HOW TO USE: A BEAUTY SPONGE

I’m sure you read the title and you probably got confused because it’s such a straight forward thing and most people use them specifically to apply liquid/cream foundation on. What if I told you there are other ways to use your beauty sponges as well? You don’t need to have the original beauty blender, there are blend of dupes out there that are just as great such as the QUO, Shop Miss A, eco tools, Real Techniques, and etc ones. Listen, if you love your makeup brushes, continue to use them. I’m just sharing my opinion and experiences with using a beauty sponge and how it’s worked for me!

Products you can use:

Powder: Yes, you can apply on powder using your beauty sponge. For this method, it doesn’t need to be wet because you’ll be doing the complete opposite of what you’re trying to achieve, a more matte appearance. Use a dry beauty sponge and apply a generous amount of powder onto it whether pressed or loose and apply the product directly onto your face. You’ll be surprised how effective this is and how even the application is compared to a brush application. I’m not too fond of using makeup brushes because they have a very splotchy application, you’ll have some oily regions and some matte, which is not a cute look. Don’t be afraid to come back in with a beauty sponge for touchups. Some of us get oilier than others and it’s fine to go back in to smoothen your skin’s appearance.

Cream blush: Who said beauty sponges were limited to one kind of product? I wear a ton of cream blushes and some can be more challenging to apply than others. Now, the best technique I like for cream blushes is usually using the warmth of my fingers and warming up the product so it blends easily but you can also use a sponge for more an even application. Apply a small amount of the cream blush and dot it on your face then use the sponge to blend.

Concealer: Whether it’s liquid or cream, application with a beauty sponge is most ideal with this step because the application is not only the easiest (user-friendly) but best. I absolutely hate brush applications with concealers and find it a very old school. Brush application often comes off as harsh and does not evenly distribute product out, it often emphasizes lines around the face because there’s just too much product there. Nobody wants a cakey, crepey looking concealer.

Liquid Highlighter: I don’t care what people say, liquid highlighter is definitely for more intermediate makeup users because it’s not as forgiving as a powder highlighter, if you apply too much, you’re likely going to end up looking like the tin man. The trick for a beautifully distributed, beaming highlight look is to dot a tiny amount of product on both cheeks and use your damp beauty blender to soften the look and blend. You can use your beauty blender dry for this however I find damp beauty blenders help melt the product better into the skin for a seamless beaming look.

Other ways you can use your sponge:

Makeup mistakes

We are all guilty for making small to big mistakes, no one’s really off the hook here. Even the most professional MUAs make mistakes because that’s how we learn and maybe we’re just having a bad makeup day. Eyeliner seems to be the most common thing to mess up because you can be a pro but if you wing it out too far, it’s too thick or it’s lopsided/doesn’t match the other eye, then you’ll need makeup remover to fix it. Once you remove the error, use your beauty sponge with the remaining product from the foundation and apply it to the area that doesn’t have makeup. It’ll save you a lot more time than going back with a “precise concealer” brush because sometimes it looks super obvious or we apply way too much product to conceal that specific region.

Cleaning

You don’t need to buy those beauty blenders solid soap cleaners to clean your beauty sponge. All you really need is a good cleansing oil. Yes! You can use this to remove your makeup off of your face and also your makeup sponge. You’ll also notice you’ll waste less product because you only need a small amount of cleansing oil to thoroughly clean your sponges. The one I enjoy using is the Fourth Ray BFD Cleansing oil and it’s amazing for removing off my waterproof eye makeup gently.

I hope these tips helped you and hope you get more use out of your beauty sponges! Feel free to comment below if you have any questions.

MAKEUP ROUTINE w/ CONAIR BEAUTY TOOLS

Hello friends, I hope you’re all having a wonderful week so far! I’m back to share two fantastic and affordable beauty tools with you all!
If you follow me on Instagram, you would know that I posted on these goodies a while ago and in case you missed a post, here it is! INSTAGRAM POST 🙂

There’s a lot of beauty tools in the market from facial massagers, LED skincare treatments, makeup application tools and etc. I think most of us use a beauty tool in our life. Before we had ACTUAL beauty sponges, I was using my fingers to apply foundation/face products because it worked and they’re completely free! What I mean by actual beauty sponges, there is a lot in the market that absorbs far too much makeup. I find the ones that have the ability to expand, absorb less makeup. Correct me if I’m wrong but I’ve had better experiences with those than the traditional makeup square sponges that you can buy in bulk; those absorb pretty much all the product I tried to apply on my face.

Brill Communications x Conair was kind enough to send out some of their new makeup applicators to try out and share with you guys. I wanted to show you all how I use them and how they’ve made my makeup application game a lot easier simply because they are multi-function and are not limited to only foundation/bb cream application.

Let’s start off with the brush set first, this is my favourite out of the two products simply because of the interchangeable heads and the fact how travel-friendly it is. It’s compact and the powder brush applicator is really soft. The sponge applicator head allows you to blend in foundation, cream blush, and cream bronzer.  How awesome is that? It just melts right in the skin and you can also wet it so it can expand. The brush applicator allows you to evenly apply powder-based products. I used this with my face powder and powdered blush and I liked how it had an even and seamless application.

As for the beauty sponge, it may look like a standard sponge but it’s actually battery operated and offers a one-speed sonic advantage. Top it off, it has a stand! I know for sure I have trouble storing my makeup sponges because they pretty much bounce off everywhere and with this stand, it makes things easier and you can easily find it too. Now if you’re a fan of the concept of an oscillating sponge, you can simply just remove the stand/battery and just use it as a regular sponge. Like any beauty sponge, this can be wet and is super easy to clean; it’s not stiff like some generic brands and I find it’s quite comparable to my favourite Danielle, Real Techniques and Eco Tool Sponges. I find this expands really easily and it’s really bouncy, making application super easy.

TIP: For control and precise application, place your finger in the sponge’s hole and apply makeup throughout your face. You can also wet this sponge and it expands quite a lot. A lot more than a competitor brand. It also absorbs a minimum amount of makeup so you’re wasting that much product when using this.

Thanks for tuning in for this week’s blog post. If you’re interested in seeing more beauty related posts, please feel free to request what you would like me to share next. Hint: check out my Instagram feed and scroll around to see what you want me to review about or dupe.