I already wrote an article on how to apply foundation with a beauty blender, so make sure to check that one out. I also explain in that article and video demonstration what a beauty blender is and I also review it. Today I am going to be comparing a the original beauty blender vs essence, ebay, hello beauty and muller beauty blenders. It’s well believed that all of the copies of the original beauty blenders is the same, but when in reality even sane person knows to doubt something when it’s to true to be true. I was one of those and I bought a few different beauty blenders and went to test it out for a longer period of time to see some visible wear and tear time.

The original BeautyBlender

The original beautyblender is considered to be the next best thing after a kabuki like makeup brush, like the Sigma Beauty F80. It claims to give an airbrush finish to any foundation, liquid or cream and makeup professional makeup artist are raving about it. When the egg shaped sponge is dry, it’s small and a bit on the stiff side. But when it’s wet, it expands and it like a ultra soft foam like sponge. Applying any foundation with this sponge gives this an amazing finish and does wonders. I have washed this sponge many times and so far no cracks have appeared. I only use the original blendercleanser and it washes the egg shaped sponge in seconds and no stains are left. I have tried other products but no luck all with cleaning the sponge. It comes in three colors, so far and now you also have mini beauty blenders, which I do not plan to buy. The Beautyblender however is 100% free from allergens, latex, and fragrance. No stains were left on the sponge.  It retails for 28,80 Euros / $ 32.95.

Hello Beauty makeup sponge applicator

Hello Beauty makeup sponge applicator is a dupe of the original beauty blender so it’s very affordable it retails for 2,61 euros / $3,20. This beauty blender is just a bit more expensive than the ebay beauty blender. This product claims to be used damp or dry and it can use any type of makeup. the sponge is very hard, the hardest out of all five beauty blenders. I found that when applying foundation with this sponge, it reminded me of normal sponges but less practical because it wasn’t flexible enough. Even when wet, it does not expand much and i found that due to it’s stiffness it was very hard to bounce the foundation around the face. It takes forever to dry and due to that I fear that bacteria will build up much fast in this sponge than let’s say in the original beauty blender. I have used the sponge a few times and do not like it at all. I expect the sponge to crack and start to break down after washing a few more times. I felt that you can wash this sponge with any soap and it will give the same results. The egg will eventually change color due to stains. It comes in three colors, blue, yellow and pink.

Essence make-up sponge

Essence make-up sponge is another cheap dupe which came out quite fast after the beautyblender craze. It’s latex free and can be use wet or dry.This sponge is not as stiff as Hello Beauty makeup sponge applicator, but it does expand and yet becomes a much softer when wet. Unlike the hello beauty sponge, this one is a bit more flexible and thus applies foundation and other like products on much better. Sadly this sponge stained like no ones business. it actually stained so much that it fully changed color and it now a weird beige color. I was this sponge with multiple products, but nothing was able to remove the stains. After washing the products a few times (less than ten) the egg shapes sponge started to rip and tear. It was a limited edition product and it come in two colors, pink and lilac. The sponge retails or 3,00 euros / $4,89.

Ebay beauty blender

Ebay beauty blender retails for around $0.38 euros / $.046. What is a steal and you can get 5 fake beauty blenders for just $5. This sponge was the first dupe to be found on ebay. It originally was the shape of an egg, then in a short period of time it looked more double egg like. The product is a bit stiffer than the Essence make-up sponge and when wet it does expand a bit just like the essence make-up sponge. It too started to tear and rip after a few washes but unlike the Essence one, it’s not prone to get stains. Just like the Essence make-up sponge it applied foundation on much better than the Hello Beauty sponge and it comes in multiple colors. Overall the Essence and ebay sponges are comparable, but the Essence sponge is a softer.

Muller make-up sponge

Muller make-up sponge is very similar in shape to the other four sponges. It comes in a few colors and retails for 2,5 Euros / $3.07. Unlike the previous four beauty blenders this one is stiffer than the Hello Beauty makeup sponge. When you wet this product it does not expand or change shape. If you was it in warm water it changes color into a dirty yellow color. It absorbs a lot of product which means more ends up in your sponge than on your face. The sponge is prone to stains and you will have a hard time into applying foundation on your face due to it being very stiff.

The Original BeautyBlender VS Essence, Ebay, Hello Beauty and Muller Beauty Blenders

To conclude showdown between the original beautyblender and dupe beauty blenders, I can confirm that no dupe for now has even come close to the original one. The material of the dupe beauty blenders are all very similar and it reminds me of the latex or latex free sponges, while the original beautyblender has a foam like material which expands a lot and is soft like a feather. It also does not absorb too much product and does the job it claims to do. I also would like to stress that the original beauty blender will be impossible to clean with out the blendercleanser, so make sure you buy it when you buy the original beautyblender.

Overall if you are a PRO makeup artist, skip the dupes and buy this, there is no dupe out there like this sponge. I found that I liked using the ebay or essence dupe the most due to the softness if I ran out of my latex free sponges, but for my personal use. If you know how to properly clean and sterilize your original beautyblender, then you will be able to use it on multiple clients, unlike the beauty blender dupes which do not have the same material and suck up too much product and build bacteria faster and probably can never be truly clean, nor do I recommend them for use on multiple clients.

I have yet to try the real techniques beauty blender, sephora and H&M sponges. I have high hopes for the Real Techniques sponges since I have read and heard many good things.

Do you have the original beautyblender? Or do you use a dupe?