Review beautyblender Blender Sponge & Cleanser Kit

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Mommyx2

O.G.
Apr 16, 2009
1,664
1
Item: beautyblender Sponge & Cleanser Kit (includes two sponges & cleanser)
Price: $39.95 at beauty.com minus 25% bing cashback and no sales tax:biggrin: Also available for $19.95 for one sponge & $34.95 for one sponge & cleanser
Buy again?: Yes ma'am ;)

Ok, I admit... the reason why I bought this was because TiffanyD reviewed it in one of her videos and loved it. I normally apply my MAC Studio Stick with the 188, but wasn't too pleased because it was a little streaky and often had to mist my face with Cinema Secret's moisture spray and re-stipple to "unstreak" myself and achieve a bit of a sheer coverage that I was after. It finally dawned on me that MAC's foundations and powders were breaking me out, so I thought it would be the perfect time to switch to a liquid foundation for the days that I want medium-full coverage. I went down to Sephora and had a SA apply MUFE HD foundation on my entire face. She used her fingers (Which now that I think about it is pretty gross and unsanitary.) and it looked ok in the store, so I bought a bottle. When I got home and looked in the mirror, I was horrified to see that I looked like a plastered mess! The results were not natural at all, so I chocked it up to the SA's heavy-handed application skills. The next day, I used a 190 for application. The results were too caked-on for my liking. (I have clear skin with a few acne scars on my chin, so I'm normally a LM tinted moisturizer kind of gal.)

Desperate to make my dreams of liquid foundation a reality, I decided to purchase the beautyblender. Normally I would laugh at the thought of paying so much for a sponge that you would have to toss after 3 months of use, but I figured it was worth a try since bing was offering 25% cashback plus CA residents are not charged sales tax through beauty.com. When that sucker arrived in the mail, you bet I washed my face, soaked it in water and squeezed as directed and reapplied my foundation right away. Bounce, bounce, bounce, bounce.... The results? The most perfect, streak-free, airbrushed finish I could ever hope for. This thing is amazing! It was MUFE HD foundation's saving grace. (Too bad I broke out with that line of foundation and ended up having to return it for NARS.) It gave my face a dewy, fresh finish. I figure this is an improved way of how I used to apply my studio stick because instead of having to mist my face with Cinema Secret's moisture spray and re-stipple, all I had to do is apply my foundation with the beautyblender since I'm working with a damp tool already. The dampness also allows me to sheer out my liquid foundations because I usually don't want full coverage. But for those of you who don't want to sheer out your foundation, all you have to do is squeeze most of the water out of the sponge. The round end of the sponge is used for the majority of the face, but there is also a pointy end that can be used for hard to reach areas such as under the nose, around the mouth, and around the eye area. All you have to do is bounce the sponge around your face, and in doing so eliminates streaking. Enkore also uses this sponge to apply mineral mu as well, but I haven't tried it with my BE foundation yet. If I ever get around to it, I will update this review.

I wash my sponge after each use and the cleanser does a great job at removing all of the remaining makeup. I'm not sure if there are any dupes for the cleanser, but since it came with the kit I'll worry about finding a cheaper alternative when I'm almost out of this one. I've been using mine for about a month now and it still looks new... except for the tiny tear my 1 yr old daughter made to the pointy end. (Warning: this bright pink sponge is a magnet for toddlers. My kid LOVES to smash this thing on her face... especially when it's damp. It went missing one day and I found it in her toy box a couple days later.) The plastic box that everything comes in also serves as a place to dry your sponge after cleansing. The company also offers to recycle your old sponges for you if you mail them in. Too bad there isn't any incentive in doing so... except for a cleaner planet, so I guess it's worth doing. LOL! J/K.

Anyway, sorry for the long back story/review. To sum it all up... yes, I highly recommend the beautyblender if you want to achieve a perfectly air-brushed finish with your foundation. Don't get me wrong. I also have and love Sephora's airbrush foundation brush, but I only use it on days that I'm too lazy or don't have time to dampen and clean the sponge. I hope this review helps!
 
