sure what I mean by that, this is a pretty helpful guide), blush on the apples of my cheeks, and highlighter to the high points of my face (cheekbones, just under my eyebrows, the bridge of my nose, my chin, and the center of my forehead). The amount you’ll use really does differ depending on your skin tone and the time of day, so I didn’t actually need to use that much product to get my desired affect. And again, like I was told by the TEMPTU pros if you can really see the makeup, you’ve gone too far.

Here’s the finished look:

Ignoring the slight redness caused by the poor lighting in my bathroom and the concealer that I put under my eyes because I have chronic undereye circles, everything looks pretty pristine! I’m always afraid of looking cakey when I wear full-face makeup, but not only does everything look (and feel!) extremely lightweight, it was even sheer enough that I could still see some of my beloved freckles! And guys, I’m pretty sure I’ve solved my eternal struggle to find the perfect contouring product. Just check out what the bronzer does for me:

Is that not the perfect matte contouring shade? And the highlighter is so spot-on I could cry. Except not because that might mess up my makeup. So I’ll just bottle up all of my emotions, for the time being, I guess.

The best part? Even with the extra few minutes, it took me to get a handle of the tool and the appropriate way to use it, it still only took me around seven minutes (yes, I timed it) to do my entire face sans eyeliner and mascara, and that’s kind of a big deal.

So, final verdict: While this may not be something you should go out and purchase if you don’t plan to use it frequently, as it is admittedly a pretty big investment, it’s definitely something all beauty mavens should save up for and buy when/if they have the means. I’m almost tempted to leave all of my other makeup behind in favor of this one tool. Almost.