The Real Beauty Blender Versus a Cheap Foundation Sponge
There are different techniques and tools to apply liquid foundation, but for more than two years now I've been loyal to my trusted little pink egg: my Beauty Sponge. The Beauty Blender is an egg-shaped make-up sponge that you dampen and then use to bounce or €stipple' on your liquid foundation. The coverage and the finish that you get with the Beauty Blender are truly unmatched, and no brush can give me the even yet lightweight result that my beloved egg gives me. The only downside? The price. Costing 15 to 20 euro, the Beauty Sponge isn't cheap, especially not considering that you have to replace it after a while. Because of that I have always wondered about the cheaper alternatives, but my skepticism always prevented me from trying them. Until now, that is, because I recently ordered a budget-friendly Beauty Sponge alternative for less than 3 USD from the Born Pretty web shop**: the Pro Powder Puff Water-Drop Sponge Make-up Flawless Foundation Make-up**. Yeah€¦ so the name is kind of sch-weird as Nicole Scherzinger would say on X-Factor, but whatever. Let's have a look at how this inexpensive beauty blender performs against the real original Beauty Blender. Time for a battle!
Shape & ease of use
The real Beauty Blender and the inexpensive Pro Powder Puff Water-Drop Sponge from Born Pretty both have the same perfect egg shape, but the Pro Powder Puff Water-Drop Sponge is a bit smaller than the Beauty Sponge. The Beauty Blender also expands a lot more than the Pro Powder Puff Water-Drop Sponge does when it absorbs water, so the final difference in size between the two is even bigger.
But does size matter? Meh, not really. The real Beauty Sponge and the cheaper Born Pretty version are both comfortable to hold and easy to use, but because the Beauty Sponge is bigger in size it allows me to finish my foundation application faster. Then again, the Pro Powder Puff Water-Drop Sponge is easier to use for those hard-to-reach places like around my nose, my temples and under my eyes. So with the different sizes come different advantages.
Material & texture
The Beauty Sponge is very soft and supple, and it feels really bouncy and flexible when I squeeze it. The Born Pretty Pro Powder Puff Water-Drop Sponge on the other hand is less supple and is more resistant when I squeeze it. As a result the Pro Powder Puff Water-Drop Sponge doesn't have that seamless contact with my skin that the Beauty Blender has, so I need to be more precise and accurate with it to make my foundation go on evenly. With my Beauty Blender I can walk around bouncing away without even looking in the mirror, but with the Pro Powder Puff Water-Drop Sponge I need to stay more focused.
While the real Beauty Blender has a soft, smooth and perfectly even texture, the Pro Powder Puff Water-Drop Sponge has a slightly more irregular and harder texture. Again those results in me having to work just a little harder and having to pay just a little more attention to get that nice even result.
Result & finish
The real Beauty Sponge and the budget version from Born Pretty both make it really easy to build my foundation's coverage, and both foundation sponges allow me to get a really nice natural-looking result. The only difference is that with the Pro Powder Puff Water-Drop Sponge I need to work a little harder for that pretty finish. But in the end both foundation sponges give a really nice end result, and that is what matters.
Price & durability
A real Beauty Sponge will set you back about 20 USD. My new Pro Powder Puff Water-Drop Sponge from bornprettystore.com costs 2.30 USD. So just looking at the price, the Pro Powder Puff Water-Drop Sponge wins. But you do have to take into consideration that the Beauty Blender lasts a lot longer than the Pro Powder Puff Water-Drop Sponge: the Beauty Blender stays smooth and supple for weeks and even months on end, while the budget version starts to show some minor yet visible wear and tear after just a few weeks. At 20 USD the Beauty Blender should last about eight times longer than the Pro Powder Puff Water-Drop Sponge to justify the price difference. So that means that if the Pro Powder Puff Water-Drop Sponge lasted a month, the Beauty Blender would have to last eight months. I'm not sure if a Beauty Sponge can last that long. I kind of doubt it€¦ So the bottom line? Even though the Beauty Blender is more durable, it's still expensive. The Pro Powder Water-Drop Sponge has a pretty decent lifespan, especially considering how cheap it is.
Shape & ease of use
The real Beauty Blender and the inexpensive Pro Powder Puff Water-Drop Sponge from Born Pretty both have the same perfect egg shape, but the Pro Powder Puff Water-Drop Sponge is a bit smaller than the Beauty Sponge. The Beauty Blender also expands a lot more than the Pro Powder Puff Water-Drop Sponge does when it absorbs water, so the final difference in size between the two is even bigger.
But does size matter? Meh, not really. The real Beauty Sponge and the cheaper Born Pretty version are both comfortable to hold and easy to use, but because the Beauty Sponge is bigger in size it allows me to finish my foundation application faster. Then again, the Pro Powder Puff Water-Drop Sponge is easier to use for those hard-to-reach places like around my nose, my temples and under my eyes. So with the different sizes come different advantages.
Material & texture
The Beauty Sponge is very soft and supple, and it feels really bouncy and flexible when I squeeze it. The Born Pretty Pro Powder Puff Water-Drop Sponge on the other hand is less supple and is more resistant when I squeeze it. As a result the Pro Powder Puff Water-Drop Sponge doesn't have that seamless contact with my skin that the Beauty Blender has, so I need to be more precise and accurate with it to make my foundation go on evenly. With my Beauty Blender I can walk around bouncing away without even looking in the mirror, but with the Pro Powder Puff Water-Drop Sponge I need to stay more focused.
While the real Beauty Blender has a soft, smooth and perfectly even texture, the Pro Powder Puff Water-Drop Sponge has a slightly more irregular and harder texture. Again those results in me having to work just a little harder and having to pay just a little more attention to get that nice even result.
Result & finish
The real Beauty Sponge and the budget version from Born Pretty both make it really easy to build my foundation's coverage, and both foundation sponges allow me to get a really nice natural-looking result. The only difference is that with the Pro Powder Puff Water-Drop Sponge I need to work a little harder for that pretty finish. But in the end both foundation sponges give a really nice end result, and that is what matters.
Price & durability
A real Beauty Sponge will set you back about 20 USD. My new Pro Powder Puff Water-Drop Sponge from bornprettystore.com costs 2.30 USD. So just looking at the price, the Pro Powder Puff Water-Drop Sponge wins. But you do have to take into consideration that the Beauty Blender lasts a lot longer than the Pro Powder Puff Water-Drop Sponge: the Beauty Blender stays smooth and supple for weeks and even months on end, while the budget version starts to show some minor yet visible wear and tear after just a few weeks. At 20 USD the Beauty Blender should last about eight times longer than the Pro Powder Puff Water-Drop Sponge to justify the price difference. So that means that if the Pro Powder Puff Water-Drop Sponge lasted a month, the Beauty Blender would have to last eight months. I'm not sure if a Beauty Sponge can last that long. I kind of doubt it€¦ So the bottom line? Even though the Beauty Blender is more durable, it's still expensive. The Pro Powder Water-Drop Sponge has a pretty decent lifespan, especially considering how cheap it is.
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