Makeup artist Gail Ruginis says a new revolution in makeup application for film, stage and glamorous living has hit Canada, but is going almost unnoticed by many in the industry. Ruginis, an artist for 14 years, discovered the perks of airbrush makeup more than two years ago while working on Royal City Musical Theatre’s production of The King and I.

‘There were 76 people in the cast and I didn’t know how I was going to get 76 people made up in two hours,’ says the head of b.c.’s Facade Couture salon. ‘I went down to California to take a look at what was available and I saw their airbrush makeup. I was so enthralled with it, I took all of the courses.’

Ruginis is currently, to her knowledge, the only certified airbrush makeup instructor in Western Canada, and she is very excited about the new opportunities the industry seems slow to discover.

Airbrush makeup, as one might expect, is foundation makeup applied with an airbrush. When Ruginis and her colleagues at Facade Couture apply it to their talent, the airbrush is set to a pleasant three to 10 psi rate – so rather than the greasy feel of makeup being painted on, it apparently feels more like a soft, cool breeze. It is also, in her opinion, a more hygienic way to apply makeup.

‘We are no longer using sponges and powder puffs or touching an individual’s face with our hands or any other product,’ says Ruginis. ‘It is completely water-based and completely hypo-allergenic. It doesn’t go into pores, so it doesn’t cause any reaction with the body’s natural chemicals.’

Ruginis’ fondness for airbrush makeup techniques inspired her to launch Facade Couture last year. Although she still works regularly on film and theatre projects using airbrushed makeup on actors, she has also found the time to establish the successful salon in b.c. where the airbrush makeup is applied to commoners for graduations, weddings and big nights on the town. She says after working with the makeup for more than two years, she has discovered that unlike regular makeup, it can be applied successfully to anyone.

‘I can put it on anybody, no matter if they are allergic to makeup – and I’ve tried the really hard cases,’ she says. ‘[With] standard makeup, you put it on with a sponge and you fill the pores in your face and you get enough of a coverage that it looks like you have nice smooth skin. Our skin is made to breath and it protects us so when it feels something in the pores that is foreign to it, it tries to expel it. That is why after a couple of hours with standard makeup you’ll find it doesn’t look as fresh as it did when you first applied it. Because the airbrush makeup goes on top of the skin we have none of that and as a result it lasts 24 hours.’ She adds that it can easily be removed with just soap and water any time after it is applied.

Fewer filming breaks

Ruginis says the film actors she has used airbrush makeup on have found it quite pleasant. Apparently the dops really appreciate the new way of doing things too. Traditionally, powder can worm its way inside of cameras and can cause quite a few problems once there. Because airbrush makeup sits on top of the skin, powder is not required and moisture and body-oils can be wiped away with a tissue. Producers have expressed a fondness for it as well, because it stays applied with little maintenance, so makeup-related breaks in production are not nearly as frequent.

Ruginis’ fondness for airbrush makeup directly led to one of the biggest thrills of her career. She was recently hired by Academy Award-winning makeup man Jeff Dawn to do airbrush makeup on a film called The 6th Day, which was shooting in Vancouver. She actually taught a man she considers ‘the Spielberg of makeup’ how to apply the airbrush makeup.

‘For me to wind up putting this on a makeup artist from l.a. in front of Jeff Dawn was probably one of the scariest experiences of my life,’ she laughs.

The airbrushing dynamo says that although business in b.c. is steady, with various productions shooting from both inside and outside the province, there is still not a lot of demand for airbrush makeup in Canada. Despite the excitement of many actors, the traditional ways of applying makeup for film purposes continue to thrive. It is her hope that very soon, local production folks will grow to accept airbrush makeup.

‘We are still in the infancy stage of educating people in that regard,’ says Ruginis. ‘I am also having trouble getting into iatse because they don’t recognize airbrush makeup as a standard form of makeup. They just think it is a fad. They are going to be very surprised.’ *