Item: beautyblender Sponge & Cleanser Kit (includes two sponges & cleanser)
Price: $39.95 at beauty.com minus 25% bing cashback and no sales tax:biggrin: Also available for $19.95 for one sponge & $34.95 for one sponge & cleanser
Buy again?: Yes ma'am ;)

I highly recommend the beautyblender if you want to achieve a perfectly air-brushed finish with your foundation. Don't get me wrong. I also have and love Sephora's airbrush foundation brush, but I only use it on days that I'm too lazy or don't have time to dampen and clean the sponge. I hope this review helps!

Totally agree with this review. I've been using beautyblender for close to a year now and have found nothing that matches the speed of the sponge in blending at the same level of application quality. It's super easy to clean and store and I don't get those annoying hairs from brushes stuck to my face. I do use my MAC 187 brush when I'm not in a hurry, like on weekends and such, but otherwise its always my beautyblender. It would also make a GREAT beginner tool for people learning to apply foundation and concealer. I dearly wish I had one of these in middle school!
 
OMG I love this thing! I always buy the 2 pack! I think right now I'm hoarding 3 of them, lol.

It gives me the most natural, airbrushed, EVEN look, I love, love, love the beautyblender. I even got my mother and MIL one for Mother's Day last year!
 
:thinking:Hhmmm...sooo tempted! I am pretty hooked to my MAC 187! Perhaps I missed this in one of the reviews, but can you get a full coverage with this? I need one because my skin is not so great!
 
^Hi Jenny! Yes, you can get full-coverage with the sponge. Just make sure that the sponge isn't too wet so the foundation doesn't get watered down. You foundation is also buildable using the sponge until you get the coverage you want and the results won't look cakey. I'm still :heart:ing my beautyblender! :biggrin:
 
Interesting...Beauty Blender lovers, so you think that this product would be good for my purposes? Most days I just use apply some Laura Mercier secret camouflage with the LM concealer brush under my eyes and several other places on my faces (sides of nose, chin, some areas on cheeks & forehead) where I want to even out my skin tone, and then blend with my fingers. Other times I also use LM tinted moisturizer as well. (I am not happy with the blending with my fingers part, though, and am looking for another method). I like a natural, sheer coverage look.

Thoughts? Thanks a lot for the detailed review, Mx2-- it's super helpful!! :smile:
 
:heart::heart::heart: the beauty blender! I use it with MUFE HD foundation (another fave) and it gives me amazing results! I've also been using it for cream blushes as well so I don't have to get my brushes dirty. :P

I do wish the cleanser wasn't so expensive though. It's the only thing I've found that gets all the makeup out.
 
I can't wait to try this...I ordered one, but had it shipped to my parents house (my apt tends to "lose" packages). When a separate package arrived today & didn't have it in there, and I saw this thread, my heart stopped because I thought they left it out! Now I feel like making a special trip home so I can try it...not sure I can wait a couple more days until the holidays to get it!
 
I finally tried this out today, along with one of the little sample packets of cleanser that I got as a GWP from Beauty.com (I am traveling). I'll cut to the chase: I love this thing!!!! I didn't actually even use it for foundation -- what I did was use it for my "bare bones" face for running errands, etc. I put on Bobbi Brown under eye corrector, and then blended it with the Beauty Blender...and then used the sponge as well to blend the layer of Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage that I put on top of the corrector and on the uneven area of my face (sides of nose, chin, hyperpigmentation here and there), plus the Murad Acne Treatment Concealer that I use on blemishes.

It worked really well, and the shape was perfect for around the eyes. I was worried it would be a bit too big, but no way. It does the blending job far more nicely than my fingers do! :lol:

And cleanup was a breeze with the cleanser, which I found very effective. I may get one of these as a last-minute holiday gift for my sister, in fact.
 
I finally got one! I read using baby shampoo works fine to clean it so I didn't get the cleanser but there was a small sample pouch in the container, so I'm going to try that out and see if it cleans any better!

I was able to use the $15 off coupon on sephora on the one sponge! paid just $6++ for it! even cheaper than the Sonia Kashuk dupe that I was thinking of getting instead. I have to say it's totally awesome! I used my MUFE Mat Velvet with it slightly damp and it was so much better than using my fingers! I didn't really notice if I used less product though, but the egg shape is great cuz I can hold it easily(and I have man hands) and just stipple the foundation on my face.

The only downside is that it kinda takes fooooorever to dry! not sure if that's a good sign or not.