Airbrush Makeup Kit Review: Mistair Onyx Airbrush Makeup Kit with Video Tutorial

Bristish airbrush makeup brand Mistair was the very first brand I reviewed on these pages when I started publishing this website. I had met the Mistair team at that year's edition of Cosmoprof in Italy, and as they were the only brand dealing in airbrush makeup at that show I spent quite some time getting to know their products and lines. 

Today Mistair has a more streamlined yet still extensive product line that includes 14 foundation shades, 8 colors for blush and and highlighters respectively, 7 for eyebrows, and 8 adjuster and corrector shades. There are also a water based and an alcohol based line for body painting, and a very interesting product to create effects on hair called Hairlites. 

The Mistair Formula

Mistair Airbrush Makeup

All the beauty makeup colors are silicone based. The formula, which I think has been updated since I first used it, is comparable to Temptu's S/B line, but it's lighter in texture and quicker to dry. The foundation has a very natural finish and feels super light on the skin, with buildable coverage that starts sheer and intensifies to full with a few passes. The blush colors are delicately pigmented but can be built up to achieve more intensity as well. The opalescent highlighter colors offer beautiful shades, some of which are duo chrome such as the lovely Cornsilk, pearly white with pink overtones. As with any airbrush beauty product, all the colors can be used for all purposes, and the faster drying time makes them suitable and easy to use on the eyelids to create fast and natural eye shadows. As I didn't have the eyebrow color kit, I was able to fill the eyebrows well with the darkest foundation shade, and the result was very natural and durable, as you can see in the enclosed video tutorial.

The Onyx Kit

MIstair Onyx Airbrush Kit

The airbrush kit offering from Mistair is currently limited to three models. Starting at 159 British Pounds, The Onyx Airbrush Makeup Starter Kit is the least expensive of the three, and is the entry level option. It features a standard compressor with an adjustable airflow, a rubber tube suitable for "plug-in" connectors and a Continuous Flow airbrush, incorrectly described as "single action" on the website. For those who still struggle with the terminology, Continuous Flow means that the air flows out of the airbrush unobstructed as soon as the compressor is turned on, and that you use the lever to regulate the amount of color your are dispensing. This is a mode chosen by most beauty companies and it is perfectly effective and efficient for beauty makeup. The compressor is also mistakenly credited with a maximum working pressure of just 15 PSI, but I have personally tested it with a pressure gauge and have seen that it reaches 20 PSI comfortably, which is a plus. It still isn't particularly powerful and might struggle with thicker formulas, but it won't have any problems with the Mistair products, for which it was intended.

100% Airbrushed with Mistair

There are several combinations to choose from as far as the makeup bundled with the kit is concerned. The Onyx Starter Kit comes with a custom made packet of colors including four foundation shades (selectable from the fair, medium or deep groups), and one matching blush, highlighter and eyebrow color.  Of course the more colors you get the more options for fun and practice you will have, and the more expensive De Luxe version of the Onyx kit offers more shades, with the same equipment.  Like many brands, Mistair bundles its colors in very convenient starter kits, and in this brand's case they are very reasonably priced, so it will be possible to add on to your kit later without hurting the wallet too much. The starter kits packaging has been updated in recent years, and everything looks very slick. Unfortunately they still use the same bottles for their 7.5 ml packs. These infernal little bottles seem to let in air somehow, and after a while you will notice that the aqueous part of the colors decreases even if you don't use them. I suggest tightening the caps of each bottle as soon as you receive them, you will notice that you can twist the caps at least an extra half a turn, which hopefully will slow down the evaporation. Also very annoying are the stickers at the bottom of each bottle, which will come off even before you take them out of the package, making the color identification very confusing. I advise you to glue them on with a strong glue as soon as you receive them. On a much happier packaging note, Mistair has created a beautiful case for the Onyx with custom molded foam inserts, which are detachable. The case is very sleek and once again reasonably priced. I would definitely recommend it for the sleekest possible look of your airbrush kit. 

Mistair Ingredients:

Purified Water, Cyclotetrasiloxane (and) Cyclopentasiloxane, Glycerin, Polysobutene, Cetyl Dimethicone, Copoyol, Sodium Chloride, C12-15, Alkyl Bensoate, VP/VA Copolymer, Methyl Paraben, Disodium EDTA, Propyl Paraben, +/- Acrylates Copolymer. May contain: Titanium Dioxide (and) Methicone, Yellow Iron oxide, Red Iron Oxide, Black Iron Oxide, Carbon black, CL 77891, CL 45410, CL 77007, CL 77288