Is the Beauty Blender Worth It?

Is the Beauty Blender Worth It?

[Gifted] The Original Beauty Blender. Can you believe I’ve never tried it until now? When sponges first started making their way onto the makeup scene I was still all about the brush, and by the time I was falling in love with them as an application method, just about every brand had come out with their own version – all normally cheaper than the one which started it all. So I’ve tried my fair share of other makeup sponges but, is the Beauty Blender worth it?

Whilst I have been tempted over the years to try the original pink sponge, I’ve had a huge stash of sponges to finish up. I was recently sent this by Marks and Spencer’s as an announcement that they were now a stockist for M&S which I happily announced on my Instagram at the time. However I’ve really wanted to test this out over the long term to see whether this was a worthwhile investment. Is it really worth spending over £15 on a makeup sponge?

Is the Beauty Blender Worth It?

The iconic teardrop shaped sponge comes simply packaged – in a light flexible plastic packaging to protect it and show it off in all it’s glory from every angle. For the price it doesn’t feel particularly luxe, however it’s small container means it’s not wasteful in size, and if you really wanted to you could keep hold of the original container as a way to travel with it without getting it dirty in your makeup bag.

The sponge itself now comes in a variety of colours, but bright pink was the original – and how the sponge became known. It’s covered in every which way from black to white – and even beige coloured shades now too. 

One of the first issues I had with this was on the first wash – this shed colour like crazy. So much so that rather than seeing the colour of a foundation dripping away, it was like a unicorn was bleeding into my sink. I’ve noticed a little bit of colour run off in brands over the years, but nothing like the level that this has. And occasionally, even 2 months into using this regularly I’m still seeing tinges of pink running down the drain, which does leave me wondering that on some level whether it must also be transferring onto my face. In terms of rinsing out in general, I do find the texture of this a little more stubborn than what I’m used to and often find myself going in three times with the liquid soap I use to thoroughly get rid of all marks on the surface.

I always wet my sponges and this one is no different. It expands quite dramatically becoming almost double the size I expect when damp and has a very light texture. That sounds like something you should expect when it comes to sponges, but I’ve tried some very rubbery ones over the years which feel almost like they have a rock centre when bounced on squishy cheeks.

The shape of this is a perfectly symmetrical teardrop shape, there’s no flat sides carved out of this. The end is very very tapered and precise, to start with I thought this was going to be fantastic for getting into all the awkward angles, but because it’s so thin – when you bounce it down it goes off in any direction it fancies like it has a mind of it’s own, so I rarely use the tapered end at all.

Is the Beauty Blender Worth It?
Sponge when Dry
Sponge when damp

Personally my favourite sponges all have a flat edge on them, I find them a faster to work with over all as you’re not fighting with the curvature of the sponge for surface area, but the sponge does give a very nice finish overall – it’s just a little more time consuming. Is it any nicer than my favourite sponge for the past year which is about three times cheaper? No, not really. I think the shape of the sponge is down to personal preference as to what you prefer overall, I don’t hate it enough to write it off, but if I was picking again I would pick the sponge.

Where I do think it excels a little more is that it’s maybe slightly more robust than some others. My favourites aren’t particularly prone to tearing, but I do find with longish nails when I’m rinsing sponges out and giving them a really good clean then nicks quite often appear – this seems to stand up better than quite a few and it’s chunky bottom shape also means that it’s got some extra weight behind it. But again, whilst it’s better I’m not sure it’s three times better, nor is it’s lifespan really that improved as a result. I would pretty much be repurchasing at the same rate as I would with ones which are £3.99-£5.99.

So, Is the Beauty Blender Worth It?

Whilst I’m enjoying this – I think you gather already that this isn’t my favourite sponge I’ve tried, I am enjoying using it. It won’t be the one which I continue to repurchase in future, but I can see why people like it. It all comes back down to the shape for me and if you can find this at a good deal (they have great offers on around black Friday, and sets for Christmas). Then it’s a good time to give a try, and makes a nice little stocking stuffer for a beauty addict who may not normally spend as much on their own.


I think it’s fantastic news that if you’re a huge fan of Beauty Blender that there’s an extra retailer who now proudly stock the brand – I hate having to go and hunt out my ‘essentials’ when I need to rebuy, and I’d happily pick up any and all essentials whilst perusing the M&S beauty aisles.

Have you tried “the original”? Is the Beauty Blender Worth It to you?

Available widely including from M&S for £17.

Product sent by M&S as part of a PR parcel. Thoughts and experiences entirely truthful based on my experience with the product.

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30 Comments

  1. rinkydinkyrhi
    October 18, 2018 / 10:09 am

    I do like the original Beauty Blender but I can’t justify the price when I like the Real Techniques one just as much. I also prefer having the flat edge on the RT one x

    Rhi | http://www.rinkydinkyrhi.com

  2. October 18, 2018 / 12:38 pm

    The first beauty sponge I got was the beauty blender as I found it on offer on Groupon for ยฃ6 (never found it since tho) and since then I’ve always preferred it but cannot justify the price for it. I’ve used the eco tools one which I actually prefer to the RT one as it has the flat edge but the same bounciness of the BB.

