If you have never used TEMPTU, you should definitely give it a try. This form of body art can be done by painting with a brush on the skin or by using an airbrush gun. I’ll admit that I still need to…brush up…on my skills 😂. Bad puns aside, I probably went through most human emotions while airbrushing with TEMPTU.
TEMPTU is a paint that can stay on the skin for several days. It should be sealed with mica powder once the paint is tacky, in order to prolong the paint. When I say it lasts, I mean it lasts. I wore Black Dura Platinum on my face (without a mica powder) for a rock concert and it stayed on for two days after (despite sweating, moshing, using makeup remover, and scrubbing). Rubbing alcohol makes the paint come off easily, but I had forgotten this fact.
I’ve been dying to airbrush with TEMPTU, but haven’t really attempted it in my body art projects at Mehandi, as my airbrushing skills could use improvement. I recommend practicing on a piece of paper first, or an area on your body that you don’t plan on showing off any time soon. I kept scrap paper nearby and performed spray tests to check paint flow frequently.
A few things I noticed…
- If you do not shake the bottle enough before using the paint, the pigments may not come out the way you’d expect.
- Bottles that have been opened for a couple of years may be thicker and harder to work with.
- Newly opened bottles seemed to work much better.
- A little bit of alcohol mixed in with thicker paint might help. Avoid the eye area and do not apply this over other areas that already have paint on the surface. It will remove other paint, or cause it to run.
- This isn’t recommended if the paint is working fine, as it will make the art have a shorter life span or appear weaker.
I turned a post-it note into a heart stencil. I folded the paper in half and cutting a heart out of the center. Something stronger, but bendable would be more ideal as a stencil for TEMPTU. Before the airbrushing started, it seems that completing a full look to go with the hearts would be appropriate.
The Look
Mehron Metallic Powder in Gold was applied to my cheeks and tip of my nose. Becoming Moonlight mica powder in Bridal Red was applied under my eyes and to the corner of my eyes blending into Orchid and doing the inner corners with a touch of Gold Metallic powder. Unfortunately, I lightly ruined one eye due to user error with airbrushing (that reminds me- don’t aim for your eye while airbrushing). I used neutral shades of the Mehron Paradise Palette on my lips.
On one side of my face, I painted a couple of hearts to compare it to the airbrush hearts. The “Beet” TEMPTU bottle was a bit too old to use and clogged the airbrush gun quite a few times. I used “Henna” TEMPTU which was much easier to use as it was recently opened. Here you can see the results of both pigments.
Airbrushing wins!
In the end, airbrushing gave more of an even appearance to the hearts. It also dried faster. When using a stencil, airbrushing definitely takes the cake, as the painting over a stencil was uneven and messy. Airbrushing can also help achieve details that aren’t done as easily or quickly by painting. It can help layer paint without feeling that the paint is heavy. I hope to bring more body art pieces to Mehandi using airbrushing with TEMPTU.
To read more about TEMPTU techniques, check out this blog: http://www.becomingmoonlight.blog/2019/03/14/how-to-celtic-style-designs/
Maria • Ancient Sunrise® Specialist • LPC