makeup sponge – Hoots of a Night Al

Best BeautyBlender Makeup Sponge Dupe! Sonia Kashuk Makeup Blender

September 26, 2018 No Comments

Lately, I’ve been on the hunt to find a replacement for my BeautyBlender. While I love that makeup sponge, it’s hard for me to spend $20 every time I need to replace it (which means I usually end up using it for MUCH longer than you’re supposed to… 🙈). Thankfully, I stumbled upon these Sonia Kashuk Makeup Blender sponges, and they’re only $7! I loved the idea of saving 65%, but only if the quality didn’t suffer.

My first thought was that I loved the chic design. It’s a black and white marble pattern, and I actually loved it so much I resisted using it for almost a month! I didn’t want my makeup to dirty it up.😂 It has a flat base perfect for applying foundation and a pointed tip great for areas like under the eyes and around the nose. If you remember, the Flower Beauty sponge didn’t have a tapered enough tip for me to apply makeup to those areas well, so I was hoping this sponge performed better.

As you can see, this thing is HUGE. Like, comically huge. I included my (quite dirty) BeautyBlender for comparison, and I’d estimate the Sonia Kashuk sponge is almost twice as large. On the left is the sponge dry, and on the right is the sponge after I dampened it. If you aren’t familiar with beauty sponges, most of them are recommended to be used when damp. When wet, they absorb less product and allow for a more even, sheer application.

I ended up loving how huge the sponge was, since it cut down my application time by almost half! My foundation and concealer went on smoothly, and the sponge worked great with my setting powder as well. I pumped my favorite foundation directly on the sponge, and I used less product than usual but got wonderful results. Even though the tapered side was large, the shape was still perfect for using under my eyes and around my nose.

No exaggeration here, people. This is my favorite makeup sponge I have ever tried…BeautyBlender included. As far as I can tell, it’s only sold at Target, which is an added perk as I’ll take any excuse to go there! For a fraction of the cost, perfectly applied makeup, a quicker application time, and a beautiful design, I couldn’t ask for anything better! This will definitely be my new go to makeup sponge!🙌🏻 Do you have any other BeautyBlender dupes I need to try out? Comment below and let me know!

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Best Drugstore BeautyBlender Replacement? Flower Beauty 3-in-1 Blending Sponge Review

August 20, 2018 2 Comments

If you’ve read my blog before, you know I’m a huge fan of drugstore beauty products. I love trying higher-end products from time to time, but I believe that you can get equally amazing results with cheaper products. Based on that, I was so excited to try out a “drugstore” 3-in-1 blending sponge from Flower Beauty.

For the record, I typically use the Original BeautyBlender, and I love it! It costs $20, but it lasts me for several months, so I consider that a good investment. However, I saw that the Flower Beauty Sponge was getting amazing reviews, and it only costs $10 (hello 50% savings!), so I figured I would give it a try!

As you can see, it’s a beautiful lavender color and offers three distinct areas for applying your makeup. According to their site, “The Precise Tip allows for application around the eyes & nose. The Flat Teardrop Surface may be used for contouring and hard-to-reach areas. The Cupped Base buffs foundation seamlessly to create airbrushed look.”

So, how does it stand up against my BeautyBlender? In some ways it’s better…but in some ways it’s worse. As you can see below, it’s roughly the same size as a BeautyBlender when dry. However, when dampened it. is. HUGE. I loved this! The rounded bottom got so large that I could apply my foundation in half the time! This is my current favorite foundation, so I’ve been pumping it directly on my Flower Beauty Sponge and just dabbing away.

While I love the larger size for applying foundation, it made applying and blending my concealer under my eyes and around my eyes much more difficult. The “precise tip” gets pretty wide once dampened, so it just doesn’t work for my under-eye area when blending. However, I did like the “flat teardrop surface” for contouring and applying setting powder around my nose.

So I guess you could say it’s six of one, half a dozen of the other. 🙂 The Flower Beauty 3-in-1 Blending Sponge is a great, cheaper alternative for applying your liquid foundation and setting powder quickly, but I would have another tool handy for applying and blending out your concealer. Do you have any other drugstore BeautyBlender alternatives I should test out?