First Impressions: The Beautyblender

You know the Innovation Adoption Curve? When it comes to the Beautyblender, the Innovation Adoption Curve will categorise me under the "Laggards" section. I'm not exaggerating when I say almost all of the beauty Youtubers I watch love the beautyblender. So many "Get Ready With Me" videos and makeup tutorials featured this jarring pink water-drop shaped sponge. I have been intrigued for a long, long time, but the price tag deterred me from checking out my shopping cart. 

I got mine in a set that included the mini Solid Cleanser. The set costs S$37 on sephora.sg (luxola has officially become sephora.sg, how exciting!!). The beautyblender itself retails for S$30. 

From the beautyblender website:

The world’s first edgeless, non-disposable, high-definition cosmetic sponge applicator. The unique shape and exclusive material available only with beautyblender® ensures impeccable, streak-free application with minimum product waste. Use it with primers, foundations, powders, cream blushes, and any other complexion product.

beautyblender® features an open cell structure that fills with small amounts of water when wet. This allows the sponge to be “full” so that the makeup product sits on top of the sponge rather than being absorbed, allowing you to use less product every time. When wet, beautyblender® doubles in size and becomes even softer, returning to its original size when it air dries.

So... is it as amazing as what most users say?

I'm not incredibly awed, but I don't hate it. Maybe I need more trials using different complexion products.

I used it for first time this morning, and I'm not that impressed with how it blended out my concealer. I now have a habit of applying only concealer, then topping it off with loose powder. No more liquid foundation for everyday wear. I dotted the areas that needed coverage with my concealer, and then used the beautyblender (after soaking it in water and squeezing out excess water) to blend out the concealer. For areas with hyperpigmentation left by acne, the beautyblender seemed to be absorbing the concealer more than blending it out. I had to use 2 layers of concealer to get a decent coverage. If I used my fingers, one layer is more than enough.

Of course, the beautyblender is not without merit. It blended out concealer beautifully under my eyes very quickly. It also blended out my concealer with zero streaks, which was quite tough to achieve when using fingers or brushes. I'll give this another try tomorrow with liquid foundation, then concealer. Hopefully, I'll like it more! I want to, because it's S$30 for a tiny sponge man! I better LOVE it.

I'll update this page again with the outcome of my second trial and sponge cleaning process! :)

Update on 13 February 2016:

• Okay, I finally get the hype. I tried the beautyblender with all my favourite foundations and bb creams and they were all applied and blended out beautifully. So freaking fast too! Boing, boing, boing, boing and one cheek done! It's not great for concealing acne though. This will be the perfect foundation application tool if you have generally smooth and bump-free skin (which I'm slowly but surely achieving with accutane, oh yeah!). 
• The beautyblender solid cleanser worked effectively as well. It definitely removed makeup thoroughly from the beautyblender and it's so easy and fast to clean. Extremely helpful for a lazy person like me - don't need to worry about using unhygienic tools on my face again! :D 
• Overall, I'm a convert. Now I know why this tiny pink sponge is so expensive.