Beauty Blender vs. Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge

Welcome back to my blog J So today I thought I’d do a review on the Beauty Blender vs. the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge. I get asked about which I prefer or think is better all the time so I thought I’d do a post about what I think! Before I begin I just want to mention that this is my opinion and what works for me and may not necessarily be best for you given our different skin types and foundations. So please stick to what you love if you already have a favorite.

Beauty Blenders:
Let me just say I absolutely love these egg shaped sponges! They come in five different colors: nude, pink (original), white (pure), grey (beauty blusher) and black (pro). The nude sponge is designed to be used for all different kinds of foundations only. The original pink sponge is made for all complexion products such as powders, cream blushes, and more. The white sponge is made for the silky application of skincare, such as serums and moisturizers, and makeup; it is also more geared towards sensitive skin. The grey sponge is specifically made to blend all kinds of blushes, from creams to powders. The black sponge is made for professionals and best for applying darker tones, long wear cosmetics, and self-tanners. They also have the mini beauty blenders designed especially to highlight, contour, and conceal. Here are some images to help you remember all of that:

I have tried all these sponges except for the white one as they don’t sell them at my local Sephora yet. I mostly use matte foundations due to my combination oily skin, and personally I have found the black sponge works best for this. That’s why it’s my favorite! It blends out beautifully and doesn’t ruin the sponge. I used the nude sponge with my matte foundations and within weeks the sponge was ruined…I almost cried. It dried up the sponge so much that it couldn’t blend anything and I had to stop using it. However, with my other non-matte foundations the nude sponge worked just as well. So, I think the nude sponge is made more for silkier liquid foundations and the black sponge made more for long lasting matte foundations. 

The pink sponge works for just about anything so if you’re looking for one sponge that does it all, this one is definitely it. However, over time it also gets ruined with matte foundations unless you clean it after every single use (which you should probably be doing anyways but really who has time for that :P). I don’t really understand the purpose of the grey blush sponge. It is smaller so I guess that makes it easier to apply blush, but I find the original pink sponge does this pretty good already. I feel the same about the mini sponges. Yes, they are smaller and more precise, but they are too small to do anything else other than highlight and contour which I personally find the pointy end of a regular sized beauty blender does a great job at already. 

To summarize, I find the black sponge works best for me as I tend to use more matte foundations. That being said, I think all beauty blenders’ work amazing, and beat any of my brushes by a landslide when it comes to blending and applying complexion products flawlessly.

Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge:
Next up is the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge. I wanted to find a dupe of the beauty blender that worked well and wasn’t as expensive. So I did a little bit of research and found that many people loved this sponge and found that it worked just as well if not better than the Beauty Blender. The Beauty Blender sells for $28.00 CAD each and the Miracle Complexion Sponge sells for $7.69 CAD each (they also have value packs). I had to try it!!! Here is what the sponge looks like outside its packaging:

Unfortunately, I found that it didn’t meet my standards for one reason and one reason only: it absorbs WAY too much product. When it comes to blending and getting a flawless finish this sponge works well BUT it absorbs so much product that I end up using much more than I would have with my Beauty Blender. Sadly, this means I waste a lot more product and makes this cheaper sponge not so worth it L I even tried soaking it for longer to see if maybe that would make it retain less product but that didn’t work either. I was pretty choked up about this since this sponge had so much potential such as the straight flat edge on one side. I normally love Real Techniques products, but I was pretty disappointed in this one. 

However, it’s not all bad!!! I started using this sponge with cream and powder products and it works AMAZING (I was pretty relieved since I bought a 4 pack). So if you’re looking for a sponge to apply powders and creams this is a good one. I use it to pick up loose powders to “bake” or “cook” (or whatever you want to call it) my concealer and it works like a dream; especially because the flat edge works really well at fitting the under eye area and creating a sharp edge for contouring. I also tried it with my cream blush and powder highlight and it worked great! Another great thing about this sponge is its durability. I find it lasts much longer than my Beauty Blender and products wash out of it much easier. However, that might just be because I don’t use it as much and avoid using liquid foundations with it.

So all in all, the Beauty Blender sponges still have my vote because of its versatility and ability to be used with literally any complexion product. However, for creams and powders the Real Techniques sponge works just as well if not better (due to the flat edge) at a cheaper price point.

**On a side note, I ordered a Silisponge to review for you guys, which should be coming in the next month or two (it’s on back order). If you haven’t heard about the Silisponge, it is a silicone sponge that is supposed to work like a Beauty Blender at applying complexion products WITHOUT absorbing any product (sounds pretty amazing to me). Will keep you posted!

Thanks for reading! J

Julisse