The all-time makeup sponges y'all can purchase

best beauty blender and makeup sponge

BeautyBlender / Business organization Insider
  • Whether you're serving upward high-def contouring for the 'gram or only trying to wait amazing on the daily, a good makeup sponge tin can assistance.
  • There are a ton of different ones out at that place, and at different cost points too.
  • But the original Dazzler Blender is our top pick for the best makeup sponge because information technology delivers a flawless terminate. At $twenty, it'due south pricey but definitely a worthwhile investment.

Since I start started wearing makeup as a junior high schooler in 1998, the game has really inverse. Your fingertips and a bag of disposable sponges may accept done the fob in the by, but makeup enthusiasts the globe over (myself included) have been blest to discover the magically seamless look that comes from a great makeup sponge and we're not going back.

Makeup sponges can by and large exist used dry or wet for applying and blending liquid or cream makeup. You can also apply base makeup with fingers or a brush and so go over it with a moist sponge to create an airbrush-like finish that you but can't reach any other way.

From dabbing on some sheer BB cream or foundation to blending a hardcore, full-coverage contoured look, nobody relies on the dinky little sponge pads that comes with your makeup anymore. Instead, a wide variety of specialized sponges has flooded the market place, with a toll range that's just equally broad.

So how can you tell which ones are worth the money or are a low-budget steal, and which ones you should leave on the shelves? I read endless online reviews from makeup mavens and tested ten sponges myself at a variety of price points to notice out which are keepers.

Here are the best makeup sponges you tin can buy in 2019:

  • Best makeup sponge overall: Original BeautyBlender
  • Best budget makeup sponge: Existent Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge
  • All-time silicone makeup blender: Nylea Silicone Makeup Sponge
  • Best for makeup sponge for speed: The Makeup Bullet
  • Best makeup sponge for switching between products: Fenty Beauty Precision Makeup Sponge

Updated on 6/4/2019 by Jada Wong: Updated copy, formatting, links, and prices.

The best makeup sponge overall

Beauty Blender

Flawless finish and precise detail are par for the course with the cult-classic Original BeautyBlender.

No shocker hither. The original BeautyBlender has been a full-on cult favorite for years.

Multiple mentions from Kim Kardashian West's fave makeup artist, Mario Dedivanovic, and Kim herself, didn't injure its massive popularity, either. While this blender is the almost expensive on our all-time-of list at $20 , its high-quality materials and flat-out amazing function make it worth every cent.

I love the narrowed tip that let me get into tough corners like effectually my nose. It even worked to touch upwardly concealer under my dark nether-eye circles mid-day without smudging my lower lash mascara. The density and "bounce" is too just correct. You can use information technology dry, but many people — myself included — recollect it works best when it'due south merely a bit damp. The sponge grows significantly when wet, then you lot just clasp it out and dab for an absolutely perfect sheer terminate.

I tried it with both BB creams, tinted moisturizers, and full-on foundations and here's what I found. When using a foundation, put a few squirts onto the back of your hand and then use the BeautyBlender like a paintbrush to apply. It'south made of a latex-free hydrophilic foam which prevents it from absorbing too much product.

If you lot're using a super moist BB foam or tinted moisturizer, still, I found that the brush did absorb a bit also much product for my liking. Instead, for BB cream, I spread it all over my face with my fingertips, then used the sponge to dab and alloy all over to create a flawless surface with no stroke marks.

The original colour is brilliant pink, but information technology's now available in a range of shades. With literally thousands of positive reviews on Amazon and Sephora, I'm not alone in thinking the original blender is worth the money. It holds upward to several washings (some kits come with a special shampoo and scrubby), then while initial investment may be higher than some of the other blenders, this high-quality selection will last and last. That means less ecology waste material with this greener pick.

Pros: Great for small-scale areas of the face, provides a flawless cease without soaking up besides much product

Cons: It'due south on the more expensive end, and some people accept reported counterfeits beingness sold on Amazon, so be careful what you society

Buy the Original Dazzler Blender at Sephora for $20

The best budget makeup sponge

Real Techniques

With many of the aforementioned features equally the Beauty Blender at a much lower price, this Real Techniques Sponge is a great runner-up choice.

The Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge is a close second behind the original BeautyBlender. And for those of you who balk at spending $xx every couple of months on a trivial piece of cream, this should exist considered the go-to choice.

With a similarly pointed tip on i end, y'all tin can reach nooks and crannies, and with a apartment edge on the other, cream contouring works like a dream. The merely major difference is in the characteristics of the foam.

The Existent Techniques sponge doesn't quite accept the bounce of the original, though it'due south close enough that you lot can use it without missing much. The polyurethane foam is nonetheless latex-complimentary, merely doesn't work its textural magic in the same way, and it absorbs a little more product. This sponge can't stand up as many washings before it starts to tear or interruption apart  either.

Regardless, this is a makeup sponge I used to use and I still stand up by information technology every bit an first-class budget selection. As one reviewer on Amazon said, the Miracle Complexion sponge is a "great dupe for the Beauty Blender," and "blends better than a castor."

And for the entirely reasonable price of $nine.xix for a pack of ii on Amazon, where this bestseller has garnered most seventy% v-star reviews, y'all can afford to buy a few actress.

