Update: Super DUPEr- Essence of Beauty Precision Blender Sponge

     So, the Beauty Blender has been a fairly hot item so far this year. It's a reusable, egg-shaped sponge, designed as such to offer a versatile range of makeup application.  The wider end and base is used for overall coverage, while the narrower end is intended to reach crannies of the face. The end result is a fully blended face. While the Beauty Blender runs for a little over $15 or more, I was able to find its sibling for only $4.99 at CVS! Essence of Beauty's is a very similar makeup tool, and while much more affordable, I found it to be highly effective and even more sensible in shape in terms of use.  Did I mention it's infused with Vitamin E?

                                                              Essence of Beauty Precision Blender Sponge

Beauty Blender
Image Courtesy of Sephora.com

     The main sell for me is the highly narrowed tip- I'm able to reach into the tiny crannies around my nose and blend concealer underneath my eyes seamlessly. While I really like the concealer that I'm currently using, it is a bit on the thicker side and the Precision Blender Sponge has drastically reduced any unfinished appearance.  It is the only thing I'm going to be using to blend my concealer from now on.

     While the larger base on the other end is recommended for overall foundation application, I much prefer to just use my fingers or a brush since I do like to use more product and I feel the sponge sucks up to much of the product. It took me a few tries to get this correctly, but I ended up really liking the finish and using less foundation than I normally do using my fingers. The trick is to get the sponge wet enough, and squeeze excess water out. For this type of application, what I've found to work best it to hold the sponge by the grooves and completely disregard the rest of the blender- i.e. pretend that you are working with a tiny circular sponge. I found that I had much more control this way.

     If you're looking for a nice, inexpensive blending tool, or would like to test out this unique product before committing to spending a little more money, consider giving Essence of Beauty Precision Blender Sponge a whirl.