Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge review

I bought this Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge a while ago and have used it very frequently ever since. Before I go on, I need to make some acknowledgements. I've never used the original Beauty Blender, so I'm unable to compare these two. My experience with make-up sponges is limited to no-name drugstore latex sponge wedges, which I actually love, Skinfood and Cosmopolitan  more budget-friendly dupes for the world-famous market leader. 

The Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge has an innovative shape that gives you the possibility to use this products on large surfaces like your cheeks or forehead and also reach under your eyes with its pointed tip. 

Although there are no such instructions on the packaging, I assume you use this sponge wet, when it almost doubles its size and becomes more spongey and soft. Just soak it with your cream product of choice like foundation or concealer and dab these into your face. This sponge makes foundation look flawless, enables me to build it up where needed and remove excess where unnecesary. It's definitely one of my favourite make-up tools, but there are some drawbacks I need to mention for this review to be complete.

First of all, this this sponge soaks up the foundation like crazy, much more than all the other sponges I've used. I have so many foundations that I'll never be able to use them up, so I don't mind, but if I had one beloved high-end foundation I treasured greatly, I'd think twice before applying it with this sponge.

Secondly, this sponge is damn hard to clean. I figured out that plain soap bar works best, but the proces is painful anyway. 

And finally, this sponge doesn't last as long as I thought it would. There are nail marks all over the surface that don't affect the perforance, but make it look battered. And what's more, after regular washing the sponge became kind of less bouncy and felt gooey inside. I have a feeling that during washing the remains of foundation migrated towards the inner parts of the sponge, instead of getting rinsed. I don't quite know how to resolve the problem, but I suspect that I've reached the point when I need a new sponge. After all, for hygenic reasons, you need to replace these every 3-4 months no matter what condition ther're in.

The temptation to get a Beauty Blender remains, but I think that the Real Techniques one does its job so well that it puts spending about four times more money to question. As I've already said, this is one of my favourite tools to apply foundation and I'm sure I'll repurchase it soon.

   

Disclaimer: I bought the product myself for my personal use and I am not affiliated with any company. I am not paid to do this review and everything I said here is my genuine opinion.