It’s all well and good having the most beautiful foundation going – silky soft, ideally suited to your skin tone and with the perfect velvety or dewy finish that makes your complexion look flawless. But if you don’t have the right tool for the job, it could end up looking more smeary than seamless.
Of course, we’ve all been using brushes or our fingers for years, both of which are perfectly adequate at layering on product and giving a beautiful, even finish. And since neither absorb much product, they’re great for building up coverage.
In general, brushes tend to give a perfected finish and are great if you like a fuller coverage. Meanwhile, the heat from your fingers are best employed on liquid or cream textures to help warm the product up and melt them into skin, enabling you to blend away any harsh lines.
But for an especially versatile finish, beauty blenders or makeup sponges are the expert tool the pros rely on for a flawless finish. Why? A sponge allows you to build up fine layers of foundation delicately. The addition of water (sponges are best used damp) helps to blend the product beautifully, helping it meld into skin and giving great coverage in the softest way.
The dampness of your sponge can help determine the finish you achieve. Thoroughly wet it and you can use it with your foundation to create a super sheer finish; dampen it ever so slightly and you can build up to a much fuller coverage. It’s why they can be used for everything from “light base coverage to full base coverage and are also brilliant for sealing your base so it lasts longer throughout the day,” explains makeup expert Sam Chapman, who co-founded her own range of makeup tools, Real Techniques.
To get even more out of the makeup tool, Chapman reveals she likes to spritz her sponge with a setting mist, “so not only is it blending my foundation perfectly, it’s also fixing it to the skin.” Genius.
Though sponges have transformed from the flimsy, foam triangles of the 90s, the shapes and options on offer today can be pretty baffling. From conical to egg-shaped, ridged to almond, what does each do and which should we choose?
