I’ve had a can of Dior’s Airflash foundation hanging about at home for a while and I have to admit that I hadn’t liked it very much: until I found out that I’ve been using it in completely the wrong way! I’ve been spraying my face as though painting a car and – as the makeup artist Jamie Coombes showed me when I was in Cannes – you have to have a really light touch. It’s a mist rather than a direct application of colour – you press so lightly on the cannister that you can’t believe that any foundation would ever be coming out! When Jamie used the Airflash on me, I really thought that he was joking; it just felt like air. I didn’t think that there could possibly be any effect.
But there is an effect: it’s a really blurry, perfectly airbrushed kind of finish. The coverage is actually far greater than you would think, considering that it feels as though someone is puffing air at you – and the longevity is also surprising. I had my makeup done at 2pm and it was still quite perfect at 1am. (And that’s with catwalking, bubbly, dinner and dancing in between!)
In terms of method, you just spray the Airflash on and then leave it to its own devices – though Jamie did lightly buff his in with a soft brush… Perhaps that’s the key – when I have tried it at home, I love the effect but it’s not quite so hazy and lovely as Jamie’s Red Carpet skin. I’ve included some Cannes behind-the-scenes pictures above (mainly because in the middle one Jamie looks as though he’s karate-chopping me in the throat) but you can see my “homemade” photos below. I spritzed the Airflash on over the CC Primer, also in a can – here’s the before photo:
And here is the after:
You can see that it has given me a bit of colour – this is shade 001, but Jamie used 201 and 301 when I was in the victim’s chair. I personally like the tone that this one has; warm but not too much so. Bear in mind that my lips have been sprayed over, so it makes my face look slightly more tanned than it actually is!
Here’s a close-up after mascara and so on; the tone is warmer here because the light has changed (I’m closer to the camera) but you can see what a perfected, airbrushed look this Can o’ Foundation gives. I didn’t ever think that a spray can of foundation would be my “thing” but I must say that it’s pretty useful for a bit of flawless finishing. Jamie used it after concealing only the parts of my face that needed it, and it seemed to somehow let my natural skin show through. I like that – it’s a veil of pigment, rather than anything sitting solidly on the skin. I can also imagine (though apologies, can’t support this theory yet as I’ve only just begun testing) that the can will last a while. You get a whopping 70ml in a can, rather than the 30ml you get in a standard bottle. And I would hazard a guess that you’d use a hell of a lot less with the can. Same price, pretty much; on Escentual.com the Airflash can is £33 and the other foundations start at about £32/£33.
My only “but” would be that with the Airflash you tend to catch a bit of your hairline, and all of your eyelashes and lips, and there are parts that are left out, like the rim around your eyes and bits of your eyelids. Nothing that a swift flick of the brush can’t fix, but it’s my job to point these things out! So what do you think? I’m something of a convert but would love to know if you’ve tried it and how you got on…
Find Airflash at Escentual.com here.
Used one time with nice base LaBase,didn’t look like I had put make up on.very disappointed,added more spray not much difference.used color 200 med, since I’m fair light eyes. HELP