I’ve been back on the foundation testing train (first scheduled stop, Dior’s new Forever Perfect Mousse, toot-toot!) before I hit you having a slew of in-depth reviews, let’s talk about the chunky brush I’ve been applying my bases with within the last few months.
Earlier this year Rodial launched some very, very pigmented foundations called Airbrush Makeup* and also the Airbrush Foundation Brush* is their purpose-built application tool. Its incredibly dense and chunky brush head gives – as you’d hope from the name – a flawless, airbrushed finish. The comb is also very good looking, and that's why I think that it attracts so many comments and questions every time I feature it – the sleek black styling is chic and opulent, the shape of the brush head looks very professional.
I actually don’t love the Airbrush foundations themselves; I find them a little too pigmented to work with, even when diluted and sheered out with several drops of oil, as suggested within the instructions. If you want a very buildable base that’s more the consistency of the concealer than a foundation you very well may get on well with it – just make sure to use a tiny bit of product at a time and work carefully. It’s not the sort of foundation you can just bash on in thirty seconds before you rush out of the door, it needs more of a considered approach. Which isn’t particularly my forté, I’ll admit!
The brush, however, is totally up my street. The bristles are extremely densely packed that there’s barely any flex or movement at all to the head, the domed shape with a tapered tip means that it’s easy to accurately apply concealer in addition to cover larger areas of the face. It’s so firm that it’s an aspiration to use with cushion foundations – I simply push it into the product after which sort of stipple it on – however the brush is also incredibly soft, and if you use the sides of the dome rather than the very tip, it’s simple to get a smooth, seamless finish.
The dense packing-together from the bristles means that you can achieve the same sort of airbrushed perfection that you would get from a flatter-headed buffing brush, however the tapering at the tip of the one gives far more options when it comes to application. It reminds me a lot of Louise Young’s excellent LY34 brush (lb24 here* and a great alternative to the Rodial) – the same dense, firm head that applies foundation quickly and faultlessly, and a similar sturdy handle that feels expensive and weighty.
Strictly speaking, the Rodial Airbrush brush (brush) is a bit too chunky to do close deal with the eyes or very detailed spot concealing, but it’s brilliant for almost every other aspect of applying a perfect base. Foundation with an undetectable finish, concealer that sits seamlessly outrageous to camouflage circles or redness; even setting powder can be dabbed on with the very tip from the brush. In one (admittedly rather expensive) go, it lays on foundation, blends, buffs, stipples, conceals and sets, and that's why I’ve been using it almost constantly within the last few months.
See the brush in action in my What’s In My Makeup Bag video…
You will find Rodial’s Airbrush Foundation Brush online here* – it’s lb50, which is quite the outlay, but I must state that it does very much feel and look the part. I’m still hugely into Bobbi Brown’s Full dental coverage plans Brush, which is lb33 here*, but the Rodial is certainly more of a multitasker. And it feels so chunky and assured, I always feel as though I’m sort of gently punching my makeup on a little bit, punch-punch-dab-dab, having a tiny, soft, bristly boxing glove!
