BeautyBlender: The Starter Kit;The what, how, why and where.

I know everyone got excited over this pink baby egg a year or two back. Well, I was at first until I saw the price. Can you believe they sell this at USD19.95!?!?! For A SPONGE. My jaw dropped. This totally go waaaaay over my budget. Plus this is not available in Malaysia shipping will definitely blow up my wallet. I do need to eat so I give this a pass.

BUT

 Everything changed now... AS you can see I DO have a BeautyBlender. I even have the cleanser.   I didn't purchase this myself. This was sent in by Serendipity for review purposes. Serendipity is one of my favourite online store.  Love this store to bits! Because of them I can buy my Unii Palette locally and even collect all SIX of them. Whoops.. Back to the BeautyBlender. Do not worry. As usual you can count on my reviews. If it is good I will praise it mighty high but if this ain't worth it, I will definitely bring this down to the place it should be. 

Got this 2 weeks ago and been using it religiously. I need to test out if this beauty blender worth the bucks. So to find out whether I love or hate this you have to keep on reading!!! Post gonna be lengthy because I plant to squeeze all the info in one post. I hope you don't mind..

What is BeautyBlender?

If you are a makeup junkie, I assume you are familiar with this. If you are not, here is a brief introduction. This egg (not literally) is a makeup tool. Highly raved about because of its effectiveness in creating a flawless pro looking makeup even when you are a noob. This claims to give an airbrush finish to your makeup. 

BeautyBlender is latex free, non-allergenic and odour free.

This is invented by Hollywood top makeup artist Rea Ann Silva.

How to Use BeautyBlender?

BeautyBlender (BB) are meant to be used damped. BB can be used with dry or wet makeup and is a super soft and squeezable sponge.

 This sponge will expand twice its original size when you placed it under running water or soak it in a bowl. I personally like to place this under running water while squeezing because it feels much hygienic that way.

 Make sure to squeeze out all the excess water and if you have long nails be careful. BB is extremely fragile and can easily tear.

I like to squeeze it dry in a clean towel.

You can use this in many ways. The most recommended way of using is to bounce this on your face. The makeup terminology for bouncing thing on your face is called stippling. lol. Stippling is famous because it blends makeup without changing the texture and tone of your skin. 

If you have spots that need more coverage you can stipple and twist to cover the imperfection.

I use this BB for my whole face makeup application except eyes. 

• For foundation: You can either dot the foundation on your face and stipple to blend them out or pour some on the back of your hand and start applying from there. I prefer the later method because sometimes my foundation will set and it will be a little hard to blend.
• For Concealer: I use the pointy tip for concealing. Stipple and twist on areas that need extra coverage.
• For Blush: I use the bottom part of the sponge on both powder (pressed) or cream blush. Work well with both. Light coverage. If I want more, I add more product to the sponge and keep stippling.
• For bronzer: You have to use the side of the sponge. For me, the pointy tips will be pointing downwards and slightly tilted while I dab it on.

I apply all the steps above without rinsing my BB everytime I move to a different product. Just apply them in the above sequence. 

I never really use any powder to set my foundation since I use BB because I don't feel the need to. BB seems to make my makeup less shiny.

How to Clean Beautyblender?

To match the awesomeness of BB, they do have the awesome BlenderCleanser as well.

 Since the set that was given to me already come with the cleanser, I might as well use it right? The BlenderCleanser is great for regular cleaning. BlenderCleanser cannot remove the stain on the BB. Stain on the BB can be removed by using oil-FREE eye makeup remover.

• Press down on the outer rim of pump to release cleanser into the rim.
• Dip soiled BB into the cleanser.
• Work into a lather. Rinse well.
• Dry BB on the pedestal provided.

Be gentle and handle with extra care. Long nails can caused the BB to tear.

Plus point on the BlenderCleanser, you can use the cleanser to clean your other makeup brushes and tools.

The BlenderCleanser has a light lavender scent which I love. But I couldn't justify the need to spend extra bucks for the cleanser since I need to use oil-FREE eye makeup remover to remove the stain from the BB completely.

Why I Like and Don't Like Beauty Blender?

Like:

• This cut my face makeup application time into half. Apply much quickly compared to a brush and blend more flawlessly compared to fingers. 
• No tugging on the skin since I use a stippling motion.
• This is totally a foolproof makeup tool. You can continue on stippling while not paying so much attention to what you are doing and still get a flawless finish.
• I hate washing my makeup brushes because I have to wait for it to dry. Normally I wash my face makeup brushes twice a week. BB make my makeup application much more hygienic! I do have to wash it after and before every usage. For lazy people, before usage will do. You have to damp the sponge anyway so while wetting the sponge you might as well rinse it with soap! Am I right? There is no need to wait for it to dry!
• I travel light. I no longer need my foundation brush, or carry extra disposable sponges, no blush brush even!
• Gives me medium coverage with my sheer coverage foundation on first application. Less effort needed!

Don't Like:

• The first 5 times I rinse the egg it bleeds. 
• The price. Expensive. But then again if this can last you a year imagine how much disposable sponge you would have used.
• Your makeup will stained the egg. Good news! Use oil-FREE eye makeup remover (cheap ones will do) before cleaning it with soap. You have to do this after each use or the stains will accumulate and it will be impossible to remove by then. Thicker makeup formulation would normally leave stain.

Conclusion:

You can get Beauty Blender in Malaysia only from Serendipity: Cult Beauty Discoveries. Seriously I have never seen any shop online carrying this. Maybe because of the high cost no one dares to test the market here in Malaysia. Since Serendipity is the ONLY place you can get BeautyBlender in Malaysia, they are also the FIRST AUTHORIZED RETAILER! 

Who may like this? 

• Those who uses disposable sponges in their makeup routine.
• Those who loves airbrushed finish.
• Those who always get cakey result with their foundation ie a noob.
• Those who counts dollar and cents and divide it by the number of usage.
• Those who wears foundation on a regular basis.
• Those who loves to travel light.
• Those who likes to fake the flawless skin look.

Who may not like this?

• Those who is really pro with foundation brushes and can get flawless makeup with any tools.
• Someone who has great skin. There is nothing to cover.. am I right?
• Someone who hates cleaning up.
• Someone who is stingier with their foundation. This will absorbed the foundation but honestly only a negligible amount. I would prefer to waste a little bit more in exchange to look perfect.

As you can see I obviously find the BeautyBlender to be useful and a great makeup tool. The point that will make me repurchase this again in the future is the fact that I no longer need my makeup brushes. They are practically obsolete now. Should I sell them off? 

If you do have the budget, and you are eager to try this out, by all means PLEASE BUY. You won't regret. Not only this is a great product, my makeup bag is waaaay lighter without all the makeup brushes!

Do you have this already? How do you love it?? Because I love mine very much!

Where to Buy?

Online from Serendipity- Cult Beauty Discoveries.

This starter kit is retailing for RM132. The BeautyBlender is sold separately for RM77 each or a pack of 2 for RM107.