    • October 18, 2018 / 1:16 pm

      I don’t love the Real Techniques one, I find it a little more solid and it seems to age pretty badly and starts to feel crispy!
      I’ve tried a lot of sponges, but I don’t think I’ve ever tried the Ecotools one, I love their brushes but not tried their sponges! I’ll have to when I need to repurchase some! Thanks for reading! x

      • October 18, 2018 / 1:22 pm

        Yeah I found it a bit solid too but everyone seemed to love it so I just thought it was me! Absolutely love eco tools brushes, would love to know your thoughts on their sponge if you ever get the chance to purchase! X

  3. October 18, 2018 / 3:06 pm

    I was just wondering about this yesterday, so thanks for the info. I don’t need unicorn blood in the sink! x

  4. October 18, 2018 / 5:16 pm

    I don’t know – I feel like there are enough good but inexpensive sponges out there that I can’t justify buying a $25 sponge unless it can make my skin look Photoshopped or something!

  5. October 18, 2018 / 5:16 pm

    I have the same feeling toward the original beauty blender. When I got into makeup years ago I couldn’t justify spending that much money on a sponge..and ever since I’ve been using the Real Techniques sponge religiously. Over recent years like you mentioned, so many brands have introduced their own…usually less expensive version and for that reason alone I still have not even tried the Beauty Blender. Interesting to find out the sponge is still bleeding color after a few months, I’ve never had any of those issues with other less expensive options. Nice post girl !

  6. Aleeya Azimulla
    October 18, 2018 / 6:52 pm

    Great post. I agree with you on the beauty blender. I prefer brushes.

  7. Farah Gasimzade
    October 18, 2018 / 8:33 pm

    I love it, especially the white one!

  8. Farah Gasimzade
    October 18, 2018 / 8:54 pm

    Honestly, your post made me think of probably trying other sponges as well ๐Ÿค”

  9. October 18, 2018 / 11:01 pm

    I do love the look of the Beauty Blender, but its the price tag that scares me off. I’ve been really liking the Real Techniques blender but it’s looking a little … broken haha! It is about 6 months old now though so probably time to replace it! Hopefully in the Boxing Day sales it comes down in price a little bit so I can give it a try!

    Heather | x Highland Beauty

  10. October 19, 2018 / 3:57 pm

    Agreed. I love the Beauty Blender but many of the less expensive alternatives (like the Real Techniques) are equally good I think ๐Ÿ™‚

  11. October 19, 2018 / 7:26 pm

    I do like the Beauty Blender abs have gone through several. But now there are other sponges that work just as well and cost a lot less.

    Oh and Pro Tip: I wear rubber fish gloves when I wash my sponges. It keeps my nails from tearing them, plus the textured surface on the gloves helps scrub out foundation better. Oh and it keeps your hands dry too. ๐Ÿ˜Š

  12. Nadine
    October 20, 2018 / 3:40 pm

    I have actually never tried any type of sponge to apply my make-up. I think it’s just because it seems like a lot of work to clean, to be honest. ๐Ÿ˜‚ It’s disappointing that the original and supposedly “holy grail” of beauty sponges is so easily comparable to more affordable options. Is cleaning a beauty sponge more work than a brush or am I imagining things?

    • October 20, 2018 / 8:04 pm

      It’s maybe a bit more work than brush, takes me 30 seconds – a minute to clean them. Because you have to get up to wet them there’s no excuse to not clean it as you go!

  13. October 21, 2018 / 9:17 am

    Its so bad that so much colour has run from yours? I’m a big lover of the RT sponge to be honest but ordered the basic beauty tools one on your reccomendation!
    Lx
    LoraHullx

  14. October 21, 2018 / 11:15 am

    I can never justify buying the original beauty blender, it’s just too expensive. I’m more of a brush person but I feel Real Techniques beauty blender is a decent inexpensive option.
    Love,
    The Beauty Wonk
    http://thebeautywonk.com/

  15. beautybyraji
    October 25, 2018 / 7:14 pm

    Ive tried the original beauty blender and just don’t think its worth the money. It was ok but in general I prefer the real techniques miracle sponge in combination with their face brushes

  16. October 29, 2018 / 5:52 pm

    Stashy swears by it, so I was quite tempted at some stage. But every time I look at the beauty blender price point, it becomes a hard pass. I don’t find it interesting enough to justify 17 GBP for something that could be produced by a simple production process.

    If I happen to use mouse / foam makeup, the only sponge that I would buy is the Shu Uemura pentagon shaped ones. Had them since the 90s and they still sell them now. They come in a pack of 4 for something like USD7. I throw them away weekly or bi-weekly, no cleaning required.

  17. paigemckinney7
    November 6, 2018 / 4:42 pm

    great article! loved it.

  18. November 15, 2018 / 12:55 am

    I wanted to get one because I’ve seen beauty gurus use it on their make-up tutorials. But when I saw the price, I changed my mind. Good thing I found cheaper ones from Forever 21 and they just work well. Can’t compare them though to the more expensive ones since I’ve never tried those ๐Ÿ˜€

  19. Pooja
    December 20, 2018 / 2:46 am

    Really informative – it is pricey!

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