Why Celebs and Pro Artists Are Obsessed With the Beautyblender
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Some products show up everywhere — subway ads, Instagram, celeb endorsements. With this series, we're testing such products to conclude one thing: Does it live up to the hype?
What’s everyone talking about?
The Beautyblender is an award-winning, egg-shaped makeup sponge with a cone-shaped tip that's in the pro kits of makeup artists and cosmetic bags of beauty enthusiasts across the world. It promises to create an undetectable, second-skin finish.
What’s the buzz about?
As our beauty editor, I can safely say that Beautyblender is the most iconic makeup sponge available, and given its success, the brand created specific Blenders for blush, concealer, and body makeup. (You can also use the original Beautyblender sponge for those cosmetics products.)
Given the company's massive success, companies like L'Oréal, Morphe, and E.L.F. Cosmetics have created similar makeup sponges. With a $20 price tag, the Beautyblender is on the higher end for makeup sponges, but enthusiasts say it's worth it, so I decided to investigate.
Where’s all the hype coming from?
The original prototype is featured in an exhibit at the Smithsonian Museum
Celebrity fans including Meghan Markle, Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner, Regina Hall, Madelaine Petsch, Christie Brinkley, and Mario Dedivanovic
Winner of multiple beauty awards
More than 889 million views on TikTok tutorials
Years of coverage and reviews from sites like Cosmopolitan, Byrdie, and Allure
So does it live up to the hype?
How’d we come to this conclusion?
For the past month, I evaluated how my makeup looks while using a Beautyblender. Since it's an expensive makeup sponge, I also considered how luxe the sponge feels in my hand and on my skin, plus the overall product value.
Original Pink Blender Makeup Sponge
$17.00
amazon.com
My first impression is that a dry Beautyblender is much smaller than I remember. It's about the size of a kabuki brush, but the sponge quickly doubles in size once it's wet. (You should only use a Beautyblender that's damp — but we'll get to that in a bit.)
When I tap it on my face, the latex-free sponge feels nice and smooth — and has just the right amount of springiness. I also noticed that the Beautyblender has excellent elasticity — it doesn't lose its shape when I wring out excess water, clean it, apply foundation, or squeeze it like a stress ball.
While the texture is beautiful, the Beautyblender shines most with how it applies foundation. Thanks to its edgeless design, my foundation goes on flawless — leaving no embarrassing brush marks or streaks behind. Also, using a damp Beautyblender adds some radiance to my matte foundation, which is a welcome surprise, although not a look I typically go for since my skin is very oily.
I also noticed that my large pores looked slightly smaller while using a Beautyblender, making it easy to understand why these egg-shaped sponges are a staple in the red carpet kits of celeb makeup artists. Depending on your Beautyblender's dampness and what foundation you're using, you can really achieve a natural, medium, or full coverage.
➥ How It Compares to Other Beauty Tools
Since I really love a lot of my foundation brushes, I know how important it is to compare the Beautyblender to other makeup sponges on the market. To help level the playing field, I tested all of the tools with my favorite Charlotte Tilbury Foundation, which has a medium thickness and demi-matte finish.
Real Techniques Makeup Sponge features a flat side that allows me to quickly achieve a full coverage look. This is a solid runner-up, but since it only works with liquid makeup and doesn't feel as luxe in my hands and on my face, it's not a 100% dupe for the Beautyblender, and that's okay, especially given its low price.
Ecotools Perfecting Blender is made from recycled materials and comes in tree-free packaging, which is always great for anyone who wants to be more sustainable. Sure, this eco-friendly sponge applies makeup beautifully, but it soaks up more product than I’d like, which just seems wasteful. I’d reach for this one again, but only when my Beautyblender and Real Techniques sponges are dirty.
IT Cosmetics Heavenly Luxe Complexion Perfection Brush is my go-to for medium-to-full coverage, so you know my standards were high while comparing it against the Beautyblender. The Beautyblender soaks up more product, but since I use it damp, the sponge adds a more radiant finish to my foundation, which was a welcome surprise.
FWIW: Price isn't always indicative of quality when it comes to beauty tools. Having said that, I don't think any of these affordable sponges negatively impacted my application, especially since they're all made from latex-free materials.
As a beauty editor, I know that not everyone wants to splurge on beauty products and tools, no matter how promising they seem — so considering products at all price points is incredibly important to me.
➥ How We Use It
A Beautyblender is most compatible with liquid and cream products like foundation, concealer, and blush, but it can also be used to bake your undereye concealer.
Here are my beauty editor-approved guidelines for correctly using a Beautyblender:
Foundation
Don't use it dry: A Beautyblender should always be used wet. A dry sponge will soak up makeup, and I would never want to waste my holy grail foundations.
Ring out excess water: Place the Beautyblender under a running faucet and once it doubles in size, turn off the sink and squeeze out the excess water. The goal is for the Beautyblender to be damp and fluffy, not dripping water down your hand and face.
Bounce, don't drag or swipe: Now that the sponge is prepped, grab your go-to foundation and add one pump of product on the larger end of the Beautyblender, then start bouncing it all over. Using this tapping motion helps push the makeup into your skin for the most seamless, second-skin finish. You can always add more foundation as necessary.
Use the cone-shaped tip: This pointed end is ideal for working in smaller areas like around your eyes, sides of the nose, around your mouth, and blending into your hairline.
Baking
You can also use a damp Beautyblender to bake your makeup, a technique that locks your concealer in place and prevents creasing. The biggest advantage of baking is that your makeup will last from sunrise to sunset. But, I'm not a fan of baking, because I use a radiant undereye concealer and think the luminous look is more youthful and natural on my face.
With that being said, baking is still an excellent technique that I'd reserve for formal milestone events, and if you want to explore baking with a Beautyblender, here are a few tips to follow:
Use a damp Beautyblender to conceal your undereye area and let it settle for a few minutes.
Grab a loose powder: I recommend using either a loose powder such as Laura Mercier Translucent Setting Powder or a banana powder like Sacha Buttercup for a brightening effect. I also love Beautyblender's BOUNCE Setting Powder because it blurs my large pores and provides a natural, velvet finish to my oily skin.
Dip the damp Beautyblend in your loose powder of choice. Be sure you have a generous layer of product on the makeup sponge, bounce on the setting powder, and let it sit, aka “bake” under your eyes for 5 to 10 minutes. This waiting period is an excellent time to start applying eye shadow.
The last step is to grab a clean, fluffy brush and swipe away excess powder and any eyeshadow that might have fallen down onto the undereye area. And there you go, a mattified, creaseless look that will last you all night long.
What’s the bottom line?
Will I fully stop using my beloved makeup brushes in favor of a Beautyblender? I'm pretty much a lifelong makeup brush user, so no, I would not use my Beautyblender anytime soon to apply foundation. But if you're new to makeup, looking to level up your skillset, or are interested in upgrading from a Beautyblender dupe to the real thing, you should definitely invest in one — and I can guarantee you won't regret it.
With a Beautyblender, there's zero risk of leaving behind streaks on your skin, and it can help perfect your skin for a camera-ready appearance. However, if you prefer makeup brushes over sponges, then you'd be better off exploring our favorite foundation brushes and makeup brush sets on Amazon.
Shop Our Favorite Beautyblender Dupes
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