Beauty Blender vs Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge

The question every beauty lover wants to know, what is better; the original Beauty Blender or the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge? I’ve never been much of a sponge person when it comes to makeup application but I soon began daily using my RT sponge and could easily see the hype around using one. I had never been overly fussed about an expensive pink sponge but after enjoying using the RT one, I thought it was time to try out the incredibly hyped Beauty Blender. So having tried both is the beauty blender a waste of money or worth the hype?

PRICE AND SHAPE 

One of the most obvious differences between these two sponges is the price. The Real Techniques sponge retailers for a much more affordable price at £5.99 whilst the Beauty Blender comes in at more than double at £16. In terms of the shape of the sponges they also differ quite significantly. The Beauty Blender is simply a rounded egg shape whereas the Real Techniques Sponge has a little more shape to it in the way that is offers a flat edge for using round the eyes. The texture of the the two also differ with the Beauty Blender being much more bouncy and lighter compared to the Real Techniques which is more firmer in texture. For me, the Beauty Blender comes out on top for the shape/texture with the bounciness making it easier to work with.

APPLICATION

In terms of application, the Beauty Blender wins outright. One of the problems I had with the RT sponge was that it soaked up a lot of product so I never got on with it when applying foundation and stuck to using it for patting in concealer. I’ve found the Beauty Blender to be much superior, it doesn’t seem to soak up the product probably from the lightweight texture. Even when wetting the sponge, the Beauty Blender doesn’t hold as much water compared to the RT one which I was always having to squeeze the excess out of. The bouncy texture of the Beauty Blender also makes it far superior for working with and it blends much better on the skin than the RT one. The flat side of the RT sponge can be useful for under the eyes but really I have no problem using the BB and the texture is much better to work with.

OVERALL

I think it is clear to see that the Beauty Blender wins the game for me. It is pricey for a sponge but it is so worth it in comparison to the likes of the RT sponge. The texture of the BB is unbeatable being soft and bouncy which works so well in application. The stiffer texture of the RT sponge and the soaking up of product makes it much weaker in my eyes. Whilst I got good use out of it and the price is great, I just think for better results it is a good and better investment to pick up the Beauty Blender. Well worth the hype!

Are you a fan of the beauty sponge?

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December Favourites

It’s favourites time again and also the final favourites post of the year! How scary! Although keep your eyes peeled for a special favourites post coming next week! Back to the festive month of December though, I picked up quite a few new exciting bits and pieces over the month which I am truly loving and also fell for some products that I already had in my stash! So without further ado, here is my December favourites…

If you read Monday’s monthly roundup post, you would remember my mention of starting a Makeup Geek palette. Not too long ago Beauty Bay started stocking Makeup Geek eyeshadows much to my excitement. These single eyeshadows have been so raved about from the likes of Jaclyn Hill who even stated that they were her all time favourite eyeshadows (even better than Mac!). Obviously for that reason I had to pick up a few! The shadows are super affordable and there is such an incredible range to choose from. I have five shadows so far and I also picked up a large Z Palette to put them in. Jaclyn is so right, the quality of these are so amazing and they last so long on my oily eyelids! If anyone has any shade recommendations, fire away! A few of my favourites have to be Peach Smoothie, Prom Night and Homecoming! I now can’t wait to start filling up my palette!

Speaking of Jaclyn Hill and exciting UK launches, Becca Champagne Pop finally made its way over to the UK! Yay! I don’t think I’ve ever gotten so excited about a makeup product before and I even pre-ordered it as soon as I seen it on the Space NK website, sad I know! It is so easy to see why this is such a raved about highlighter. The peachy champagne-y shade looks gorgeous on so many skin-tones and the formula is a complete dream to work with, super buttery smooth. It is pretty intense but I just love it so much that I’ve basically been wearing it everyday,but I mean its Christmas so why not!

A more surprising favourite this month is the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge. I say surprising as I really didn’t get this product when I first tried it. Although I’ve found myself using this everyday over the month and it just seems so perfect for blending out concealer and ensuring my base is flawless. I do really want to try the Beauty Blender though now as I hear that one is far superior…

One thing I just have to have at Christmas time is a bottle of Lush Snow Fairy! I just can’t go without my precious amazingly scented Snow Fairy at this time of year. It just makes me feel so Christmassy and I couldn’t help but stock up during the Lush sales!

Another product that I’ve came back to is my holy grail primer! Nothing will ever beat the Smashbox Photo Finish primer. With nights out and parties during the month, this primer came to the rescue by helping my makeup last that bit longer and still look fresh by the end of the night! It creates such a smooth base to the skin which allows makeup to glide on beautifully and basically is the key to a flawless base!

I also finally discovered Anastasia Beverly Hills this month. After spotting a 20% off deal online I just had to get that contour palette! I picked up the original contour kit in the lighter shade and I have been using it constantly over the month. The powders are super blendable and last so well too. After I got my eyebrows done not too long ago and my beloved Benefit Gimme Brow is on its last legs I wanted to try out something new. I picked up the Dipbrow Pomade in Soft Brown and it’s became my new go-to. I don’t want to go into too much detail with these products as I will be having a separate review post coming soon but both are well loved new additions to my makeup routine.

What have you been loving this month?

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Three New Makeup Tools

Splurging on expensive makeup is pretty pointless if you don’t have good makeup brushes and tools to apply them. I am slowly but surely building my makeup brush collection by trying to find the perfect brush/tool for each area of makeup and I recently added a few more to my collection.

Bobbi Brown Full Coverage Face Brush – If you seen my 2015 wishlist you may recall seeing this included. I heard so many great reviews on this brush for foundation use with many YouTubers and fellow bloggers raving about it. Prior to using this one I relied on my Real Techniques Buffing Brush which is a great option for foundation and a much cheaper alternative. When I first got this I was a bit unsure since I was pretty happy with my RT brush but now I am a total convert. Paired with my Nars Sheer Glow this is the perfect brush for such a flawless finish. It is much more dense than the RT brush and is smaller too making it perfect to really get into every area of the face. Only negative is that I am now lusting over a couple more Bobbi Brown brushes!

Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge – Now I may have traded my RT buffing brush for an alternative but I don’t think I would ever turn my back on Real Techniques altogether. They really are a fab brand, making quality brushes at an affordable price. One thing I never thought I would be buying though is a sponge. When I first started getting into makeup the one thing I used to apply my foundation was those cheap sponge wedges which were pretty disastrous. Although it is safe to say this sponge isn’t any were near that level. I bought this sponge after seeing the Beauty Blender being raved about a lot as well as this being mentioned as a dupe so I thought why not jump on the bandwagon. I have been using this mostly for concealer as the shape is great for covering the under eye area and also the tip is also good for dabbing in other areas. I’ve really been liking using this although I am yet to try it for foundation so I will definitely need to try that out too!

MAC 217 Brush – The iconic 217. I must admit I am a bit of an eyeshadow noob. A smokey eye for me is more like a got into a fight black eye situation. Not pretty. Now everyone basically raves on end about how great this brush is and for the longest time I really wanted it and pretty much needed it. Its meant to make eyeshadow a breeze and my god it does. I don’t even know how I survived this world without a MAC 217. It works as a good all-rounder, packing colour onto the lid and blending out in the crease. If your eyeshadow isn’t quite up to scratch then I suggest this mighty brush! I could quite do with a second 217 if I’m honest…

Are you a fan of any of these tools? What tools do you rely on?