How to achieve an INDESTRUCTIBLE bridal makeup with Nebula by Kryolan- With kit review and video tutorial

Bridal makeup is the daily bread of most makeup artists. Brides to be of any ethnicity and tradition tend to agree on three key factors when discussing their makeup: durability, coverage and perfect finish. Airbrush makeup is the perfect answer to these expectations, and it adds speed, hygene and high HD performance to boot. The new Nebula line by Kryolan features a wide range of colors designed to perform well for any makeup goal, from invisible coverage to body painting, however because of their finish and their resistance we found it ideal for bridal makeup, and we produced the enclosed video tutorial to demonstrate just that.

Airbrush Makeup with Nebula by Kryolan

The Nebula formula is silicone based, which makes the product comfortable, allows great coverage and makes it water proof. Unlike many airbrushable silicone based products however, Nebula has a very low viscosity and a very short drying time which is comparable to that of water based products. The final finish is also very light, luminous but not shiny and very effective in its coverage. In other words, it is exactly what brides are looking for. 

We already discussed our first impression of this product last week. After experimenting some more with these colors I can confirm that they do have a learning curve, and that the results you get will improve more and more as you practice applying them. Of course they were conceived for airbrush application, and I hope that this will inspire more and more artists to learn this incredible technique, forgetting all the fears and false myth that still surround it, and that were spread mostly by those who don't really know how to use it. For those of you who are in fact considering adding this skill to their abilities, I will now review Kryolan's own airbrush kit. Please keep in mind however that Nebula will work on any professional airbrush kit regardless of the brand.

The Kryolan Airbrush Kit

Bridal look with Nebula by Kryolan

Kryolan chose a great maker for the kits it distributes. These are made in fact by the Taiwanese historical Sparmax brand, which also provides tools for most of the best airbrush brands in the world. The compressor chosen by Kryolan is the very reliable DAC 25, a true work horse among portable units. This little jewel is very quiet, very light and compact and quite powerful with an air stream output of 30 PSI. The version manufactured for Kryolan has an appealing silver-gray finish that makes it also very attractive to look at. The compressor comes with a rechargeable battery pack, and can be carried on the shoulder or attached to your belt thanks to a very practical and slick bag. The carrier bag feature an exra compartment for an additional optional battery pack which will give you twice the amount of time without having to plug in the unit. A single battery pack in any case will be enough to complete a whole beauty makeup and more. The airbrush included with the version of the kit that I purchased is another work horse in the airbrush makeup world, that is the Sparmax SP35 with its solid reliability and high quality, easy to replace components. With the launch of the Nebula line Kryolan started distributing an additional airbrush with a slightly bigger nozzle (0.4mm) in order to allow for the optimal flow of shimmery pigments. This is good but not strictly necessary, as the product will work well on smaller nozzles too. For our video shoot I have replaced the valve on my airbrush with a continuous airflow valve (often called "single action"), and I added a pressure regulator which at this time does not come with the standard kit. Doing this will make application on smaller, more delicate areas such as the eyes much easier, and will allow you greater control of the product, however these tweaks are not indispensable.

Kryolan Airbrush Kit and Nebula Products

Bridal airbrush makeup:Kryolan Nebula

Additional Nebula products

To make the cleaning process easier, Kryolan has created a specific Nebula Airbrush Cleaner. This is truly an excellent product that will allow you to clean and flush out your airbrush very easily and very fast, even if you use it in between colors. Cleaning at color changes in any case will only be necessary if you are switching to a much lighter shade or between very pigmented colors. In my not exactly limited experience I can attest that thanks to this cleaner Nebula is the silicone based product that is easiest to clean, bar none. Another effective product is the Nebula Remover, the makeup removing solution created specifically for this makeup. The very resistant Nebula colors can be removed also with any good silicone based makeup remover, but none will be faster and gentler than this.

Backstage secrets of our video shoot
The makeup shown in our video tutorial was made entirely by airbrush, except for eyeliner, mascara and lipstick. No brushes, HD powder or fixing sprays were used. The skin was prepped with silicon based Kryolan primers. The cuts in the filming are purely for timing, we have not touched up the makeup "off camera" in any way. Our model survived the water test and went on to wear the makeup for the rest of the day. She confirmed it held perfectly until it was removed.

Nebula by Kryolan: First Impression Review of the new Airbrush Makeup line!

