How affordable would you like your starter set to be? Airbrushing can be fairly expensive and unfortunately (as I learned), it's not something you can just play around with without spending quite a bit of money.

First, you'll need a gun (I'm not sure if you already have one or not). You have to decide if you'd like a single or dual action gun. Singles are significantly less expensive, but they're not as practical. I started with an Iwata High Performance Plus gun, which set me back about $160. From what I have learned, Iwatas are considered the sports car of airbrush guns, but plenty of other companies make good ones. Try Paasche too.

Secondly, of course, you'll need a compressor to power your gun, and those aren't terribly cheap either. I have a Temptu plug-in compressor, but they also make portable ones that run off batteries.

Finally, you'll need the make-up. Generally speaking, airbrush make-up comes in three types: water-based, alcohol-based, and silicone-based. What are you looking to achieve with this airbrush? For general make-up, you'll typically either go with water or silicone-based paints, but if you're creating more intense looks (like body painting for film, etc), you'll want alcohol-based paints. Many companies make starter kits, but again, expect to pay quite a bit of money. When I started, I spent a couple hundred dollars on just starter paint kits. I picked up some of these and the bottles are quite small, but they give you a good starting point so you can decide what colors you like and what you will need for your kit.

One recommendation I would make would be to practice with cheap paints. I got a huge pad of inexpensive paper from an art supply store, tacked it to the wall, and practiced. I don't know what kind of art or painting background you have, but I can say that I found it kind of difficult at first. And it makes much more sense to practice on paper with cheap crap before you touch someone's face with your nicer paints.

Good luck finding something that works for you! It is quite overwhelming and expensive, but I've found that people are willing to pay extra for this service. Also, I would recommend just contacting different companies and asking them if they can send you any catalogs or other information. Try Laurel Cosmetics, Temptu , Kett, O2 Cosmetics, and AirPro.

And try this for more information.

I was planning on selling an iwata silver jet on ebay next week, (brand new in box) and an unopened temptu makeup thingie. An airbrush also... I recently did a major career change and I'm trying to rid my life of a lot of stuff (just have to find where it ended up post move)

I have one from KMS Tools check it out.

coast air brush is a good place.If you plan on shooting paint like one shot or something like it with it tell them and they will take the rubber o rings out and press teflon ones in