My First Time with a Beauty Blender!

Let's do this!

I've seen beauty blenders. I've seen plenty of people extolling their virtue, and how they were THE thing that everyone needed in their makeup bag, and never really bought in to their hype. Then, figuring I had to get in on the scoop (like any self-respecting beauty blogger should...), I went out and bought myself one.

And here's the little guy now! The contour you see in the middle is, I assume, designed to make it easier to hold, and the slightly pointed end is designed to make it easier to get in and around your nose, and eyes.

When you get a beauty blender, the first thing you do is get it wet. Squeeze it in your hand under water, similar to how you'd do with a kitchen sponge, if you were going to clean off your counters. Now this step is important, because without it, the blender will simply begin to absorb the makeup, without much of it getting to your face. And it getting to your face is kind of the whole point, right?

And much like a kitchen sponge, once wet, those buggers grow!

Now at this point, you'll effectively use this like a makeup "stamp". Dot some foundation on your face, like so:

(If we're being technical, that's actually Garnier BB cream, original formula in Light. At any rate...)

Rather than just rubbing the blender over your face, as you would with a traditional style, old school sponge, you'll actually...well, stamp it. Put it down in a location with color, pick it up, put it down in a different location with no color, where you want there to be color. See, I debated making this a video, because this is strange to describe. Maybe one day I'll get to it. 

At any rate, here's a quick collage of the blender in action.

Stamping in action. Pick it up. Put it down. Repeat until you're covered.

Speaking of covered, the people that extoll the virtues of the beauty blender are always quick to go to the coverage that it gives. And I'm not ready to get that excited on it yet. It's pretty good - I got the same amount of coverage that I typically get, on a little less than half the product, and I came out of it with clean fingers. So, I'm in the "Good, not great." camp so far. Which will probably change as I get more experienced.

Post "beauty blender" coverage photo;

I was a little embarrassed when I realized I hadn't smiled in a single photo. :) Pretty good coverage, maybe even a little better than I typically get. And I'm wearing a BB cream too, which they aren't exactly known for their spectacular coverage to begin with. You guys saw my original pictures, you know what I was working to cover up, too. :)

So I'm still in the "good not great" camp, but I'm getting there. I think I'd like to try it with a full fledged foundation. If looking at my pictures has convinced you, and you've decided you need a beauty blender in your life, you can find them pretty much anywhere you can buy makeup, and at all different price points. Mine cost $5 at Meijer, and I know Sephora carries them as well (although I'm confident not for $5!) According to the instructions on mine, cleaning is as easy as mild soap and water!

See you soon, gorgeous!