Best makeup sponges in 2024 | CNN Underscored

Makeup sponges provide a quick, easy way to apply many kinds of base makeup. We tested makeup sponges by Beautyblender, NYX, Real Techniques, Milk Makeup, Fenty, e.l.f. Cosmetics, L&#;Oréal Paris and Juno & Co. to find the right sponge that will work across applications.

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After testing many foundation applications with multiple makeup sponges, used both wet and dry, we found these to be our ultimate top two:

Beautyblender Original Makeup Sponge

Best makeup sponge overall

Beautyblender Original

Ulta

Heralded by beauty editors as the GOAT, the Beautyblender Original Makeup Sponge has lived up to its hype. While it&#;s slightly expensive, its quality (it didn&#;t disintegrate like others did over time) and effectiveness (it led to the cleanest application of the bunch) make it worth the money.

$17 at Amazon

NYX Teardrop Blending Sponge

Best budget buy and best for powder products

NYX Cosmetics

The NYX Teardrop was our favorite budget sponge. Many of the other budget sponges are overly stiff, but this sponge is as flexible as some prestige brands, and its unique shape lets you manipulate it easily and blend your foundation in any crevice of your face.

Currently unavailable at NYX Cosmetics

We see these two as complementary products and think each one is worthy of a spot on your makeup vanity. We applied cream and liquid products by dabbing with the Beautyblender and then set them with powders applied with the flat NYX sponge using a pressing motion. This is a useful technique if you prefer not to mix different shades and formulas on the same sponge, cutting down on the amount of time you spend cleaning your makeup tools.

Katie McBroom

Best makeup sponge overall: Beautyblender Original Makeup Sponge

$17 at Amazon

The Beautyblender claimed our top spot, thanks to its versatility, effectiveness and overall comfortable feel. It&#;s a rounded sponge with a teardrop shape, designed to be used while moist. The brand claims in this video that it should &#;bounce&#; on your makeup, if you use a springy dabbing motion as opposed to dragging on your foundation. And bounce it does. Because of its flexible form and quality material, it increases 30% in size when wet; it truly does feel like you can effortlessly pop on your base makeup swiftly as opposed to using some of the firmer sponges that don&#;t feel as soft or flexible (sorry, L&#;Oréal). It also applied our foundation the quickest and easiest of all the makeup sponges we tested.

Katie McBroom

When used moist as directed, the Beautyblender swells up, making it easier to quickly cover a large area with foundation. You can even use a moist Beautyblender to go over your base makeup after you&#;ve applied everything (including powder) to set it and get that coveted flawless finish. Because of its flexible form, the Beautyblender worked better with this technique than the other, stiffer sponges, which smeared our makeup. (The Real Techniques sponge, which is a bit firmer than the Beautyblender, pressed lines into the finish of our base makeup when we used the slanted side.) We also like that the Beautyblender stayed moist during the application process, unlike Juno & Co.&#;s velvet sponge, which dried out a little too quickly.

Katie McBroom

The Beautyblender is also the most versatile sponge we tested; it let us apply multiple forms of makeup with ease. It&#;s commonly used to apply foundation, but if you want to cover a large area with powder, concealer or even highlighter, this tool can easily be used to do so. (It&#;s also a good tool to use for &#;baking&#; your powder if you choose to.) You can also use the pointed tip of the sponge to apply powder eye shadows (wet for a more intense look or dry for more of the traditional powder finish).

Cleaning the Beautyblender might have been our least favorite aspect of it, as it&#;s not terribly easy to clean to where it looks like new. But it is possible, especially if you use the specialized cleaning solutions the brand offers.

Katie McBroom

Best budget buy and best for powder products: NYX Teardrop Blending Sponge

Currently unavailable at NYX Cosmetics

We love when a product is both effective and affordable. The NYX Teardrop Blending Sponge is teardrop-shaped but flat, so we recommend this one more for powder products, but it can also blend creams and foundations effectively. While we found it easier and faster to do a quick full-face foundation application by dabbing with the Beautyblender (due to its rounded form), if you&#;re more comfortable using pressing or dragging techniques for your makeup (like you might be familiar with from using old-school flat-wedge sponges you stole from your mom&#;s makeup stash), then you might prefer the flat shape. This sponge is also latex-free, making it a great option for people who might have allergies (or who just prefer the texture of a latex-free sponge).

