Why Beauty Blenders Suck

It’s 2020 and I’ve seen nothing but beauty influencers and amateurs dab dab dabbing their faces to apply foundation and  I have to say - I honestly can’t with it. 

Well truth be told, I don’t necessarily think beauty sponges suck completely. I just think they are the most overrated beauty tool I’ve seen all year. My humble non professional MUA everyday simple makeup mamma self’s opinion. Check it out.

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First of all…
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Yall are beating the H-E-double hockey stick out of your face. To me, it’s uncomfortable; it’s tedious, and I’m going to get a cramp with all this mini dab rave patting to my face.  To get foundation on every inch of your face, that’s a LOT of tapping and moving for the little application those pats offer.

I just painted a wall in my kids’ room. I’m trying to imagine sponge painting the entire wall, versus a tried and true paint roller or brush. Maybe I’m lazy. Maybe I”m a busy mom. But I just don’t have time for that.

I’m not saying to take a paint roller to your face, but foundation brushes have always seemed to do a great job of applying foundation for me. While it might take a few misses to find the perfect foundation brush for you, I’ve tried several that are inexpensive and do the trick quite nicely.

The second reason I can’t stand beauty blenders is because I feel like they absorb more product than needed. A foundation brush, or even hand application will get most all the product you dispense to go onto your face.  I feel like when I apply my foundation base with a beauty blender, it just doesn’t go a long way and I end up using more product. That seems wasteful.
If I’m paying $30-45 for my foundation, you better believe I’m not wasting that!

On top of that...you can’t just USE a beauty sponge. You have to wet it and squeeze it out first. It actually needs to be prepped in order to use. My foundation brushes don’t do me like that. They are loyal ride or die sisters always ready to go. 

Lastly, beauty sponges can grow mold. Ew. If you don’t clean and dry them properly, they are susceptible to mold and generally should be tossed every three months. I’m pretty sure makeup brushes last far longer and don’t have much of a mold issue because you aren’t filling them with water.

But! To be fair, yes I do keep a stash of beauty sponges. These have been my go tos because they are inexpensive and come in a pack so I’ll have a clean one ready quick if I’m too lazy to wash my used one.

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How I Use a Beauty Sponge (and my favorite way to apply foundation)

1. I’ll use it for additional cover up. Once I’ve applied my medium coverage of foundation, I’ll take my sponge, add a tiny bit of foundation, and pat that onto the area where I need a little extra coverage. It’s perfect for a second layer just where I want it. 
   
2. It’s great for blending your (already applied) foundation in and reducing any brush lines. This is way different to me than using the sponge to actually apply the foundation base.  It’s easy patting to melt the (already evenly placed) foundation into your skin. Like a eyeshadow blending brush step, but for your face.
   
3. I might use it to blend my concealer under eye because of its wedge end shape and soft blending-in ability.
   
4. Blending period. Blending hard lines of blush, bronzer, powder. Anything. Damp beauty sponges are great for that. 
   
5. As a stress ball. Just kidding.
   

So I guess all in all, beauty sponges don’t actually suck. I just think using them to apply your foundation base is not the best beauty tip of the year. Like can we normalize foundation brushes again please? Thank you. ​

 This ridiculously affordable makeup brush set has given me tons of use. ​ (The medium-short kabuki is my fave for foundation, bottom second from right)

As well as this one. ​ (Again the flat head brush - second from left) is my favorite for foundation)

My go to foundation brush is by Real Techniques, but it’s so old I can’t find it. This is the closest I’ve seen to my fave.

And the beauty sponge set from Amazon I purchase can be seen here.

Or Beautycounter actually has a gorgeous Better Blender with innovative design here. I haven’t tried it but hear it’s a great multi-use tool. ​

I'm curious if you jumped on the beauty sponge trend train and if it's been excellent for you. Perhaps I'm missing something. But I'm pretty tried and true to my foundation brushes. Follow me on Instagram for foundation application demos and more.

​Let me know what you think! Are you team beauty blender?

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