My Real Techniques beauty blender does an exceptional job in seamlessly blending out my foundation. Personally, I prefer the finish of a beauty blender sponge rather than a brush, because it gives the skin a glowy, airbrushed finish that usually requires a little less work than a brush.
Brushes can look a bit streaky on the face and should be used carefully. Even though brushes may need a few extra minutes to blend out on the skin, you would potentially have to wash it after every use, keeping it separated from the rest of your makeup — not to mention, you will need a new one just about every month.
You can find brushes anywhere, even at a drugstore, but good beauty blenders are a little harder to find. This is why I use my Real Techniques blender. It is the best drugstore blender that I have tried by far. Other blenders tend to not be as squishy as the real $20 beauty blender and have more patchy results.
Here is a few brushes that I use to blend foundation:
In my opinion, if you have the time and money to keep up with a beauty blender, I would get one. They do really help in flawlessly applying foundation, especially for beginners in makeup. If you don’t think that you would want the Real Techniques beauty blender, you could use a brush, but the application will not be as easy, and you might not be able to get the same look.
My tips for applying with a brush are to place the foundation with a brush or your finger on the center points of your face, such as the cheeks and forehead. Then, blend outward using circular motions. When using a brush, the product will apply with more coverage, so you will use less product. This will save you some money, especially if you use an expensive foundation.
After doing so, if you don’t receive the desired coverage, you can continuously build up more foundation (applying it the same way). If your foundation begins to look cakey or like too much coverage, than you can apply a light moisturizer on top. The way that I like to apply my foundation is with a sponge. You can first apply foundation dotted on your face evenly (or with more in problem areas), then simply pat the larger end of the sponge on your face, blending outward until everything looks even. You can add more for more coverage on specified areas.
There are a multitude of ways that you can use your beauty blender, which can really make it worth the price. You can use it to apply concealer using the more narrow edge, just like foundation. It is also useful for applying products like liquid highlighter, creme contour and creme blush. These can be patted on select areas and blended out normally.
These uses could replace the need for more brushes, which could save money also. I can’t really tell for certain which could be better long term — it really depends on what you are looking for. If you want something cheap and long term that will get the job done, than get the brush, but if you are looking for something that will ultimately improve your makeup look, than go with the blender.
