Beauty Blender vs Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge Review

Makeup sponges used to be inexpensive, basic makeup tools.  I used to buy a pack of wedges and use each one for a week and toss. I wash them after each use (...most of the time :) ).

They are very inexpensive and 'boring' tools that work very well.  Sponges are sanitary because I use a new one every week so they don't accumulate bacteria. 

The edges of wedge shaped sponges are fantastic for applying undereye concealer.  Sponges are great for applying foundation flawlessly. I love them!

Then comes the BEAUTY BLENDER.  It quickly became so hyped up, everyone is raving about it worldwide.  The thing is, it really is fantastic!!  Here are the comparison of two of the more popular egg shaped makeup sponges.  I've been comparing them, using they one on each side of my face for about 2 weeks.  The Beauty Blender I've been using for about a year, the Miracle Complexion sponge i recently purchased.  You can see the Beauty Blender is at the end of its life now, there are small tears and the 'pores' looked enlarged. Hope it helps!!

To wash these, I use the Beauty Blender Solid, which is my favorite for sponges and brushes. I also use other soaps like Lush's Rock Star soap, it works too.

 

Here you see the differences in size, on the left they are dry, on the right they are damp.

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Beauty Blender
Price: US$20

What the guys at the beauty blender says  |  The world’s first edgeless, non-disposable, high-definition cosmetic sponge applicator. The unique shape and exclusive material available only with beautyblender® ensures impeccable, streak-free application with minimum product waste. Use it with primers, foundations, powders, cream blushes, and any other complexion product.

beautyblender® features an open cell structure that fills with small amounts of water when wet. This allows the sponge to be “full” so that the makeup product sits on top of the sponge rather than being absorbed, allowing you to use less product every time. When wet, beautyblender® doubles in size and becomes even softer, returning to its original size when it air dries.

At beautyblender® we choose to use safe, water-soluble dyes that do not harm the environment and will maintain the integrity of our proprietary foam. For this reason, you may notice some color run off the first time you wash beautyblender®. This is normal and will disappear after you have cleansed the product several times. Please note that the color will not transfer onto the face or clothing.

 
My thoughts |

PRO

1. The shape  •  it's perfect.  The pointed end is fantastic for undereye concealer. The rounded end and sides of the sponge is amazing for apply foundation to large areas.
2. The material  •  when its damp, its soft but with the right firmness. For cream foundation, this is especially important. Cream foundations are thicker and requires more to work it into the skin and blend seamlessly. The Beauty Blender has the right firmness to make it work.

CON

1. The price  •  need i say more
2. Stains  •  foundations just stains it, even though I wash it right after using it. I even tried washing it repeatedly with Beauty Blender Solid.  Just can't get the foundation stains off. This is my pet peeve and it annoys me so much
3. Wastes foundation  •  do not use foundations that are thinner in consistency, like Chanel Perfection Luniere Velvet, with the Beauty Blender. It absorbs too much foundation even they say that it doesn't if its damp. It does! One way to combat it is to apply the foundation with your fingers quickly, there will be some patchiness. Use the Beauty Blender as a last step to blend it to perfection.  That way it absorbs less product. If you simply dot runny foundations all over your face, then start bouncing the Beauty Blender all over, i found that I don't get the coverage i expect because the foundations gets absorbed into the sponge, not on your face
4. Color comes off during washing   •   this is not a negative to me but may be to other people. During the first few washes, the pink color comes off quite a bit. You can see the water becomes pink as you squeeze the water from the sponge. Doesn't happen with Real Techniques.
   

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Real Techniques miracle complexion sponge

Price: US$6

What the guys at real techniques says  |  This versatile beauty tool was designed with a revolutionary foam technology to evenly blend makeup for a smooth, enhanced finish. Use damp for a dewy glow or dry for a full coverage.

•  rounded sides blend large areas of the face with a dabbing motion
• precision tip covers blemishes and imperfections
• flat edge for contouring around the eyes and nose
• ideal for liquid foundation

My thoughts  |

PRO

1. Easy to clean  •  no foundation stains, it's completely clean even when i wash it the next day. That makes me so happy
2. Price  •  at almost a quarter of the price of the Beauty Blender, it's amazing!!!
3. Its soft and bouncy  •  i love squeezing it because its so squishy

CON

1. Its too soft  •  i love using the pointed end to apply undereye concealer, but because of how soft this is, it makes it harder to use
2. The shape  •  the flat end isn't good for undereye concealer either because of how soft it is. I just can't get enough pressure because its so soft. However i like it to apply foundation on large areas. The rounded  sides are also great for foundation on large areas.
3. Cream foundations  •  again because of how soft it is, its not good for thicker cream foundations.  For these foundation, alittle firmness is a must to spread it around and blend quickly. This can still be used, i would dot the foundation all over, use it to spread by wiping it sideways, then bounce it all over to blend.

Summary  |  I prefer the Beauty Blender, it works better, quicker and can be used for more products and applications.  The price is ridiculous but its worth it since it lasts a pretty long time.  That said, the Miracle Complexion Sponge is a great alternative for the budget conscious. At US$6, its still a fantastic product.

Wayne Goss Bush No. 14 Review

Wayne Goss, #14
US$33 from Beautylish
Bristles: Goat, cruelty free
Length of bristles: 4cm (1.5 in)
Full length from tip to end: 17cm (6 3/4 in) 
Hand made in Japan

At first i was very skeptical about this unusual brush. I bought it just to see what I can do with it because I don't have a brush of this shape in my collection.  I also love the Wayne Goss brushes I already own, so I couldn't resist.

