Airbrush tattoos are applied with an airbrush. Usually sprayed through a type of stencil onto the surface of the skin with a specially formulated paint. Not to be confused with Henna tattoos, Airbrush Tattoos are a PAINT that sits on top of the skin, not a dye. They were first developed by movie makers and makeup artists, wanting longer lasting, realistic looking temporary tattoos for their actors to wear.
They were just perfect for this as the actor could go home at the end of the day, shower, and come back the next day with their tattoos looking exactly like they did the day before. Therefore saving valuable time on makeup and ensuring the tattoo looked precisely the same for the next shoot.
Airbrush tattoos are applied with an airbrush. Usually sprayed through a type of stencil onto the surface of the skin with a specially formulated paint. Not to be confused with Henna tattoos, Airbrush Tattoos are a PAINT that sits on top of the skin, not a dye. They were first developed by movie makers and makeup artists, wanting longer lasting, realistic looking temporary tattoos for their actors to wear. 
They were just perfect for this as the actor could go home at the end of the day, shower, and come back the next day with their tattoos looking exactly like they did the day before. Therefore saving valuable time on makeup and ensuring the tattoo looked precisely the same for the next shoot.