Katie McBroom

The shape also works well to reach smaller, hard-to-blend places (like right under the eyes). You can bend or roll it, or even use the very tip to dot on tiny details (like shimmer powder in the inner corners of your eyes).

Compared to the Beautyblender, it did leave us wanting in certain areas. For example, the shape and form of the NYX sponge, while effective for certain aspects of more detailed makeup application, didn&#;t lend as well to a quick allover application. Ultimately, we preferred the thicker, rounded teardrop shape of the Beautyblender, especially for cream and liquid products; the larger circumference made for quicker, easier application.

While not quite as versatile and effective as the Beautyblender in terms of application, at $7 for a two-pack, it is also extremely affordable. It&#;s also easy to clean, maybe even slightly easier than the Beautyblender, especially since it isn&#;t as thick as that one and most others we tested. If we had to choose one sponge, it&#;d be the Beautyblender. But if that&#;s not in your budget (or you just prefer an old-school flat sponge), then the NYX sponge is a solid choice.

Katie McBroom

How we tested

There are many factors that go into creating a quality makeup sponge. We focused on the following categories and subcategories to investigate the best makeup sponges:

Performance

• Effectiveness: First and foremost, a makeup sponge should be able to dab, stipple or &#;bounce&#; onto the skin to apply your foundation. It should also help you blend different makeup products (like blush or contour products, for example) effectively.
• Versatility: Can it effectively handle applying and blending all types of foundation formulas, including creams, liquids and powders?
• Resulting finish: Does the finish look flawless and streak-free, or are you left with blotchy skin?
• Performance when wet/dry: Many sponges are actually designed to be used wet (or damp). Does the sponge work both wet and dry? Is one way more effective?

Build

• Texture: Does it feel soft against the skin?
• Cleanability: How easy is it to clean?
• Form: Was it too stiff? Did the structure lend well to overall application?
• Shape: Is the shape conducive to both finer application uses (under eye, for instance) and larger application areas like the cheeks?

Katie McBroom

Other makeup sponges we tested

$7 at Amazon

The affordable, effective Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge came in close behind the NYX sponge in our testing. It has a similar shape to the Beautyblender, but with a slanted slide, making it a multifunctional tool that both blends and dabs easily. This one is best for liquid foundation, but you can also use it to apply creams and powders. We preferred the texture and versatility of the NYX sponge, but the Real Techniques sponge is still a great option.

$20 at Amazon

Gen Z (and TikTok aficionados of all ages), listen up. This is not your mother&#;s makeup sponge. A flat, nonporous silicone pad rather than a typical sponge, the Milk Makeup Dab + Blend Applicator is unique among the products we tested. It doesn&#;t absorb the product as much as other sponges, so it is less wasteful and easier to clean. It can be a bit of a shock in the texture department if you&#;re accustomed to the &#;spongy&#; feel of traditional makeup sponges, but if you&#;re down to try something new, this is a great choice, as it applies foundation similarly to the sponges you&#;ve tried before. Aside from the different texture, the only slight downside here is similar to the only thing we didn&#;t absolutely love about the NYX applicator, which is the flatter shape. (We found that the larger rounded teardrop shape of the Bleautyblender allowed for a quicker application.) It also has glitter embedded within, which does nothing for its effectiveness but everything for aesthetic purposes (and looks super cute sitting on our vanity).

$16 at Sephora

The Fenty Beauty Precision Makeup Sponge is another great product from Rihanna&#;s line. It is similar in size and texture to the Beautyblender, though it features a flat edge on one side. This makes it especially great for dabbing on a concealer or highlighter in the under-eye area to add dimension to your face. It&#;s also relatively easy to clean. One drawback is that the edges can increase the likelihood of streakiness if used by less experienced beauty enthusiasts, so it&#;s important to blend properly and check your finish with this one.

