How an Airbrush for Makeup Works

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Roger Riggle
Roger Riggle Make Up, LLC
www.rogerriggle.com  
(301) 948-6527 x3

Roger Bennett Riggle has been a licensed, professional make up artist for over 20 years. He began at Kinetic Artistry, a theatrical supply house in Takoma Park, MD. During his 10 years there, Roger managed the make up department -7 different lines; sales, consultation and artistry.

Roger has hosted numerous Washington, D.C instructional seminars for area artists; everything from beauty and photography make up to Halloween transformations and special effects make up techniques. Roger worked for over 10 years as the make up artist for Tom Radcliffe, a leader in headshot photography at the Point of View Studio also in Takoma Park, MD. Roger applied the photographic make up to thousands of actors, sports celebrities, musicians and opera singers.

Roger specializes in Halloween make-overs and the transforming of personalities for diverse, special events. In addition, Roger has created special make up effects for disaster simulation used in the training of nurses, doctors and EMS personnel. His credits include triage exercises at the Baltimore/Washington International Airport, for the Secret Service, and for the UHUHS military training facility. Roger has also designed for numerous theatrical productions which entails researching and articulating the authenticity of period styles.

Roger has a degree in drama from the Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. and, since 1978, has choreographed, directed and produced numerous operas and musical theatre productions. For eight years, Roger was the Associate Producer of TheatreFest, theatre-in-residence program, at Montclair State University, Montclair, N.J. Roger has worked with many celebrities including: Leslie Uggams, Susan Lucci, Debbie Reynolds, Kim Zimmer, Pattie LuPone and Betty Buckley. Roger has directed operas at the annual Amalfi Music Festival in Italy . He is a member of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers. Roger is the make up consultant for Parlights, Inc. in Frederick, MD, a leading theatrical supply house for the greater Washington/Baltimore areas.

How an Airbrush for Makeup Works

 

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Hello, I am Roger Bennett Riggle, licensed and professional makeup artist. Today, we are showing you how easy and effective it is to apply airbrush makeup. Now, I am going to show you how the airbrush works. The airbrush does work off of electricity, so it just has a simple electrical cord that you plug into the wall. There is also a battery pack available that you can wear on your belt. Let us say, if you need to use the airbrush filming a jungle scene and you are in the jungle, so it can work of a battery as well. This is the compressor and it basically has a diaphragm in it that goes back and forth very quickly and creates air pressure and the air pressure runs through the hose and into the bottom of the gun. This screws on here and screws on here when you want to transport the airbrush. Inside of the airbrush is a needle and this is the pistol that controls the needle. So, the pistol actually moves the needle backwards. So, you can have a small amount of air going through there and the more you pull it back the more air and the more makeup that sprays out of the gun. This is the cap to put the makeup into the foundation makeup and this is the cap that goes on top of that cup which has a hole in it that allows the air to flow through it and that is just a safety feature, so you don t spill the makeup on yourself or on the client There is a protective tip on the needle that you just use when you are storing it and this is basically the head of the airbrush. You can feel the tip of the needle coming actually out of that little, little, little, tiny hole. I will show you how the airbrush works with Witch Hazel. Witch hazel is a natural astringent and this is what we use to thin down the makeup because witch hazel dries very, very quickly and it really helps to hold the foundation on to the face. So, I am going to turn on the airbrush. There is a little, just turn on valve, right here and I am going to take a little of the witch hazel and I am going to pour it into the top cup. I would not put the cap on it right now because I can hold and control it and I am going to show you, this maybe hard for you to see, but I am going to show you that if you just press this pistol down, you can feel the air coming out, but you don t have any makeup coming out yet. As you pull that pistol back, you can hear and I can feel the spray and the more I pull it back the more air and foundation actually flows out through that brush. I can feel it on my hand. This is how I normally test the airbrush, just to make sure that it is working properly. The next thing that I do is to check the viscosity of the foundation. This is a water-based foundation and you don t really have to hold your breath or anything while the airbrush makeup is being sprayed on to your face or you are applying your own and we water it down with the witch hazel when it s necessary. Checking the viscosity is really pretty easy because you will get to use to how it actually works. I am going to pour a little of this foundation makeup on my hand, just a couple of drops and I turn my hand this way and when it drips like that, really without dripping and falling to the floor, it is really the right consistency. So, I know that this makeup now is the right consistency and that I do not have to dilute it down. Before you airbrush, you want to make sure you shake your foundation very, very well and a sterling silver ball is included in the makeup, so that it stirs the makeup extremely well because there is some settling of the makeup while it sits in the bottom. So, you want to make sure that s stirred up very, very well. By the way, these foundations do come in an assortment of colors from very, very light all the way down to darker pigment tones for dark skinned people. The next thing we will do is actually, show you how to prep the client and to spray on the makeup and just show you really, how easy it is to do.

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