Launch of New Website Airbrush Makeup Salon

July 25, 2011 - PRLog -- Airbrush Makeup Salon is a new website launched by makeup artist Michelle Harris as an online space for users of airbrush makeup to share their knowledge. The website has a host of information including news, reviews, videos, instructional how-to guides as well as a business directory for makeup artists who specialize in airbrushing to list their business. As far as we are aware this is the first such business directory aimed specifically at airbrush makeup artists and not makeup artists in general.

Airbrush Makeup has become extremely popular in the last decade due to the increase in small, portable consumer level systems and a higher quality of makeup. No longer is the makeup simply body paint mixed with a fixative. Rather, most airbrush makeup is now either silicone or water-based and includes finely ground mineral pigments and often contains vitamins and moisturizing properties.

Proponents of airbrushing say it is more hygienic than traditional makeup which requires the user to make physical contact with their skin with either a brush, sponge or their fingers. This can be extremely irritating to sensitive skin, especially if the makeup tools have not been cleaned correctly. Airbrush makeup is applied when air from a compressor mixes with makeup through the airbrush gun to form a fine mist of makeup that sits on the surface of the skin. This mode of application allows many brands of airbrush makeup to be recommended as hypoallergenic.

Airbrush Makeup Salon is being billed as 'The Home of Airbrush Makeup' simply because there is no other site like it on the internet. While many brands have extensive and informative websites, they do not offer opinions or endorsements outside of their own brands. These websites tend to provide information such as guides to applying makeup foundation with an airbrush makeup gun or videos on similar themes in which the primary tools used belong to the brand being promoted only. The strength of a website like Airbrush Makeup Salon is that it can collate the features of several brands and perform a side-by-side comparison, listing the best features of each as well as the negative attributes.

The How-To guides on Airbrush Makeup Salon are not brand specific. Rather, they are an informative, general guide to those new to airbrushing. The website also has an extensive list of tips and tricks which may be novel to those who have been in the field for some time.

Events such as competitions or new product launches are also reported on in Airbrush Makeup Salon. Many of these airbrush-related products are directly reviewed and are becoming popular with visitors to the website who often have difficultly finding information on the subject collated into one single location. These same visitors are finding great enjoyment watching the many videos on airbrushing makeup. A curated group of the best videos on airbrush makeup, they range from product reviews to actual demonstrations of how the protagonists apply their makeup.

Amongst the many reviews, views, tips, tricks and videos on the newly launched Airbrush Makeup Salon, the strongest feature may prove to be the Airbrush Makeup Artist Business Directory. This is an ever expanding list of businesses whose owners specialize in airbrushing makeup only. Users are able to visit the directory and search by specific keywords or location. This can be done either via a search box or drop down tool. Makeup artists who are looking to promote their businesses can enter details such as their phone number, email address, website, street address (if applicable), phone number as well as a brief description about themselves and their business.

So what are the aims of the website? For site owner and main contributor, Michelle Harris, the website is not aiming to promote any one brand or product. Rather, it is about the promotion of a relatively new technique in the beauty industry which has only recently become available to the average consumer. While the fashion, film and theater industries have used airbrushing for many, many decades it is only recently that advances in technology and mass production allowed several companies to produce high quality machines and components (such as small, light-weight compressors and airbrush guns) as well as high performing and long lasting, quality makeup.

Almost all brands base their kits on the same kinds of systems that you might be familiar with if you've ever done any airbrushing course for painting and drawing. It is essentially the same thing except for the beauty industry, the canvas is one's face. However, the lines have been blurred even more as many makeup artists move into the creation of temporary tattoos, stenciling or special effects (such as those we see in the film industry or in costume design). The only brand which has aimed to reduce its product's versatility is Temptu whose system utilizes a proprietary 'pod'–essentially a capsule with makeup inside it that clicks into the specially designed machine, allowing air to pass through to create a fine mist of foundation, blush or highlights. The aim of such a system is to simplify what is often perceived as quite a daunting or specialist art and also to capture a market which would otherwise only associate airbrushing with the art, hobby, or industrial design industries. The strengths of such a system are that they minimize the cleaning required and simplify the maintenance. However, with such a pod system it is impossible to mix the different tones as it is an enclosed capsule. This has marginalized the company since the creation of your own colors is often seen as integral to perfect tone matching and is a required feature for professional level artists.

As a side note, there is also some controversy over which base is better: silicone or water. Proponents of silicone claim it produces much better coverage and suits modern filming equipment and broadcast displays in high definition. Any flaws in either the skin or application of foundation will show up ten-fold in HD. However, a significant percentage of the population is actually allergic to silicone and will break out upon contact with the substance. On the other hand, water-based makeup is hypoallergenic but will produce a more sheer, or subtle, coverage. This, of course, can be countered by building layers which is the strength of airbrushing.

As with any budding successful website, Airbrush Makeup Salon has its own Facebook fan page and has already garnered over 160 fans which is a stunning result for a newly listed website with a soft-launch. There is a very large community of airbrushers out there and it seems like they are very quickly flocking to http://www.airbrushmakeupsalon.com