Introducing Nebula by Kryolan: 54 shades for a natural yet super resistant makeup.

Kryolan is a legendary professional makeup brand. Since its beginning in Berlin, Germany in 1945, this company has been proudly run by its original founding family, and many of its products have become standards in the theatrical, fashion and film industry.  Airbrush makeup could not be missing from an extensive catalogue such as Kryolan's, and for several years the brand has been distributing three acclaimed product lines: Micro Foundation On Air (silicone based) Air Stream (water based) and Aqua Proof (alcohol based for body painting). In the last year however Kryolan has taken a further step in the airbrush makeup direction with a sizeable investment in the creation and the promotion of Nebula, a new line of innovative colors with a high pay off that was conceived primarily for beauty application. We couldn't wait to try these products and we are now ready to share our first impressions. Please come back to these pages next week for a full review and video tutorial of Kryolan's airbrush kit and Nebula line.

Nebula is a silicone based line that features 54 colors divided in 6 shade groups: Complexion 1 and 2 for foundation, Eyebrow, Irridescent 1 and 2 for eyeshadow and blush, Chromatic for opalescent eyeshadow and  finally Vivid, which includes six primary colors for any other use. 

Just like any other product in the Kryolan brand, Nebula has its own individual color chart, and its shades are not matching any other product directly. Nonetheless, the line itself is quite extensive, and offers endless mixing possibilities. The colors are sold in kits of 6 shades for each group, however you can also purchase them individually and build your kit more gradually.

The packaging of the products is one of the most attractive and luxurious I have seen for any airbrush makeup products. The color kits are presented in very elegant blue boxes with a magnetic lid, and featuring a slick brochure inside with tips on airbrush maintenance. The dispenser on the bottles opens with a half a turn anti clockwise, and the caps are relatively easy to keep clean. Any spill can be wiped quickly with alcohol 99, which won't affect the high quality printed labels.
The product's formula is silicone and acrylates based. That said, the makeup viscosity is very low, so much so that it can be used with the same low pressure you would apply to a water based product (5 PSI). With the launch of the Nebula range Kryolan has made a special airbrush available with a 0,4 mm nozzle, so that the shimmer pigments could be dispensed without difficulty, however you will be able to use this product even with smaller nozzles, as we did for the swatches below that were applied with a .25 airbrush.

The most remarkable characteristics of the Nebula line become evident when you apply the product: the colors are beautiful, can be layered to a high coverage and are super resistant: after a drying time that can vary to up to one minute, they become virtually indestructible, totally water proof and with zero transfer. As far as the colors are concerned, you can judge for yourself from the airbrushed swatches below: the photo was taken in natural light (please click on it to view it in full screen mode)

We can't wait to demonstrate a full beauty look made entirely with Nebula, which undoubtedly represents an interesting new option on the market. 

PRO TIPS:
Application: Apply the color in light passes, waiting a few seconds for each pass to dry. Lightness is a fundamental rule here as with most airbrushable products, especially when you are applying to delicate areas such as the eyelid, where you must avoid excessive layering that would result in shorter durability or cracking. 
Cleaning: You will not need to clean the airbrush when you change colors, simply discharge the previous color and test the following on a piece of paper to avoid mixed color output. At the end of the job you will have to use a silicone based cleaner or alcohol 99% followed by distilled water. Kryolan has created a very effective, alcohol based cleaner called Nebula Remover.
Availability: Nebula is available on Kryolan's website, through Kryolan's own stores or its many distributors. 
Ingredients:Dimethicone,Isododecane,Trimethylsiloxysilicate,Acrylates/
Polytrimethylsiloxymethacrylate Copolymer, Polymethylsilsesquioxane, Silica Dimethyl Silylate and may contain: [+/- Titanium Dioxide CI 77891, Iron Oxides CI 77491, Ferric Ferrocyanide CI 77510, Carmine CI 75470, Mica] May contain carmine as a color additive

Airbrush Makeup from Spain: Ten Image Kit Review and summer look Video Tutorial

Airbrush Makeup Ten Image

Ten Image is one of the most prestigious brands in the Spanish beauty industry. The brand was created by Cazcarra Image Group, an enterprise that was founded in 1985 by makeup artist Carmen Cazcarra and that soon became the most important beauty academy in the Country. The rapid growth of this business allowed it to invest in producing a complete range of makeup to cover every corner of the market, from trendy consumer oriented lines to the most demanding sectors such as speciall effects for theater and film. Of course airbrush makeup could not be missing from such an extensive catalogue of products. After seeing Ten Image products at several editions of Cosmoprof, I couldn't wait to have the opportunity to test the airbrush lines and the kit being offered by this company.

