I've been using this before every work day for the past two weeks, so I think it's about time for a review. I've been looking for ways to speed up my morning makeup routine and wanted to try some kind of sponge. I figured I might as well start with the top dog so I have a basis for comparison. I've found this is a good, fast way to blend my morning makeup (Laura Mercier TM).
You're supposed to soak the sponge in water, squeeze it out, then dip it in your makeup to apply by bouncing it lightly where you want coverage. The water prevents the sponge from absorbing too much of your foundation as well as sheers it out a bit. Following the directions gives a rather sheer, glowy effect. It's pretty, but sometimes you want more coverage, right? My way of doing that is to soak and squeeze out the sponge, but I don't dip it into my makeup. Instead, I quickly sort of smear the makeup where I want it to go on my face with my fingers and then bounce the BB to stipple/blend it in. This gives more coverage than the suggested way.
The pointy end of the sponge is great for blending concealer around the nose and eyes. Of course, it's not good for precision work, but that's not really the point of this thing, is it? It's speed and ease of use. (Though I think BB should make a smaller version, maybe stick it on the end of a handle, and market it as a concealer blender. Not that it would work very well, but they'd probably make bank on the thing. In fact, I bet someone's already made a similar product).
For some absurd reason, I will spend the money on a little pink makeup egg, but draw the line at geting the special cleanser. The sponge is necessary, I guess, but the cleanser is pure decadence! Instead, I soak the sponge with cool water, then gently rub it over my bar of Nubian Heritage African black soap. I lightly knead the sponge to get a lather going, then I rinse it thoroughly under a running tap (cool water), squeeze it, and leave it to air-dry. This gets every bit of makeup out. There are no stains on my BB; it looks brand new. I'm sure you could do this with any kind of soap. However, I've noticed that a bit of pink dye is released everytime I wash the BB, though. Be careful because the pinkish water will stain white towels and clothing.
So far, I'm quite happy with my hot pink makeup egg sponge thing. It greatly speeds up my morning routine and gives my makeup a natural, glowy, air-brushed look. I'll edit if the BB explodes into alien fungal spores (as some of the more dire negative reviews warn) or whatever. One lippie off because yeah, this thing is overpriced. I'll keep an eye out for good dupes.
P.S. You can use a cheap wedge-shaped latex sponge to stipple/blend makeup by soaking it in water and bouncing it on your face. It will take longer, however, and the shape makes it trickier to use. I'd suggest you give this method a shot if you have a cheapo sponge lying around. If you like the effect it gives, you can then decide if you want to spend the extra money for the convenience of a rounded sponge.
