There’s a new kid on the block in the world of Blending Sponges and it comes from the brand Basic Beauty Tools. I’ve seen the brand floating around the internet a couple of times in the past few months and was excited when I had the opportunity to give them a try and was so surprised when 4 sponges turned up at my door!
I’ve recently been on a bit of a cull with my sponges trying to get rid of all the ones in my collection that I either don’t like or are too old as I try to declutter. But I’ll start with a spoiler that after using these four of these are very welcome in my collection as I absolutely love them.
The shape of these remind me of the OG beauty blender/Real Techniques sponges, with a teardrop shape with a larger flat area that I personally like to make blending as quick and fast as possible. What I do like this is that they’re tapered to the top which means that they’re really easy to get into small areas like around the eye. Whilst the texture of them reminds me of my favourite sponges, I much prefer the shape of these and it’s given me the best of both worlds in one sponge.
I’ve been using these for the past two weeks or so now and I’ve found that they expand well, feel light and bounce back on the skin well and importantly don’t feel as if they’re absorbing a lot of product. I’ve found that they rinse out well, and aren’t too delicate, I have some pretty long talons at the moment and find sometimes as I’m squeezing water out/washing that my nails can sometimes create small tears, but so far so good, no tears and easy to clean makes them a pleasure to use beyond just application.
These come in three different colours, black, pink and purple something as I’ve found really handy as I get into using sponges for more use than just foundation, I have one sponge which is good at all tasks, but it’s easy for be to remember that each have been used for different tasks from highlighting to contouring. Sometimes I’ve found with other brands whilst some sponges look the same size and shape, colour can seem to really effect the density of the sponge, that’s not the case with these and you can rest assured whatever your colour preference that all colours are created equal. At £5.99 these are fantastic value for money and I’ve not used another space in the two weeks since these arrived.
And then comes the SpongeDry, now I’ll be the first to admit when I first saw these I thought they were a little bit expensive, these are £14.99 and come in white, pink, purple and black and also come with a choice of sponge, and a little pouch to protect your sponge on it’s travels. Now I actually have this on my dressing table I can see it’s use. One thing I always ask myself when I think something is expensive is would I repurchase it if it was lost, and with this the answer is yes. Unlike a sponge which you replace every 3-6 months (at least in my case), once you have the Sponge Dry there’s no need to replace it and you can just refill it with your favourite sponge (I’ve tested others and the only one it doesn’t work well with is the Diamond Shaped Real Techniques one which is really awkwardly shaped!).
The Sponge Dry folds down so it’s flat so it’s a product that’s also makeup bag friendly to take with you on holiday for example. I tend to use my sponge in the morning and rush out the door, washing it when I get home, I find leaving it on here overnight means it’s the perfect level of dampness in the morning, and is much more hygienic than throwing it into the bowl with other sponges.
You can get 15% off any of the products on the Basic Beauty Tools website with the code RACHAEL, they have both a UK store as well as a US store and they do ship worldwide. Until the end of September you can grab yourself a free foundation sponge with every order, so now’s the time to order if you’re considering it. The SpongeDry is also designed and manufactured in the UK, a big plus!
If you’re interested in buying you can find the Spongedry sets here, and the individual beauty sponges separately here.
What are your favourite makeup sponges, and how do you store them between uses?
Products featured were sent from a review. If you purchase using my discount code I will receive a small commission for the referral.
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I love the pink and purple! The sponge holder does also sound pretty nifty, I might check these out! x
So far they’ve been so lovely to use! x
Hello beautiful,
I just love how well written your post is …I gave your blog a follow I hope you follow back looking forward to more
I’m so glad you liked them, I really love mine! Xxx
The drying / storage contraption looks interesting! I wish it was cheaper though…
I was about to say the same thing. *LOL* Damn it, you stole my line, Stashy.
I call it the sponge hammock! It is a bit expensive could have done with being a pound or two cheaper but at least it’s not an item which needs to be repurchased!
I dearest the pink and majestic! I shout it the sponge hammock!
Haha it’s funny you say that, I called it that the other day!
I margin call it the sponge hammock! I passion the pink and imperial!