Battle of the Blender! @beautyblender

Once upon a time I wasn't much of a fan of most make up sponges, but that was way before the beauty blender craze began!

One thing I always stand by, is never falling for the hype over particular products. Now and again when browsing social media, you will notice some products  posted over and over on your stream. These products are backed up by top Make Up Artists and Beauty Bloggers but unfortunately, some of them do come form sponsored YouTube videos, and paid Instagram posts.

As always, in order to make my own judgement, I began yet another research journey. My blending sponge search!
The first I picked up was a dense sponge from the International Make Up Artists Expo in London.

I have to say, I was quite pleased by the blending capabilities of the sponge, although the only time I did use it whilst wet was with a solid cream stick by Kryolan (TV Paint Stick).

The time that I did try it with a normal liquid foundation, I found it was almost separated the foundation. I have oily skin, so I don’t need any added assistance with that!

The second set of sponges I went for was the Real Technique Miracle Complexion Sponge. The reason I went for this without hesitation, was because I am an avid user of the Real Techniques brushes, and know that the Pixiwoo girls would have put just as much effort into creating this product as they did with their amazing brushes.

This sponge is one I use often on clients, in fact I have an army of them in stock, they are very affordable, and do the job well! They were cleverly developed with a flat side and a more pointed side for pinpoint precision.

Sometimes I prefer using the sponge dry, but have found when I do use it wet, it out preforms the unbranded sponge I bought from the Expo by miles! The finish it gives is smooth and even, its one I know I can pull out of my kit knowing it will do the job how I envision.

They say save the best till last, and this time I have to say, my cynicism about the Original Beauty Blender hype has been put to bed, after trying lots of ‘imitation’ brands, I have come to the conclusion that this product is worth every penny of the £16 I spent on it. 

It blends out liquid and cream concealer to perfection! I don’t apply my day to day foundation with this, or even any of the others. I prefer the really buffed in finish for my day look, and find that less product is wasted this way too. Maybe I will do a post on my favorite foundation technique soon!
I do however, use the sponge wet when I am going for a full, contoured, evening look to press in my foundation over heavy contouring.

Back to the beauty blender..
 Out of all three, this is the one I prefer to use when wet.
The sponge expands but still holds the dense texture. The pointed edge fits perfectly into the under eye area and inner corner. Beauty Blender have actually just released a mini version which will be perfect for that under eye area.

For someone like me, who really needs her products and tools to withstand the constant use, washing and disinfecting, wear and tear is at the top of my list to review.

If you look at the picture below you will instantly see which product has passed this test for me.
Both the unbranded version and real techniques version both have started to split and come apart, for me that’s a real put off as not only does it make your kit look quite shabby, you can’t get the same use out of them. As I mentioned, I have a collection of the miracle complexion sponges and they have all turned out the same. My vigorous cleaning may have had something to do with it, but I don’t think there’s a better way to get the product out when washing. 

The beauty blender however, has stood the test of time and hasn’t split at all, even through all my cleaning!

  Which is your favourite?

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