$6 at Ulta

The inexpensive e.l.f. Cosmetics Total Face Sponge is very similar in shape to the Beautyblender, though one side features a flat edge. We love the versatility of this one and the low price. It&#;s slightly stiffer than our favorites, but if that isn&#;t a problem for you, then this is a great option. It&#;s also relatively easy to clean, similar to most others in the same price point.

$15 at Amazon

L&#;Oréal Paris consistently creates quality products at a low price. This makeup sponge features a unique hourglass shape, with a pointed tip to apply the product and a round base to bounce and blend. It&#;s easy to clean, and therefore very similar to other traditional sponges in terms of how easy it is to clean. It was a bit more rigid than the others we tested, but overall, this is still a solid choice that will get the job done.

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$6 at Target

The texture of the Juno & Co. sponge is unique. It truly feels like soft velvet against your skin, which can be good for some, but might not be everyone&#;s preference. The shape is great, as it offers a pointed tip with a flat edge on one side. The flat edge is relatively small, which is good because it doesn&#;t get in the way if you prefer the other rounded side. The Juno & Co. sponge dried out very quickly when used wet (compared to the other sponges), which can be an issue unless you prefer a dry sponge. It&#;s also not super easy to clean, as the product we applied really permeated this sponge.

It didn&#;t take long for the Original Beauty Blender to become the gold standard sponge, but as we know in makeup-world, &#;dupes&#; are never far behind. Here&#;s how some knock-offs other blender sponges compare&#;

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NOTE: This may sound like it, but this is NOT a placed post. Beauty Blender&#; does not know I am writing this, this is my own independent comparison out of my own curiosity. I was given a Graftobian sponge, but I purchased everything else including my Beauty Blender&#; sponges. This review is based on my actual usage in the field on my jobs and is just my subjective opinion. &#;

ADDENDUM: As I said above, my post below is based on *my*experiences with the Beauty Blender&#;. However, I&#;ve received feedback from other fellow pro artists that actually the Pink Beauty Blender&#; sponges can in fact have dye run. Also artists who purchased the first run of Beauty Blender&#; experienced some ripping/tearing. The ripping/tearing has not been an issue with later versions of the Pink, and no one reported any problems at all (dye run, ripping, etc.) with the Black sponges. No word on the White sponge or the Micro.mini..

When the Beauty Blender&#; sponge first entered the marketplace to say that it took the makeup artist community by storm would be an understatement. The excitement went from zero to sixty in seemingly minutes and next thing I knew every makeup artist I knew owned and LOVED a Beauty Blender&#;. I was That Makeup Artist who actually was not immediately WOW-d. I thought it was fine, but it was a tool like any other and it certainly was not a &#;must have&#; in any way. Why was my reaction so lukewarm when so many of my artists friends raved? Probably because the first makeup blending sponge I tried was a knockoff, not a real Beauty Blender&#;. Truth be told &#; now that I own and use several real Beauty Blenders&#; &#; I still kind of feel that way; it is not a must-have, use on every job item for me. Now that I am working with the real deal, however, I can appreciate what an excellent tool is really is.

So this got me thinking: How do the numerous makeup blending sponge knockoffs stack up to the original Beauty Blender&#;?

The first knockoff makeup blending sponge I used was so bad it was comical. It came from an overseas company who claimed to be the manufactures for the real Beauty Blender&#; sponge. The claim was dubious at best as I already knew Beauty Blender&#; is an American based company, and the sample sponge they sent was the wrong shade of pink, and not quite the right size and shape (they attempted to explain this away in their literature by calling what they sent a &#;prototype&#; &#; ). It worked OK, but honestly no differently from a run-of-the-mill wedge sponge. But then the truth came out &#; literally &#; the first time I washed it. Upon washing this fakey blender sponge, an odd blue dye emerged from the core of the sponge to the surface. And no matter what I used to wash it, how often I washed it, etc., the weird blue dye would not go away. NOPE. Not using that on people&#;s faces. Owners of true Beauty Blender&#; sponges know that when washed there is no dye run, no change in shape, no crumbling (until they get very old at which point you probably should have long replaced it), etc. I do not know what that thing was, but it was not a Beauty Blender&#;.