Compressor and Airbrush

Ten Image Airbrush Kit

I purchased my kit from a European distributor, and I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the instruments and the wealth of extra items that are most welcome additions to it. The compressor included in the kit is the very reliable DAC 25 by Sparmax, which is also the choice of many among the best makeup brands. The machine is very small and very quiet, yet powerful with a maximum output of 30 PSI. It can be powered from the mains or from a rechargeable battery pack, which is included together with a very handy, small carrying bag that you can wear attached to your belt of with a soulder strap.  The bag provides space compartments for the compressor, the battery pack and an additional battery unit that you can purchase separately. You will be able to complete a full body makeup on one charge of the batteries, but you may need to include and extra one or simply to plug in the unit if you are going to work on multiple people or to execute more taxing tasks such as body art. The airbush included in the kit is the Sparmax SP 35, also a classic shared by the best brands for its reliability and its nozzle of 0.35 mm that allows you to apply any type of airbrush makeup. The airbrush comes with a classic double action valve, which was switched by us immediately for a more convenient continuous airflow one. The kit also features a connector with a pressure regulator. This is a very important feature overlooked by some other brands offering the same equipment. Given the compressor's output the ability to lower the pressure for more delicate areas and finer work (such as eyeshadow) is crucial.

Additional Items

Also by Sparmax is the cleaning station that comes with the kit, provided here with two extra filters and a very practical plastic container that allows you to pack the jar without having to empty it if you have to clear your station in a hurry. Other extra item featured it the bundle I purchased were a plexiglass palette, two foam applicators and most importantly a 500 ml bottle of alcohol based cleaning fluid.  The product is very effective, leaving the airbrush clean and releasing a pleasant scent that does not linger for too long. Also provided were two more makeup items for Ten Image that I very much appreciated: a peach tone corrector and more importantly a bottle of Tensum, a very good, silicone free primer with a soft focus effect that you can see in action in the video.

The Makeup

Aibrush Makeup by Ten Image

Ten Image features eleven recently reformulated foundation shades and thirty more matte and shimmer colors for any application. All the makeup is water based, and the colors come in a generous 30 ml format. The foundation colors are very easy to apply and very comfortable to wear. The offer great coverage and above average resistance to water. The hues are perfect for the Latin and mediterranean skin tones for which they were originally designed, but easily adjustable to match any other tonality. The other colors impress us for the richness of their pigments. Some of them, such as the beautiful turquoise AM-41, must be applied in extra thin layers to avoid excesses. The shimmer colors have a spectacular finish, and can of course be mixed with any other, creating endless possibilities ranging form the most natural bridal looks to the most daring body art. Scroll down to see a few swatches of the colors we used in our video tutorial As always you can click on the images to view them in full screen mode.

You can find the Ten Image products on the Spanish website of the company, or through their international distributors such as their Birtish branch. As this is a professional line you may have to register to view the prices. To request information from outside of Spain you can write an email to  international@cazcarra.com The very nice memebers of the  Ten Image team speak English and will be happy to help you.

 

Please check this newly released  video to see the step by step tutorial for the first look we created with these product. The makeup that I created with my collaborator Angela Rosa is directly inspired by the collection released by Ten Image for summer 2016 by the name of Mediterranean Soul, and by the colors chosen by their Creative Director Jordi Justribò.

Foundation Ingredients: Aqua, Talc, Propylene Glycol, Glycerin, Phenxyethanol, Caprylyl Flycol, Magnesium Aluminium, Silicate, Ethyliexigliceryn. Pigments.
Other Colors Ingredients: Water, Clacium Carbonate, Paraffin Wax, Petrolatum, Dextrin, Glycerine, Stearyl Alcohol, Acacia Senegal, Sodium Benzoate, Perfume, Pigments.