Extract from Beautylish  ¦  In applying and blending powders (bronzer, blush, highlighter), it won’t ever move foundation or any other makeup. Similar to Brush 11, but sized smaller for more detailed work along the cheekbones and around the eyes.

MY THOUGHTS:

After using it for a while, this quickly became one of my all time favorite brushes. I use it for applying pigmented blushes, they are amazing!
Bristles - goat, undyed, uncut.  I don't think I've seen makeup brushes made from brown goat bristles in the market.  Goat bristles typically come in white (undyed) and black (dyed black) bristles.  I've stopped buying bristles that has been dyed because it ruins the quality of the bristles and its not as soft as it is before its being dyed.

Wayne Goss's brown bristle brushes has become one of my all time favorite bristles because of how soft and silky it feels. These are the best goat bristles in my opinion, better than the softest japanese goat bristles offered by Hakuhodo and Koyudo.

In terms of softness, grey quirrel bristles are the softest, followed by high quality white goat bristles found in Japanese brushes.  I'm not referring to the white goat bristles found in Mac, Sigma or Zoeva, the latter two are quite coarse!  These are slightly softer than high quality white goat bristles.  As soft as grey squirrel bristles can be, they don't pick up powder product as well as goat bristles.  These Wayne Goss brown goats bristles, for me, are the best of both worlds.  They are so soft, they have the silky feel of grey squirrel and they pick up products well like goats. I love them!!

Uses - the bristles are rather long and are not very dense. They are the right size and density for pigmented blushes.  It applies a beautifully diffused blush perfectly and easily.  I feel one don't need skill with this and viola! Perfectly applied blush.  It's amazing!!!

Since this brush diffuses pigmented products, it can be used for highlight but not lighter blushes like Mac Well Dressed, for that, use a denser blush brush like Hakuhodo 110.

 The brand name and brush numbers are laseredonto the beautiful handle. This is not the usual wooden handle with lacquer over it. They are glossy and look luxurious.

Left to Right:  Chikuhodo Z-2, Wayne Goss #1, Wayne Goss #14, Mac 118, Real Techniques Duo Fiber Contour Brush, Hakuhodo 5521, Koyudo BP015

Caution - I found a chip on one of my earliest Wayne Goss brushes. The chip is on the tip at the end of the handle. I have never dropped that brush, so I figured it must be from the way I put it back into the brush holder aka. a Starbuck mug.  I tend to drop my brushes, from about a 7cm height into the brush holder. I do that for all my other brushes and this is the first time I found a chip.  That's probably due to the beautiful coating on the hande, they look glossy, shiny and luxurious. They are not the mundane wooden handle found on most makeup brushes.  Now I lower them all the way until they reach the bottle of the brush holder.

 

Tarte Tarteist Contour Palette Review

Price: SGD 69 / US$ 45 from Sephora

I was so excited to get the palette when I saw it on social media. The palette looked beautiful! Love the shiny gold packaging, with 6 shades in circular layout, gorgeous!

It has 2 setting powders, 2 contour shades, 1 blush & 1 highlight shade. Seems perfect!





Here's a breakdown:

• The first 2 shades are setting powders (well, to me at least). They are matte & are what Tarte calls a Highlight shade - light skintone, & Correct - yellow or banana shade.  They are too sheer to hightlight or correct. I use them on each side of my face and i cannot see any difference.  They are fine as setting powders for light to medium skintones.
  
• Shade 3 & 4 are contour shades. They are completely matte & neutral toned, not too warm nor too cool. They will work for most skintones. I'm NC25 and I only use the lighter contour shade. The darker contour shade can be mixed with the the lighter shade to customize whats right for you. Between the two, they can cater to a very wide range of skintones. I really like the contour shade because it looks very natural.
•  Shade 5 is a matte dusty pink blush for light to medium skintones.
• Shade 6 is a very sheer white powder with extremely fine shimmers. It is a subtle highlight for light to light medium skintone. It will work as a beautiful but subtle eyeshadow as well. Because its very sheer, you will need to pack it on to be more visible. And because its white with silver shimmers, it can look angelic and very beautiful. Many people has commented they do not like this shade and I know where they are coming from. Its nothing like the popular highlight shades ie. Becca where you can achieve a noticeable glow. This is very subtle in comparison.

PRO

• Large mirror that opens 180 degrees, so useful. I really don't like compacts that opens just 90 degrees. I hate having to angle it so that i can see the mirror instead of the way I'm used to
• Love the round layout, its so beautiful
• Contour shades are matte, neutral toned and can work for most skintones
• Smells lightly chocolatey

CON

• There isn't a noticeable difference between shade 1 & 2, they could do away with one of them
• The blush shade is fine but I wish its much nicer. How about a shade similar to expose and another brighter shade like blissful
• I wish it includes an actual highlight shade like Stila Kitten
• The powders don't feel buttery and soft, but they are finey milled and not too bad
• This palette will not work for dark skintones so i'm not sure why they include shade 4, the darker contourshade. Its so dark, it would look pretty unnatural for light to medium skintones. A little can ony be used to mix with the lighter contour shade to beef it up.
• I wish the front of the compact is a shiny metalic like the back and sides. I don't like how it looks.
• The surface of the pans get scratched extremely easily. You can see from the pictures, those are not powder marks. I tried cleaning them but they are actually tiny scratches and can't be removed.

There you go. It may not be a fantastic palette but its pretty comprehensive. I have powder, contour and blush in one.