beautyblender the sponge

I resisted this for a while, wondering what could be so great about a sponge. I like to apply foundation with my fingers so it didn't even seem like it would fit into my m/u routine. But after giving this a chance I will never go back. I don't use it to apply foundation but to buff and blend after I've applied blush and setting powder on top. Just bouncing/lightly pressing it around my face gives an airbrushed finish.

All these years I resisted. $20 for a sponge? Really, how could it be worth it? But one day I came across a sale/deal on the Too Faced website, some other products along with this for a great deal, and now I can't imagine ever being without a Beauty Blender again. I used the Real Techniques sponge before, and I thought it was good. Now I joke that using that sponge after using this amazing one is like hitting my face with a brick. Yes, that's an exaggeration, but it really does feel hard now compared to this. It is so soft, and it blends my makeup so well. It just does wonderful things. I find it pretty easy to clean. I like the liquid Blender Cleanser the best, but it cleans up fine with other cleaners. The Blender Cleanser is just my favorite because it cleans well and rinses out really easily. Anyhow, I will try to find ways to get a deal on the Beauty Blender (getting it in a set, sales, coupons), but would I pay $20 for it on it's own? Yep. Obviously, it's overpriced. But sometimes something overpriced is worth it, and this is one of those things.

I resisted buying this for years because I just couldn't justify paying $20 for a beauty sponge...and then I bought one with a gift card and I was hooked. I had used a drugstore brand before (the orange one) and I like it well enough but they broke really easily. It is worth the hype. It is soft yet solid and so bouncy. My makeup applies flawlessly with my Beauty Blender. I will never go back.

Admittedly I don't wear foundation often (usually just CC cream for sheer coverage) but when I do...THIS is what I use to apply it. It makes applying any liquid foundation a whole new experience... I use less product, it goes on much smoother and somehow 'settles' into my skin better. Visually I can see a difference, normally with a blender brush it's as though my foundation is just 'sitting' on my skin, it isn't settling into it properly, and I can tell later as it starts to wear off and creases. Usually 10 hours or so is the maximum I can get for coverage but for some reason the sponge is extending that by another couple of hours...how? I do not know! It's hard to explain but this works a dream. I just can't believe I only went out and got myself one this past week. Goodbye to my trusty blender brush, 'The Sponge' is what I'll be using from now on. Well worth the investment!


Selena x


~ My HG list ~

(As I've sampled many 100s of skin, hair and m/u products over the last decade and a half, I thought it might be useful to share my top 10 must-have products, subject to change if and when I come across something more effective. I love constantly trying out new stuff - usually sample sizes via e-bay, also plenty courtesy of a friend who works at Sephora)


1. Hair Loss Treatment: ‘Divine Herbal’ - Hair Oil
2. Lip Balm: 'Nuxe' - Reve De Miel Lip Balm
3. Pigmentation + Anti-Ageing Treatment: ‘Divine Herbal’ - Facial Treatment Serum
4. Cleanser: 'Paula's Choice' - Skin Balancing Cleanser
5. Concealer: ‘Mac’ - Studio Finish Concealer
6. Lash Growth Serum: ‘Divine Herbal’ - Divinelash
7. Foundation/SPF: ‘Juice Beauty’ - Stem Cellular Repair (warm glow)
8. Face Scrub: ‘Sisley' - Botanical Gentle Buffing Cream
9. Moisturizer: ‘Antipodes' - Rejoice Light Day Cream
10. Hand Cream: 'Origins' - Make A Difference Rejuvenating Hand Treatment

I was skeptical but I’m so glad I got it. It makes putting my makeup on so much quicker.

I've been using the beauty blender for some time now and I thought that it might be a good idea of sharing my opinion about the sponge and sharing some tips and tricks on how you can make this work. - It's in the video on your right or above this paragraph.

I love this sponge so much and you can use it for so many steps in your makeup routine, it's not only for foundation! Using the beauty blender for any liquid or cream makeup products will work out! But most important, don't forget to clean the sponge every time after use because this is how you can keep the beauty blender clean and it's easier to wash.

I have tried the beauty blender and other knockoffs, and I know some people love using these types of sponges when applying foundation, concealer, or even setting powder onto the face, because it provides a very seamless look when blending such out, however, it absorbs a lot of makeup into it, and even when you are washing these things everyday, they aren't getting 100% clean, even if you may think they are. That is because your mainly cleaning the outer surface of the sponge, while the makeup dirt and other stuff that has absorbed deep down into it is not being 100% removed with each washing at all. You can cut open a beauty blender and easily see all that deep down gook residing within it.

Also, because it eats up a lot of product, that's wasted product that you could have had to use, but now has been eaten by the beauty blender, which will make you have to replenish foundation, concealer, face setting powder, bronzer or whatever else you use the sponge for application with to definitely need to be re-plenished faster than if you had used a makeup brush or another makeup application tool, that doesn't suck up product into it.

Also, the Real Techniques knock off is basically doing the same thing is the best knockoff out there, so I would honestly recommend using that versus paying for this over expensive, overhyped makeup blending sponge.

I will repurchase this, the beauty blender really makes foundation and primer look amazing. I use it damp and I need only a very small amount of foundation and it blends so nicely with this.

last year, i bought a knock off version of the beautyblender at H&M; it was ok, but I didn't get what all of the fuss was about. sometimes I'd use it, sometimes I'd forget, meh- whatever. eventually, as blenders do, it shat the bed. dampened, squeezed and it stayed a squeezed little mush ball. so I thought "well, maybe now I'll break down and buy the real one, see if it's really all that different", all the while thinking "it's a SPONGE, how different could it be?" with that thought in mind, I picked up another knock off (can't recall the brand - it was black and oddly shaped, kind of like a snowman). yeah, that one was GARBAGE. it smeared my foundation all over my face, not blending but COATING. now, having seen how much worse this blender was, I truly wondered if the real beautyblender was that much better. yesterday I was at Sephora, and there they were -a whole area of multi colored tiny little egg sponges! I couldn't resist - after several moments contemplation (was I a 'nude'? a 'pro'?) I decided on the original. I had plans for the evening, and I didn't leave myself enough time to take off and rebuild my face, so the blender would have to wait- until today. about 10 minutes ago. HOLY WOW. I totally get it now!! If you want to try a blender, but you're thinking $20 seems too pricey and how different could they REALLY be, the answer is "INCREDIBLY, NIGHT AND DAY DIFFERENT!!" I used two tiny splorts of foundation, as this blender actually pressed it into my skin instead of just smearing it around. the point on the egg perfectly fit the crevases (sp?) of my face, and my foundation blended down seamlessly and perfectly. seriously - spend the extra few dollars. its SO worth it! my foundation looks perfect, and I can see it lasting far longer now, as I'm using so much less! just spend the money on the real thing - I'll never go without it again!

As a makeup addict, I resisted throwing 26 CAD $ at a sponge until one day, after reading all the positive reviews and hearing about how there was no real dupe for the real thing, I caved and purchased the pink one whilst browsing at Sephora and now there's no going back. This blends my foundations like a dream and doesn't eat up as much product as other sponges do. My skin looks effortlessly flawless and has less of that makeupy look that a buffing brush paired with certain foundations can give you. I will definitely buy this again.