Fondos para aerògrafo de Ten Image by Cazcarra

Colores para aerògrafo de Ten Image by Cazcarra

Airbrush Makeup Revolution: Temptu Air, Airpod Pro, Root Color andHydra Lock -Review and Video

Temptu has been at the forefront of airbrush makeup innovation for many years, and you only need to look at our reviews of their products to know how much we love this brand. Having said that, we weren't prepared for the amount of improvements and advances that came from this company in the last year alone. During our recent trip to Los Angeles we were lucky enough to be able to meet with the lovely and talented Jackie Fan, Temtptu's manager of Global Education and Artistry, right before her move to the East Coast where she will continue her work with this brand after the consolidation of the LA branch in to the New York operation. 

Jackie was kind enough to take us through the many new products that are coming out this year. Some of these are already huge hits in the industry, like the portable device Temptu Air. Others were literally just being launched at the impending show, like the AirPod Pro, the new Root colors and the Hydra Lock foundation.  We managed to sneak a peak of most of these, and others were described by Jackie in our extensive interview that we will publish very soon as part of our Airbrush Makeup Gurus series. 

Temptu Air

Temptu Air is a portable, standalone rechargeable device that was created to work with Temtpu's AirPods. As we live in Europe we had yet to see this item in person, and I was somewhat prejudiced against it as I thought it might be a bit gimmicky and flimsy. All my preconceived notions were shattered as soon as I tried it in my hands. This beautiful, slick little gem is sturdy, powerful and unbelievably quiet. The battery charges via a USB cable and lasts unbelievably long, we are talking up to a month for personal daily use.  It has three pressure settings that change at the touch of a button, and are all powerful and consistent. The soft touch control button allows for great precision, making the application even easier than with the original AirPod airbrush. While remaining super easy to use for consumers, the Temptu Air marks the definitive transition of the Airpod product into the professional world, where it offers many practical advantages that we will illustrate in a full review coming soon. Oh, and did I mention how QUIET it is?

The new Airpod Formula

The AirPod makeup formula has been improved for a while now, but it bears repeating. The new makeup is much more similar to the original SB formula. Gone is the strong floral smell that was so bothersome to many, the iper moveability and the remarkably shiny finish. The new Airpod product has all these aspects under control and the resulting makeup is simply spectacular, losing none of the advantages offered by the silicone formulation. It also flows much better out of the caps, making clogs and hiccups a thing of the past.

Airpod Pro

Of course the Airpod system, based on pre filled capsules of color, had one last congenital flaw: the colors could not be mixed, inevitably restricting an artist's freedom to some degree. Enter the new Airpod Pro. This is essentially an Airpod capsule with a working opening at the top, allowing you to fill it with whatever color or color mix you can imagine, and then to use it with you Temptu Air device or with the traditional AirPod airbrush. The fact that the AirPod Pro has a 0.5 nozzle size means that practically any kind of airbrush makeup will be usable with this system, although I imagine you'll have to be careful with more fluid formulas like water based products. The AirPod Pro was just about to be launched at the Makeup Show, so we weren't actually able to see it and will review it as our US collaborator sends us one. 

Airpod Root & Hair Touch Up Color

Airpod Root & Hair is a silicone based line of colors for hair that can be also used for your eyebrows, as Jackie demonstrates so well in our video. The application is fast and the finish is soft and diffused enough to produce an amazingly natural effect. There are seven shades available covering any need, and the product is also available as a traditional Pro Sarter Set to be used with your AirPod Pro or with your traditional airbrush.

Hydra Lock Foundation

This is another product that we couldn't see yet as it was still to be launched, but it is certainly worth mentioning. The SB foundation line from Temptu has become an industry standard and the paragon for any silicone based airbrush product. The brand is now trying to up the ante with Hydra Lock, a new silicone based product that claims to have four times the hydrating power of Hyaluronic Acid. The line has a whopping 18 colors, but that's all we know, because while this product has just been released on the Temtpu website.  All we can say is... we can't wait!

New Aribrush Makeup content coming soon!

 

Dear readers, 

we are very excited to be planning our return to reporting after a long hiatus due to international work contracts. Amazing experiences that have enriched us as writers and as beauty industry fanatics, but that have left us little time in the last few months to dedicate to new reviews and videos. 

This is all about to change now, but not before we come back from our next trip to the West Coast, where we will visit again with the top airbrush makeup brands and where we will gather even more material that will be used in the upcoming months for your enjoyment -and ours. 

There are many new products and tools to report on, so please come back to these pages soon, we are looking forward to being your guides again through the amazing world of Airbrush Makeup. 

...for real time updates, please don't forget our Facebook Page, our Instagram and Twitter accounts.  

Stay tuned...