This was about 4 or so years ago. Nowadays the Beauty Blender&#; is well established for both makeup pros and makeup fans alike. As such there are even more knockoff sponges, or shall I say, Beauty Blender&#; &#;inspired&#; sponges ;-). Generally speaking the quality of these dupes has improved significantly from my overseas friend. Since my testing on this began about 6 months ago, none of the makeup blending sponges I tried have changed shape, lost color, or started falling apart on me. But when it comes down to it, do any of them compare to the actual Beauty Blender&#;? Here are my thoughts on a few of the Beauty Blender&#; inspired sponges I have tried.

1 ) Graftobian HD GlamourGrip&#; Sponge

If you know Makeup to Go/Tania Russell, you know I am a large fan of Graftobian&#;s HD Creme foundation and I also use their Wet Dry Dual Finish Powder Foundation. A couple of trade shows ago, I brought so many of my friends & students to the Graftobian booth to buy the HD Creme that the gentleman at the booth gave me a GlamourGrip&#; to try. I like it.

Grip: The shape is supposed to make it easier to grip, but I find I prefer the egg shape of the Beauty Blender&#;. Also the GlamourGrip does not have enough of a &#;tip&#; at the top end to get into crevices like around the nose and the inner eye corners.

Texture: Texture is where everyone fell short of the goal line although I would say that the Graftobian sponge came the closest. It has a similar velvety exterior to really give that buffed, polished skin finish for which the Beauty Blender&#; is known. Also the GlamourGrip&#; is softer and more squishy like the Beauty Blender&#;, making it easier to hold and control.

Maneuverability: I found it a bit clunky feeling in-hand. I would not call it &#;bad&#; because of the grip-ability due to the softer texture, but the shape could be more streamlined.

Finish: The GlamourGrip&#; left a very nice finish on the skin. It took a bit more work to get all the lines and demarcations out of my finished applications than the Beauty Blender&#;, but ultimately the finish was very nice. Worked well with both cream and liquid foundations and with Graftobian&#;s own Dual Finish Powder Foundation.

OVERALL: Not a bad dupe.

2 ) Real Technique Miracle Complexion Sponge

Grip: The Real Technique sponge pays homage to the original egg shape of the Beauty Blender&#; but then adds their own spin of having one side blunted. This blunt side is for buffing/smoothing/blending out edges/etc. I like the shape. The problem, however&#;

Texture:&#;is in the texture. The Miracle Complexion Sponge is too dense and not at all springy like the Beauty Blender&#;. Also it has larger, more visible pores which in my opinion affected the final outcome of the finish.

Maneuverability: Good. In addition to the blunt edge for buffing, it has the &#;traditional&#; tip end for reaching into the crevices.

Finish: Okay. The finish was &#; again, in my opinion &#; no different than a wedge sponge. NOW artists have used wedge sponges since forever and you can get a good finish off of a wedge sponge. I was able to get a good finish off of the Real Technique sponge, but I would not call the final outcome a &#;miraculous complexion&#; by any stretch.

OVERALL: Nice, basic sponge. No less, but no more.

3 ) Ulta Super Blender Sponge

Grip: Again, I do not care for these contoured shaped sponges. I like the egg better. The Ulta sponge does have more of a definitive point than the Graftobian, however, so it is better at getting into the crevices.

Texture: Hard. Not dense, not firm, straight out hard. Not comfortable on the model&#;s skin and also didn&#;t move/manipulate product well.

Maneuverability: Clunky shape plus hard texture = not comfortable in hand.

Finish: Has visible &#;pores&#;. Gave a foundation finish like that of an ordinary wedge sponge.

