Like many people, I had heard nothing but rave reviews about the beauty blender. Being highly skeptical, I opted for a less expensive dupe (the Real Techniques sponges), which I promptly fell in love with. As I don't use brushes to apply my foundation (they cause micro exfoliation on my dry skin and make my face look patchy), I decided to bite the bullet and try the beauty blender out.
I got a dual pack of these from Nordstrom as they are much more affordable than purchasing them from here. The first thing that struck me about these, is that they are really small when dry. However, when you wet them they expand to almost double their size when wet, but are slightly smaller than the Real Techniques sponges.
These are very easy to use and feel soft and really 'bouncy' on your skin. I find that when they are wet they do absorb product, but it is fairly minimal. They create a flawless and seamless application to my face, don't create any ugly dry patches and don't diminish the coverage of my foundation.
These are fairly pricey but - for my skin type, they are a must have. In comparison to the Real Techniques sponges, these perform slightly better on my skin in that they don't absorb much product, the finish is slightly better and the sponge feels bouncier - which makes my skin look more natural.
If you have the Real Techniques sponges and are happy with those, then I wouldn't recommend you purchase these just because they are expensive and the difference is rather subtle. However, I will definitely repurchase these over the Real Techniques sponges as I do prefer the subtle differences and I like that these absorb less product. These also feel of a higher quality to the RT sponges.
I know gals! It's expensive and definitely makes your wallet scream at you but the beauty blender is like the new brush! It replaces so much. It doesn't leave streaks or unwanted looks it does exactly what you want!
I brought mine online at beauty bliss for $32 mine is pink. It's so smooth on your face. Doesn't soak up your product it doesn't leave streaks as I said before, it just leaves your face looking flawless and beautiful I Love it.
You need to start saving up because your gonna wanna put away all those flat tops and round top brushes and replace them with these.
I think it's like a science project to have made this. It even expands when you wet it. Now that's cool.
It does last a while. Mine last about 3 months maybe more. If you clean it then it should last you a while. I just use the cleanser that it came with. Sometimes when I'm lazy I just use baby shampoo that works also.
Overall it's the best little sponge I've ever seen.
Tips: I recommend to use it damp it works better. Well at least I find it works better.