Daniel, Stuart, Angela and the AirbrushMakeupGuru team!

The State of Airbrush Makeup 2016: truth beyond fiction, and the rant of all rants!

Visit our LINKS page to view the most complete Airbrush Makeup Directory on line!

In early 2011 I was shopping online for my very first airbrush makeup kit. Five years, over 15 more kits and countless applications later that initial curiosity has turned into a passion -some would say obsession- for this amazing technique. Today, as we publish the most complete and up to date directory of airbrush makeup brands worldwide, the time has come to reflect on where airbrushing stands in the makeup industry, and on where it's going.

The Gold Standard

Since the advent of HD technology, the expression "airbrushed finish" has become a leit-motif in the beauty industry.  Some courageous and passionate artists and entrepreneurs have devised a way to achieve that goal with an actual airbrush, and have built brands and a whole culture around this. They have become unsung heroes in an often ungrateful industry that never fully acknowledged them at a mainstream level, yet has burnt all the stops to do exactly what they do while maintaining their marketing margins. Almost all the leading mainstream makeup brands today are offering products conceived to achieve said "airbrushed finish". Some of them mimic the texture of those produced by actual airbrush makeup brands,  yet are made with roughly three times the amount of chemical ingredients. These foundations are so similar to our airbrush formulas that you can actually apply them with an airbrush, but are marketed to the public as "easy to use" liquid foundations.  I am talking about major brands ranging from Dior, with its Nude Air foundation line, to Lancome with its Miracle Air de Teint, all the way down to Maybelline and Boots with its N.7 line. Some of these brands have even got so far as bottling their foundation in a spray can, yet none of them would even dream of marketing an actual made-for-airbrush line, with the notable exception of Mac Pro. The question is, can airbrushing have a life outside of the echelon of the professional world, or will it forever be considered a difficult niche dominated only by the most skilled or the most fanatical?

Enter the Airbrush Makeup Brands.

With the mainstream market locked in this ambivalence, the art of airbrush makeup has been able to advance thanks to smaller companies who have made it their focus. Some of these, like Kett, Graftobian and MUD, only cater to professionals. Others like the legendary originators Dinair and  their silicone based counterpart Temptu have kept their professional lines but have also opened up to the mainstream public, and have worked tirelessly to promote the idea that anyone can airbrush makeup with great results. While Temptu offers a simplified tool created for the consumer (the AirPod), Dinair has made its own airbrush kits as consumer friendly and easy to use and maintain as possible, and invests enormous amounts of energy in its training, with courses that aim to teach anybody to tackle any aspect of makeup application with an actual airbrush.

Next to these and other historical brands, a plethora of smaller companies has emerged that try and ride the "airbrush wave". Some have a genuine commitment to quality and represent interesting alternatives to more renown names. Others are in it only for a marketing opportunity, and often disappear as quickly as they surface. We are actually sad to see them go, because even the most basic of them may offer someone an introduction into the world of airbrushing, and if I do say so myself, even the "worst" airbrush brand I have tried has allowed me to get above average results over their traditional counterparts. 

The Real Enemy

The professional makeup world has long been aware of airbrushing. In the United States the technique has officially become a part of the curricula of beauty schools. In spite of this there seems to be no uniformity in the actual teaching of the subject, which is left in many cases in the hands of teachers who have a limited view and knowledge of the subject themselves, and who fall prey to many misconceptions. False myths and lack of proper education, coupled with arrogance, are the worst enemies of airbrush makeup. Certain makeup artists will take a short class with a minor brand and immediately start pontificating on YouTube on how "you should do this", and you can NEVER, under ANY circumstance "do that" with an airbrush. I personally know of a teacher charging $ 600  for a 5 hour class on airbrushing foundation only, because "it is absolutely impossible to do anything else". Another teacher in an accredited school was teaching their class that they should disassemble their airbrush and clean completely it after each single change of color. It is a wonder that any of the unfortunate students pursued the discipline outside of that school...

Europe and the World at large

If the public at large in the USA is becoming aware of airbrushing as a valid alternative, Europe represents practically virgin territory in this respect.  With Customs restrictions on makeup of any kind making even import for personal use very difficult, makeup enthusiasts who live in the EU have to rely mostly on local distributors of American brands. However some new European brands have started to produce more comprehensive and very valid lines, such as Mistair and AirBase in the UK, and Cazcarra in Spain. The first brands have also started emerging in Africa, Oceania and Asia, where the culture of perfect complexion borders on the extreme Even China has a very interesting offering with the wide range of products conceived by Taiwanese makeup artist Nien Tsz Lee. 

