Beauty Blender Dupes & How to Use - A Beginners Guide

With so many make-up sponges to choose from nowadays it's hard to know which ones are right for you and how to use them properly. Now the Beauty Blender is my ultimate favourite foundation sponge, but over the past few years I have accumulated a fair few and some I've loved and others not so much. So here's the 411 on the make-up sponge, plus some affordable Beauty Blender Dupes too.

1. REAL TECHNIQUES BOLD METALS MIRACLE DIAMOND SPONGE - £12
I like to call this the multi-tasker as it's good for applying most make-up products. It's also super soft to use and it expands considerably so you can cover large areas of the face quickly. I do find the pointy end a little too pointy for under the eye area, however it's perfect for getting in around the nose area.

2. REAL TECHNIQUES MIRACLE COMPLEXION SPONGE - £5.99

Not only is this affordable, it's great for flawless foundation application and you can also use this to swipe and pat product onto the face too. This is still really soft, however comparing it to the diamond sponge, the diamond version is just that little bit softer, but both are equally as delicate, so just take care when cleaning these sponges as they can tear if your not careful.

3. PRIMARK MAKE-UP SPONGE - £1.50

Now although the Real Techniques sponge is really affordable, Primark also have their own even cheaper version! This looks identical to the Real Techniques one and it does actually do a great job at applying foundation, but it is slightly firmer and not as bouncy and I would say overall it just doesn't give you as flawless coverage compared to the Miracle Complexion Sponge and Beauty Blender.



4. REAL TECHNIQUES MIRACLE MINI ERASER SPONGE - £5.99

Now these have become my holy grail sponges for applying concealer as they are super soft and bouncy and are perfect for using around the delicate eye area. You get two in a pack for £5.99 and again these are fantastic for a multitude of sins including, applying concealer, baking, wiping up mistakes and cleaning up under the eyes.

5. BEAUTY BLENDER - £16

Speaking of holy grail sponges, this for me is the crème de le crème of make-up sponges, why I hear you ask?! It's firm but bouncy, durable, the shapes perfect and it can be used wet or dry, plus it helps give you the ultimate airbrushed finish.

6. COSMOPOLITAN BLEND PERFECTION SPONGE - £4.99

This was actually one of the first sponges I ever bought and you've probably seen a lot very similar to this anyway. Texture wise this is a lot firmer and rougher but it's still nice and bouncy and it does apply foundation reasonable well when used damp. I cannot seem to find this particular sponge anymore but I have linked some other options instead here*.

7. MAC PRO PERFORMANCE SPONGE - £15.50

8. MAC SOFT POINT SPONGE APPLICATOR - £15.50
Lastly I wanted to feature two high end sponges so you could see how these compare to the Beauty Blender which is around the same price. Again I've had these for years (way before the Beauty Blender phenomena) and both can be used damp to apply creams and liquids, they just don't expand. I love the shape of these MAC sponges as you can use them almost anywhere on the face, however they are quite firm and rouge in texture and honestly these are nowhere near as good as the Real Techniques Sponges and Beauty Blender!

Overall if you can stretch to the Beauty Blender then it's a life changer, but if you are on a budget I would recommend all three of the Real Techniques Sponges as they perform fantastically and you can't beat the price point and accessibility factor of these sponges.

Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge Review and Photos

I've never tried the cult Beauty Blender Sponge but I hear it's amazing, so I was excited to discover that my favourite brush brand Real Techniques had bought a similar version out.

Here's my thoughts.

Have you tried this sponge or the Beauty Blender let me know what you thought via my social media or in the comments below?

On the packaging it is described as a 'Base/Flawless Miracle Complexion Sponge' which helps you cover imperfections, blend and contour, it also has an online tutorial on how to use the sponge which is reminiscent of all Real Techniques products.

Price
This retails for £5.99 which I think is great value for money for a premium drugstore make-up sponge.

Packaging
This comes packaged in Real Techniques signature packaging which is full of bullet pointed useful information and as mentioned above a video on how to use the sponge.

Application
This feels amazing to the touch, it's so soft, I've never felt a make-up sponge so delicate and velvety. I used this damp with my Revlon Photoready Foundation on the right side of my face and the Real Techniques Buffing Brush on the left to compare application.

I prefer wetting my make-up sponges as I think they give an even more flawless finish. When I popped this under the tap it expanded really big so you can work the sponge over large areas of the face.

Upon application this felt amazing and gave a lovely dewy flawless finish to the skin, compared to the brush it gave a flawless application, but it didn't quite give you that seamless dewy, airbrushed appearance the sponge gave.

Overall Thoughts
Although I can't compare this to the famous Beauty Blender, for me this is the best sponge I have ever used for foundation application, it gives the most beautiful finish to the complexion, it's affordable and the packaging is informative and useful for any make-up sponge novice.

I look forward to see what's next for Real Techniques as there products are quite frankly some of the best premium drugstore brushes out there.

I award the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge 4.9 out of 5