Pros: A neat cost for good quality makes this sponge keen for everyday use

Cons: Wears a flake faster and easier than more expensive options

Buy a ii-pack of the Real Techniques Phenomenon Complexion Sponge on Amazon for $ix.19 (originally $8.99)

The best silicone makeup blender

Nylea

The Nylea Silicone Makeup Sponge is easy to clean, is super affordable, and volition save y'all from using excessive foundation.

The Nylea'south sealed silicone outside means 100% of your makeup ends up on your face up, not absorbed into foam. It's too incredibly easy to wash in the sink and has no little crevices for leaner to hide in.

Amazon user, A. May, took the words right out of my mouth by explaining how "this beauty blender is easy to clean and doesn't soak up makeup which saves…money. It takes a little getting used to and a dissimilar technique than a traditional beauty blender does, but once you lot go the hang of it your makeup will expect amazing."

One Amazon reviewer called the Nylea the "all-time applicator ever," since it saved her and then much product waste. "I use high-end foundation and I end upward using around 4-6 pumps every awarding," she writes, adding, "I used Ane pump and covered my face completely with this sponge. When I was done I washed the sponge with my normal face up launder and it looks make new."

The thought of an easy-to-make clean, smoothen silicone applicator is perfect in theory, simply non everyone loves the reality of the way the applicator works. Several Amazon reviewers report that y'all tin can't just use your normal sponge technique and expect the perfect finish with this tool.

I too found that my usual application technique didn't quite work the same, and I had to practise a picayune different movement with little swirls in order to reduce smear lines. But if the perks of this silicone blender look skilful to you lot, learning a new technique may well be worth it.

Pros: Reduces makeup waste and the spread of bacteria

Cons: Requires learning a special technique to go a perfect finish

Buy a ii-pack of the Nylea Silicone Makeup Sponge on Amazon for $half dozen.99 (originally $five.99)

The all-time blender for speed

Makeup Bullet

The Makeup Bullet is a genius tool that combines the flawless finish of a traditional sponge with the ease and speed of your own fingertips.

The first time you apply the The Makeup Bullet you lot may feel a lilliputian lightheaded.

It'south made and then that you stick your fingers inside the bullets and article of clothing one, two, or iii at a time. When I offset tried the Makeup Bullet, I had one on each pointer finger and looking in the mirror, I thought I looked a bit like a witch with long black fingernails. But you know what? I didn't hate it. Actually, I kind of loved it.

Although some people have said it doesn't fit their fingers , the size and shape worked for me. I had to practice my technique a bit first, just shortly, I was able to use foundation, BB cream, or whatsoever other liquid makeup just equally chop-chop and easily as I'd apply regular balm with my fingers. Because I didn't have to go back over the unabridged awarding area with a sponge or brush to smooth out lines, it was also a lot faster.

This genius fingertip blender concept came from Emmy-award winning makeup artist and entrepreneur, Eva Jane Bunkley, who in an email with Concern Insider , said, "I have been so elated with the positive response my product has received from the beauty community worldwide."

Indeed, the Cyberspace is rife with bloggers who love the multitasking, "easily-complimentary" activity the bullet gives them. Many say information technology'south especially bully for blending around the eyes. Others say it's like shooting fish in a barrel to use dry without soaking upwardly likewise much product.

Pros: The dexterity of your ain fingers combined with the smoothing action of a sponge means y'all can apply makeup in less time

Cons: Is pricier than some options, and may take a fiddling getting used to before you find your own technique

Buy a four-pack of The Makeup Bullet on Ulta for $24.99

The best makeup sponge for switching between products

Fenty

The Fenty Dazzler Precision Makeup Sponge has a super-soft plush feel for foam and a flat side for blending pulverization so you tin can multitask.

With more forty,000 likes and a 4.3-star rating on Sephora, Fenty's answer to makeup sponges is another tin't-lose choice.

Rihanna's cruelty-free Fenty Beauty line has already gotten lots of great printing for its loftier quality and vast array of makeup shades, but t he Precision Makeup Sponge is besides existence lauded for its super-luxe touch, flawless results, and ability to work on liquid and powder, all for nigh 25% less than the price of the original BeautyBlender.

The product page on Sephora is chock full of reviewers evangelizing over the softness and bounce, along with enough of buyers promising their newfound dedication to this new blender in lieu of others. But 1 issue with the extra softness is that some feel it results in more product getting captivated and wasted past the sponge.

1 reviewer on Fenty's website said it'due south "non as dense every bit the Real Techniques sponge," and "feels similar to the dazzler blender," but noted that the "flat edge" and neutral color of the Fenty option are bonuses.

When I tried the Fenty sponge, I also appreciated that the 3-sided shape ways the apartment side of the sponge worked really well with powder, which is something that the original BeautyBlender can't do equally well. You can also employ ane corner of the flat side for precision concealer awarding, merely information technology'southward just not as precise every bit the Beauty Blender's fine tip in my opinion.

Pros: Looks and feels luxe, and can piece of work on liquid and powder makeup

Cons: Nevertheless on the pricier side, and doesn't offer a super fine applicator tip

Purchase the Fenty Dazzler Precision Makeup Sponge 100 at Sephora for $16

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