The Truth about airbrush makeup

The truth about airbrushing makeup is one and simple, and this whole website, the videos we produce and  all we do lives to attest it: airbrushing can do EVERYTHING.  My own experience shows that "if it isn't working for you, you are simply not doing it right". The larger question of course is why should you bother? The answer is up to your enthusiasm and your preference. Whether you are a makeup artist or a home user, airbrushing doesn't have to replace your brushes -although it could. It can simply be an alternative or an enhancement of what you already know. But be sure to give it a fair chance, and you may never want to do without it again. So many of those who have, like myself, believe that airbrushing allows them to achieve a faster, cleaner, healthier and ultimately more precise makeup application.

The Future

Innovation remains the key objective and the most marketable aspect of any beauty related enterprise. In the airbrush makeup field the leading brands have been expanding their lines significantly to cover any skin type and any corrective need. Airbrush equipment has never looked so attractive, with a strong emphasis on portability that has seen both Temptu and Dinair come up with rechargeable, ultra compact systems for consumer use. Yet airbrushing is unlikely to achieve mainstream dominance anytime soon. The reason is simple: profit. With its reliance on a single tool, and with the extremely high color payoff and coverage power of even the basic formulations, there is simply a lot less to exploit in terms of marketing and sales. Why should big companies promote an airbrush when they can sell a set of twenty five brushes with a 400% markup? Too much is invested in traditional makeup for it to change quickly, and for the time being airbrushing remains a well guarded "industry secret". The best example that comes to mind is that of a mega popular TV period drama, where the makeup is admittedly airbrushed using one of those previously mentioned historic brands, but where the head of the makeup department was sponsored by a totally unrelated traditional makeup brand to show how to achieve that same look "the traditional way". Whether public awareness will ever wake up or not to the effectiveness of the airbrush application, to those who have experienced its advantages airbrush makeup has become irreplaceable.

So much so that I will finish this little rent by paraphrasing none other than the Bard himself:

"If makeup be the food of love... spray on!"


Daniel Pacini,
Editor,
www.airbrushmakeupguru.com 

This article is dedicated to all the hard working dreamers that push this wonderful medium forward, against all odds. Thank you for spraying the world beautiful. 

Disclaimer: no compensation or sponsorship of any kind was received by the author for writing the above. This article, like any other on this website, reflects the author's genuine experience and opinion. 

How to airbrush a Zombie makeup: easy Step by Step guide for Halloween and beyond

Halloween is coming, so let's have fun with an easy, step by step tutorial for a fantastic Zombie makeup. No airbrush? No problem, you can still realize this look by traditional methods, although it may take you a little longer. You can see all the steps in our video tutorial as well. In this post we will give you more information on the materials we used and their possible alternatives. All the materials we will use come from our favorite makeup store: Camera Ready Cosmetics, who ship fast all over the world and have the best customer service imaginable (and no, they did NOT pay us to say this, lol). Let's Start!

WARNING: Safety first. Make sure that you or your model are not allergic to any of the materials used. We will be using alcohol based colors: eyes and mouth must be kept closed when spraying these areas, and be careful not to inhale when spraying around the nose. When blow drying someone else's face always keep your other hand in between the airflow and their skin, to ensure the heat remains tolerable. Finally be very careful of both your instrument and your skin when exposing the needle tip of your airbrush for spattering and veining. Contact lenses must meet safety standards and used according to guidelines.

STEP ONE: Prosthetic application

We are using a foam latex prosthetic called Whoochie Face. These are ready made, professional quality applications distributed by Graftobian. They adapt well to any face shape and the final result is amazing! Start by removing any excess oil on the skin. Prep the application by spreading a thin coat of Graftobian Pro Adhesive all over the prosthetic. Be very careful with the thin edges: they will easily fold and stick to themselves, so try to avoid this at all costs. Use a blow drier on low heat until the glue is clear, then position the prosthetic on the face and use more Pro Adhesive to glue the edges down. Once you have done that, fill any gaps between the edges and the skin with "Bondo" (Pro Adhesive mixed with silica powder), and blow dry on low heat until all glue is clear. Set the edges with Ben Nye Neutral Set, and brush the excess powder off.