OVERALL: Of all of the sponges tested, this was definitely the weakest. I still use all of the other sponges mentioned in some capacity, but as of this writing I do not know where my Ulta sponge is.

4 ) Sonia Kashuk Blending Sponge (NOTE: this version of the product has been discontinued)

Grip: The Sonia Kashuk (SK) sponge has a more streamlined version of the sculpted shape like the Ulta and Graftobian sponges. It&#;s less &#;fat&#; and has a nice tip at the end. It is a bit dense, comparable to the Real Techniques sponge. It is not hard like Ulta, but it is not as soft as Graftobian or certainly the original Beauty Blender&#;.

Texture: Small pore size and slightly &#;velvety&#; exterior texture. Feels nice to the touch.

Maneuverability: I still prefer the egg, but the SK sponge came in a solid second place in terms of hand-feel and maneuverability. Due to the shape, I had to pick it up and put it back down on the face multiple times which makes it more cumbersome to use. However I was able to stipple, blend, buff and reach all of the crevices just as I would with an original Beauty Blender&#;.

Finish: Very nice. Again, I wouldn&#;t say Beauty Blender&#;, but it gave me a nicely even and smooth finish with both cream and liquid foundations.

OVERALL: Nice sponge. Sonia Kashuk makes quality products overall and this is another in her excellent collection. As good as a Beauty Blender&#;? Nope.

What it is exactly about the Beauty Blender&#;? Well in my opinion it is a few things. Firstly, it is my understanding that the exact composition of the materials used in the original Beauty Blender&#; are proprietary. Therefore other companies may approximate and get close, but they will never look or feel exactly the same as a Beauty Blender&#;, and you really can see and feel the difference. Secondly, the shape of the Beauty Blender&#; is really key. That egg shape allows for a perfect &#;press and roll&#; motion with the surface area of the sponge making contact with the face at all times. That coupled with the smaller pore size is what makes for the super smooth, &#;airbrush&#; finish that the Beauty Blender&#; is famous and beloved for. Used properly, there are NO lines, streaks, or demarcation of any kind with the Beauty Blender&#;.

With almost all of the other sponges, the odd shape not only has a gap where the sponge is not making contact with the skin but it also makes it more difficult to do a continuous press and roll motion. I had to keep picking those sponges up and putting them back down on the face, making it more difficult to get rid of all demarcations. The Real Technique sponge would have been great shape-wise, but the overly dense texture and larger pores prevented it from giving me that flawless finish. It is also worth noting that my two contenders were also the more expensive dupes of the ones I tried. The Graftobian sells for about $14.99 and the Sonia Kashuk retails for $10.49. Bear in mind I chose to compare the better of the knockoffs that exist. I have seen some real, real doozey Cheapy McCheapersons out there. My &#;favorite&#; being a bag of assorted shaped/sized/colored blending sponges one of my former students had. They felt terrible, and worked about as well, but they kind of &#;looked&#; like Beauty Blenders&#;. Some manufacturers have lost track of the concept of function over form. LOL!

If you&#;ve used one of the knockoffs and been disappointed I would encourage you to try the real deal. Until you have used an authentic Original Beauty Blender&#; , you have not actually used a Beauty Blender&#; sponge. That said, not everyone needs to spend $20 on a single sponge, and I get that. Therefore, if you would like a lower cost alternative that will give you a very nice finish to your makeup applications, I found the Graftobian and the Sonia Kashuk to be quality substitutes.

EDITOR&#;S NOTE 2/11/18 &#; In the spirit of disclosure: This post was written back in and at that time all of my Original Beauty Blender&#; sponges were purchased by me. Since that time I have been graciously invited to several Original Beauty Blender&#; PR events wherein I have been gifted many Beauty Blender&#; sponges and other products by the brand. In the 4 years since I originally wrote this article my opinion remains unchanged; I still prefer the Original over the dupes, but there are some dupes in the marketplace that are pretty good. Look for a #REMIX update article soon!

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