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Beauty Blender vs. Makeup Brush
The Beauty Blender. We have all come to know the rage that is this new pink little almond shaped sponge which is entirely too expensive to justify.
I was skeptical at first. I mean how could an ordinary sponge which I didn’t value over $1.50 (let alone $28 CAD) to get me the flawless foundation I was looking for?
*Note: For this beauty review, I will be using the term “Beauty Blender” to refer to The Original BeautyBlender. There are many dupes of the Original BeautyBlender. The BeautyBlender (Original), has been formulated so that it picks up makeup in the way it’s supposed to, unlike an ordinary sponge.
I have become partial to the Beauty Blender now because it’s a new and fast way to get an even application of foundation. Of course, there are other uses for the Beauty Blender but I’ll just stick to talking about foundation in this beauty reviews post.
I always swore by applying my foundation with my fingers first and then blended in with the brush. I read a ton of beauty reviews from my gal pals at Sephora (you know we’re all friends right?), and landed on a great brush that I love to end off my finger patting skills with. I fell in love with the Sephora Collection Pro Liquid Foundation brush #63.
However, I find that the Beauty Blender is more fun and gives me an even complexion FAST. I dab on dots of foundation evenly across my face and use the Beauty Blender to “bounce” all over my face mixing in all of the dots. Then, I may reach for my foundation brush. The Sephora Collection Pro Liquid Foundation brush #63 that I mentioned above is rather dense and makes blending patchy ares a breeze which I must admit I’m not always so great at, especially by my eyebrows.
How to use the Beauty Blender
The Beauty Blender for me is usually my first reach and “go-to”. Beauty Blender has 3 steps that make it really easy to use:
- Wet Beauty Blender until it is entirely saturated with water. Don’t forget to squeeze out the excess water.
- Dab it into your makeup (or I like to apply makeup to the face first – either way!).
- Stipple or “Bounce” – DO NOT RUB. The bouncing motion allows the makeup to be distributed evenly while blending as to not provide a streaky but more natural look.
When you’re done applying your makeup you’ll notice your pretty little pink sponge is now coloured with foundation or any other product you’ve used with it. Beauty Blender has a variety of cleaning products which will help you get back to new. Make sure you take good care of the Beauty Blender because it is not your average sponge and should be treated as such.
There are some tools that are created by Beauty Blender to get it back to looking fresh again. I admit, I tried ordinary soap and water and while I think that got the grime out, it didn’t get my pink lady looking as the day I bought her.
Cleaning Tools for your Beauty Blender:
When not to use the Beauty Blender
I discovered after using on my favourite Sephora sheet masks that my skin was finally moisturized enough for my liking. Having to meet a friend for lunch, I went into spring makeup 2018 mode and go for a full face look with a soft pink eye.
I applied my favourite Radiant Longwear Foundation by Nars (read the review here), and used said beauty blender for the perfect complexion.
Mid-way through the pink eye I noticed the entire foundation was blotchy and patchy! I believe the root cause of this was directly related to the fact that my skin was over moisturized that it had an effect on the foundation. However, using a brush would’ve allowed me to set the foundation better vs. a water soaked beauty blender. Clearly my skin had had enough moisture for one day so in this case, I found that the beauty blender did NOT work when my skin was too hydrated.
I used my pro #63 and went on my way.
To conclude…
In short, I think there is something great about using both a foundation brush and beauty blender interchangeably. It’s always important to know what kind of look you’re going for. Beauty Blender can help with a dewy glow but if you’re looking for more a strongly set foundation, you should be considered the brush as an added best friend.