ALTERNATIVE MATERIALS: Graftobian's Pro Adhesive behaves exactly like Pros Aide but is less expensive. This glue remains tacky so you can move your prosthetic a few times for optimal positioning.  Spirit gum is a cheaper alternative but it is less flexible and harsher on the skin. If Bondo is not at hand you can stipple a few layers of liquid latex to fill in the edges of the prosthetic. This will take longer as you will need to dry and powder each layer.

STEP TWO: Base Coat 

You will need to make sure the prosthetic and the face are color before starting the actual paint job. We started using alcohol based paints but found them too sheer and not very effective for this purpose. So we decided to use a product called Colair Extreme by Dinair. This is an amazing cosmetic with total blocking power, and we were able to achieve a uniform effect with just a couple of passes. Once applied, you may want to powder lightly with Neutral Set before proceeding. We actually didn't, and it worked out just fine.  

ALTERNATIVE MATERIALS: Pax paint (a mixture of Pros-Aide glue and acrylic paint) would have been the traditional choice for blocking out the application. However Colair Extreme is just as effective, much easier to clean from the airbrush, cheaper, gentler on the skin and comes in a wider variety of colors than Pax. 

  

STEP THREE: Color Application 

Spattering is the best technique you can use to create a multi layered, more realistic effect, because it mimics the natural texture of the skin. It is also ideal for blending the edge of the prosthetic into invisibility. Spattering basically means achieving a color tonality by layering a multitude of translucent speckles of color, much like the printing process where what looks like one color to the naked eye is actually obtained by tiny dots of different shades laying next to each other. While some airbrushes have specific tips to do this, but you can easily obtain a spatter effect with any airbrush simply by removing the needle cap and the nozzle cap (the two parts that unscrew at the tip), and setting your compressor on very low pressure, then use a flickering action on the trigger. We have used European Body Art's Endura colors. These are alcohol based paints used by some of the best professionals, and most famously on the set of Face Off. They are already sheer, but you may want to dilute them more with Alcohol 99% in order to get a finer, more natural effect. We didn't and we should have, but we wanted our work to "read" more quickly for the purpose of the video. If the spatter is too saturated and individual dots too visible, you can dim the effect by blotting the application, but be fast as alcohol based colors dry very quickly. Spattering can be a lengthy process, but the result is worth it. We wanted a classic "green" zombie, so we layered yellow first, then blue, then green to add more punch. 

ALTERNATIVE MATERIALS: You can used an old toothbrush or a cheap brush with short bristles to achieve a spatter with your fingers without an airbrush. We find that airbrushing offers more control and less contact between paints and skin, which we always welcome.

STEP FOUR: Highlights and Shading 

We used a less diluted amount of Endura color to create lowlights and shading. The process of is very easy as the prosthetic's sculpted shapes will make it very obvious. For a final highlight, and to simulated the thinness of the skin stretched on the features, we used Endura Face Off flesh tone in Warm Two.

STEP FIVE: Veining
Airbrushing is a wonderful, fast and easy medium for creating realistic veins. Remove the needle cap (the outermost removable part of the tip of the airbrush) and use distance and pressure to create veins of different size and intensity. Practice on paper first. Achieving a purple-ish vein color was easy: simply mix Endura Red and Blue colors.

ALTERNATIVE MATERIALS: Fine brushes. ...Yawn.

STEP SIX: Eyes and teeth 

You can create very realistic redness around the eyes with a product called Glazing Gel by PPI/Skin Illustrator. This is water based, so it will not irritate the very delicate eye area. For further punch use a red lip liner pencil on the rim of the eye. Finally, nothing is more effective to complete the makeup than a pair of Zombie lenses. We used some great disposable ones by a British company called MesmerEyez. Whatever brand you choose, make sure they meet safety standard and beware of cheap ones that can cause severe damage to your eyes. 

To achieve a more believable Zombie mouth we used black from PPI's On Set FX Palette. Be sure to dry the teeth before applying the color, and right after application use your airbrush on air only to set it.

STEP SEVEN: Blood

No Zombie look would be complete with a little bit of fake blood. We used two types: Ben Nye Thick Blood for a head wound effect, and a capsule from Ben Nye mouth Kit to create the gory mouth effect that you see at the end of the video. Ben Nye's fake blood is an industry standard, it is safe and even tastes good!

Have a fantastic, fun filled and safe Halloween!!!