Other than during those once-a-year dance recitals from Kindergarten through Grade 6, I have never worn makeup. Maybe it’s BECAUSE of those “Hold Still!” greasy lipstick, smeared-mascara, tutu-fueled dramas that I never wanted to go through it again. It could also be because I am just not coordinated enough mentally or physically for all that blending and brushing, and can’t understand why it takes a minimum of five products to get a no-makeup look.

But reading about TEMPTU’s AIRbrush Makeup System ($225 exclusively at Sephora through the end of the year) actually makes me want to try it.  A portable minicompressor, TEMPTU claims that this baby is an everyday answer to flawless makeup, allowing the user to spray on foundation, blush and highlighter for a flawless look without one stroke of your uncoordinated fingers.

I know how to spray stuff. I use the hose in my sink to rinse dishes and the hose in the yard to water plants.  I’ve even watched painters spray-paint houses a couple times and it looked pretty simple to me. TEMPTU’s maximum airbrush pressure is 30 psi, making me think of filling tires and soccer balls at the service station, which I have also done successfully a number of times.

Mostly the thing just looks fun. It’s a gadget after all, and girls like state-of-the-art gadgets too, whether we need them or not.  Watching the demo videos is enough to make you want to throw a slumber party and take turns doing each other’s makeup.  You can use it on your face, neck and body (like they do to the naked models in Playboy and such) and there are lots of colors to play with. The foundation pods come in a four-month supply and in 12 shades.  the hardest thing about this power tools is choosing the color.

This isn’t the only portable airbrush system available. Luminess Air – As Seen On TV, of course – is touted as the product used for the makeup of ABC’s “Desperate Housewives.”  It weighs less (1.5 pounds to 1.7 for TEMPTU) and offers several products at varying prices.  Because of the product design – liquid makeup is poured directly into the blowing stylus as opposed to TEMPTU’s self-contained, snap-in pods – it needs to be cleaned differently.

There’s no question that the current makeup trends are natural-looking and flawless skin, and both are more easily achieved with airbrushing.  Whether a portable airbrush system is worth the cost will depend on the user and how serious she (or in some cases he) is about makeup. And there’s also the cool factor.  How many times have we bought something just because it was cool.  That theory may be flawed, but our skin would be flawless.