Friday 28 October, 2011 at 4:18 am Archives, Reviews
Dearest Minions,
Airbrushing keeps popping up everywhere I turn! and in the past I’ve got quite a few questions about it… So I think its time to introduce you to a popular system. This time I’ll be reviewing the Dinair “Studio Beauty Kit”!
Reviewed Below
Dinair Studio Beauty Kit Alabaster
Pro beauty airbrush Vanilla (new shade)
Compressor Olive Beige
Airshadow Shield Soft pink
Eyebrow stencil set Cloudy pink
Moist and Dewy Light Green
Airbrush cleaner Light Bronze
Air hose Jet Black
Instructional dvd Red Glamour
Personal brochure White adjuster
zipper carry bag
First Impression
My first impression came from Dinairs webstore where I placed my order. Shopping with Dinair was incredibly simple and I was excited to see my order shipped the same day. It took four days for my package to show up on my doorstep. I wasted no time ripping through the shipping tape, inside I was greeted by light blue tissue paper (a nice touch). All of my items.. stylus, compressor, makeup, etc where packaged individually… “wait a minute”… it was about this point that I had an epiphany…
Thinking back to my Luminess unboxing I couldn’t help but notice, wheres all the branding?! the butterflies, logos, glittery… junk?! To my amazement, they didn’t have win me over.. they really do stand by their product (something I can appreciate when laying down over $200.00).
Before we continue, lets get something straight, though this IS a Dinair review, it would be difficult (and stupid?) of me not to compare the brand with Luminess… Its important for you to know that there are things I love and dislike about both products! I the end YOU can decide for yourself which product is best for you.
Lets start from the beginning shall we? With my kit I was prompted to choose eight colors from Dinairs selection, I decided to focus on creating a full face variety so I could get a better impression of the product line. I picked three foundation shades that I thought might be a match for my skin or could be mixed to achieve one (I’m very pale and unfortunately TRANSPARENT wasn’t an option LOL).
Foundation
Okay, if you’ve read any of my reviews, this is where I bitch about my pale, dry, sensitive and hard to color match skin. When it came time to find my color I was surprisingly at ease.. I could clearly see that “Alabaster” was too pink, which left me with “Vanilla” and “Olive Beige” which I mixed to find my shade. The Dinair formula is creamy and goes on matte with medium coverage. Comparing the two brands side by side I noticed that Dinair not only provides more coverage with less product used, but also feels smooth to the touch when dry. The Luminess foundation is much more watered down looking and has a rougher feel when dry (almost chalky). I should add that Dinairs foundation is much more forgiving on severely dry skin.
I am in no way an airbrush or even a makeup expert, but I do know one thing.. comparing the Dinair and Luminess Fair color ranges was a very strange sight. Here you can view swatches side by side.. see how much darker the Luminess is.. and very orange/Yellow looking? Currently Dinair’s foundation line has eight more shades than Luminess, filling in those color gaps makes all the difference!
above you can see Dinair vs Luminess, going from light to dark these are fair shades 1-3
Concealer
I’m a concealer junkie! My super pale skin magnifies any imperfections, so I couldn’t wait to try Dinairs correctors. My most visible skin issues are redness and blemishes, to eliminate the problems I chose the Light Green concealer. To test the pigmentation of the concealer, I sprayed a thin layer over my nose (where I have bit of a red flush).. the corrector did a great job of evening out the discoloration without making me look like a swamp monster (win!)! Next I used Light Green on a small patch of old and new break out, the first and second pass diminished the problem, but did not fully cover it. I was still pretty happy with the formula because it felt and looked light even when layered. After applying my foundation the trouble areas disappeared and looked very naturally healthy, the corrector wasn’t visible through the foundation at all!
Blush
To be honest, blush is my biggest problem when it comes to airbrushing!.. My first attempt was with my Luminess blush, while it was a pretty color, it still was a bit “loud” for my taste and was easily over done. Comparing the brands I like the Dinair blushers more, they’re subtle.. thats not to say they aren’t super pigmented because they really are and you can just as easily over due it if you’re feeling cocky LOL. I only need two drops of product to do both of my cheeks and I always have a bit left over. I feel a bit more in control with the Dinair blush in Soft pink and Cloudy Pink, they aren’t over powering on pale skin. I even combined the two and made my own blush shade!!
Eyeshadow
Shadow and blush continue to be the most difficult part of airbrushing for me.. I come from years and years of traditional makeup application (using brushes). Being a complete newbie, I will say that Dinair gives you all the help you could ever need to feel in control and adjust to the airbrush. I am quickly becoming an airshadow fan, I’m a sucker for bright shadows and Dinairs line gives me a lot of choices (something Luminess lacks.. bright options)! Something about the Dinair system made me feel really comfortable right off the bat and I even used the Light bronze on my lids just to play around.. I’m shocked at how wearable the more intense colors are (Red Glamour, Jet Black).
Stylus and Compressor
At a glance the Dinairs stylus looks much like the Luminess stylus.. The distinct differences are very small and are mostly cosmetic. One thing I did notice is that the Luminess stylus has line marks so you can easily judge how far back you’re pulling the lever. Don’t be worried.. Dinair has its own set of training wheels via their practice rings which slide up the stylus to block you from pulling the lever too far (giving you more control when you start out). I do prefer the practice rings over the lines, you don’t really have to take them off as you become more familiar.. and its nicer than having to recheck which notch you’re resting at constantly (the Luminess stylus leaves more room for error and bad habits). Both styluses are lightweight, though I find the Dinair much lighter for some reason..
