beautyblender: Can it get it?

We’ve all seen or heard about the latest craze or gadget and wondered if it’s worth all the hubbub. My latest bout of beauty skepticism was over the beautyblender makeup applicator sponge, the hot pink egg shaped sponge that’s impossible to miss at the Sephora checkout queue. I was curious, but a little put off by the $20 price,  was it really worth twenty bucks? Spoiler alert: yes, it’s worth it and I’m an idiot for waiting so long to finally try it. The original beautyblender has a near perfect rating on Sephora, and pretty much everywhere else. I’ve been raving about it to friends since I got it, annoyingly calling it a “game changer”. Ughhh, I exhaust myself.

Bottom line, what makes it so great? The sponge is meant to be used wet, so you run it under the tap and squeeze to make sure it’s evenly soaked up the water. Then you give it one last squeeze and pat it lightly with a towel or tissue – this means that the sponge is filled with water so the product stays on the surface and doesn’t sink into the sponge. It makes a big difference when you’re blending liquid or cream products (foundation, bb creams, primers, etc,) and can also be used to apply powder products. Everything goes on much smoothly and evenly, without any streaks. I normally use a foundation brush to apply my makeup, the beautyblender is much better and makes a visible difference.

The beautyblender does require a little upkeep, you need to clean it regularly and make sure you store it properly between uses (and washes) so it dries and doesn’t get funky. You can purchase special cleaning products and even bedazzled storage pedestals (as well as other specialized versions of the beautyblender) here. I’ve kept it simple and just used a gentle face cleanser to keep it clean, and kept the original container to prop it up and let it dry after each use. I’ve seen a few negative reviews that focus on the “high maintenance” cleaning… but shouldn’t we be cleaning all of our makeup brushes and sponges on the regular, ya filthy animals?!

Long story short, beautyblender can get it and is well deserving of all the hype.

fab photo: beautyblender’s Instagram