Over all I reeeally love the Dinair compressor, I’m learning fast how to adjust for different styles of makeup (raising and lowering the psi). Both compressors are small and travel well.. Dinairs compressor is much smaller than the Luminess and also has larger grips at its base which keeps it from sliding when in use. I did find the compressor louder than the Luminess’ low hum.. I’m not bothered by either machine, but I can see how in a professional setting, people might be put off as its harder to talk to your client over the noise. Another small flaw is that the Dinair does get rather warm (not hot) when in use for longer periods of time… compared to my Luminess I’d say they reach around the same temperature. A very fun feature that gives Dinair the edge is having the ability to customize your compressor, I chose Blue Ribbon coloring and its gorgeous!!
Noob Tip – We all know that proper, regular maintenance can keep your machine running like new… be kind to the compressor and let it rest (turn it off or on the lower setting) if it feels too warm.. respect the equipment and it’ll respect you!
Extras: Moist and Dewy
Moist and Dewy, hands down was made for ME… I am in love with this product! I already really liked the Dinair foundation because it didn’t settle into my dry spots, one quick pass of Dewy on top of my foundation and I look instantly moisturized and have the most amazing glow.. my new holy grail product! Be sure to keep it to a minimum.. you can quickly go from sexy and glowy to… wet and disgusting looking lmao.. I’m serious!!
Customize
I was really pleased to see that there was an option to customize your compressor. For no additional cost I had the choice of four different colored compressors… Champagne, White Pearl, Red Sparkle and Black Onyx! For those who want more customization, extra colors are available for purchase… the solid colors are really beautiful and include Lime Green (looks awesome!), Fuschia, Blue Ribbon, Yellow, Deep Purple, Pink Candy, Bronze and Turquoise ($19.95). If you’re into funky prints they also have zebra and leopard options ($39.95).
Brow Guides and Shield
I’m still very new to airbrush eyeshadow.. I was previously a little disappointed that my Luminess kit didn’t come with any shield guides for newbies. The shield is a fantastic helping hand for both novices and pro users, its a million times less frustrating to learn airshadow with the proper tools! The shield and brow guides make a huge difference in the quality of your finished look.
DVD
I mentioned my distaste for the Luminess dvd in my review, I felt that it was more of an advertising tool than a helpful guide for beginners. I was really interested to see the Dinair dvd, I expected much of the same, but was pleasantly surprised. I picked up a lot of tips that I use and practice in my routine and feel like I’m getting better every time I airbrush.
Pros – The Studio Beauty Kit is complete and comes with everything you will need to start airbrushing. Dinair has fantastic customer service! I felt comfortable with their representative and got great advice on color matching. Dinair’s formulas are easy on sensitive skin, don’t grease up and hide dry skin well. I’m prone to break outs, especially when I try new products, with Dinair my skin responded very positively and I got maybe two blemishes… no biggie. Airbrushing is a thousand times more sanitary than using brushes and sponges! The stylus is easy to maintain and shouldn’t need to be replaced like brushes often do. I’m able to use my stylus on a friend right after I use it on myself with no cleaning (unless I’m changing colors).. it saves time and money..
Cons – The one big thing I noticed was my airbrush hose becomes detached from my compressor if I use the high pressure feature… this can be quite annoying. I find myself having to tuck the end of the hose under the machine so it won’t be pushed off by the air pressure (this doesn’t happen all the time).
UPDATE – I was told that this problem is due to a clog that happens when the makeup dries… this mostly occurs when the machine has been on too long (the silicone hose heats up and expands), with a quick clean and rest you’re compressor is in perfect working order!
I won’t mind buying makeup when my trial bottles run out, but I hate the thought of purchasing special cleaner for the machine! Though the citrus solution is very cheap, Luminess has the edge in this department… a mix of alcohol and water are perfect for cleaning the Luminess stylus. I believe that the Dinair stylus CAN be cleaned with alcohol and water as they mention this as a cleaning method when using their paramedical line of foundation.
Price – Its no secret that an airbrush system can be a large investment, especially with some systems costing well over $400.00! My Studio Beauty Kit retails at $259.00 plus shipping and included everything I needed to get started airbrushing, plus extras! I consider myself to be semi frugal when it comes to purchasing cosmetics.. with that being said, I think the Dinair prices are extremely fair and competitive.. especially when you factor in the quality of the makeup and how long they’ll last.
Customer service
This marks my second airbrush experience so I’m still very green.. While shopping with Luminess I hardly had to make choices.. fair, medium, tan or dark and matte or satin. So choosing my own Dinair makeup was a bit exciting and scary!
While choosing my foundation I wanted to keep it at two or three shades, so I could sample some of the other products… I thought Alabaster and Vanilla would be a great mix for me, oh how wrong I was haha. I almost didn’t get Olive Beige because I thought it was too dark, a Dinair rep helped me by looking at my blog pictures and assured me it would work in a mix. I’m so grateful for her help! without it, I wouldn’t have a workable foundation.
I hope this review was informative.. I’ve learned so much more using the Dinair Studio Beauty Kit and look forward to creating some unique looks for you all! I will still keep my Luminess as a back up machine, but I’m more interested in working with my Dinair as its a bit more multi functional and advanced (double action with more settings). If you are like me or even more experienced with airbrushing, I can totally recommend the Dinair systems! they’re sleek, affordable, advanced without being scary, come with extras (stencils, distance guides, more makeup..etc) and generally are just well put together when compared to other machines. I found the Dinair staff very knowledgeable, all my questions were answered promptly and explained in an easily understandable way. I’m very happy to have had the chance to review the product, I’m more impressed than I can say. The Dinair system is truly a product you can grow with rather than out grow.
“Love” Miss Massacre
