Are you a fingers on your face kinda person? Or do you live life in the fast lane with your brushes, or perhaps sponges are your thing. We take a deep dive and compare sponges and brushes in this episode.
episode takeaways
.
.
This post may contain affiliate links, such as Amazon and Shop My, that I may earn from qualifying links. This means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my links, but never fear, because it means no extra cost to you. Please read full disclosure for more information.
.
What You Will Learn In This Episode:
- The pros and cons of brushes and sponges
- That there’s great news in the world of disposable makeup sponges
- Brush care is so important if you’re going to own and use makeup brushes
.
click here to read the transcript!
.
Sponges Vs. Brushes
Perhaps you have your own secret favorites already, or perhaps you are strictly a fingers-on-your-face fan. But it’s important to learn that while sponges and brushes may require a bit more attention on the backend, the results that you get may be far more like a pro makeup artists finish than your fingers.
And that’s if you’re at home doing your own makeup, of course.
So how do you decide whether you need a brush or a sponge?
Well, I want to answer this by taking a look at the pros and cons of each.
Makeup Sponge Pros
You can achieve a seamless, flawless airbrush finish with a makeup sponge, and particularly with cream or liquid foundation. This is because you can layer and build up as little or as much product as you need on any area of the face or neck.
Hygiene. You have to give sponges points from a hygiene perspective. This is because, for the most part, they’re entirely disposable.
Now, there is a flip side to that, as I’m sure you’ll know, and that will be in the cons.
A makeup sponge can be incredibly versatile. And if you haven’t added a beauty blender to your kit, I love the little tiny ones for under the eyes; by the way, they’re so cute. You can really roll the product to shear it out for a super sheer or dewy finish when needed to.
Makeup Sponge Cons
Product turnover.
Being that it is a sponge, you are no doubt gonna go through your product. No, not quickly, but you will go through it.
This can result in wasted product as your sponge will soak up a lot of the makeup that doesn’t actually make it onto the skin.
Waste
Now, if you are conscious about how many bins full of disposable waste you create at home or at work, then disposable sponges will add to that significantly. The waste is torture, and something I think about constantly.
But I have some good news.
Beauty Blender fans, rejoice with me just for a second. Because you must make a switch if you haven’t already, to the Eco Tools bio blender, which is the biodegradable option for a beauty blender.
You have your bio blender, and after 30 days of use, obviously washing in between makeups, of course you can simply throw it out into your compost.
You just put it in your compost. And if you toss it in the trash, it will take 180 days to fully break down.
I’ve discovered a few different biodegradable makeup sponges as well, so I’ll share them all with you below so that you can make the switch as well.
I’m just super excited about this.
I mean, let’s face it, sponges are disposable and that’s why we use them.
Time-Consuming to Clean
So here’s where the work comes in, as it does take a minute to clean these guys when they’re not doing the work for you.
Now, this is definitely one of the less glam sides of makeup, don’t you think? But it’s very necessary.
Precision
Sponges can sometimes not be as precise as a makeup brush, and for the most part, they may not give you quite the precision as a very specific brush for certain areas on the face.
But that’s what those tiny little ones are for (and I’m talking about the beauty blenders here).
Or you can trim the wedges in half as well (the sponge wedges, we use them a lot for background in film and TV work).
So there are workarounds, but for the most part, it is worth just considering that yes, a sponge is a little more limited in its precision than a brush.
Quality
Sometimes you can get a dud that isn’t super soft.
I know that makeup sponges do have a limited shelf life, especially if stored in sunlight or in extreme dry or hot areas that they just turn crumbly and it’s time to say goodbye, and you are never putting that on anyone’s face.
.
.
Makeup Brush Pros
Precision
You can basically find a brush for every angle, crevice, contour, and bump of the face. And I do think that makes them far more high-precision than a makeup sponge.
Product Use Efficiency
Brushes can be efficient with product use. A good brush will use and soak up less product than its spongy counterpart, for sure.
So this makes it a good choice for product efficiency, variety of shape, size, and technique.
As I mentioned, there is a brush for everything. So you are guaranteed once you build up your brush kit to find a brush to suit the look that you want to create.
Easy to Clean
A brush is easy to clean by comparison, if you clean it carefully, but the quantity that you go through on a given day, that can kind of sour that for sure.
Brush Cons
Brushes can have a bit of a learning curve. If you are starting out in makeup or if you’re new to makeup brushes at home, there can be a learning curve.
Even just how to hold them comfortably in your hand, the angle, the brush contacts, the face, and how much pressure to apply.
There are so many unspoken aspects to our job that I don’t really even think about anymore.
Brushes can take a minute to adjust to and find your groove with. So that’s just something to think about when you’re starting out.
Cleaning, Drying and Storing
Cleaning, cleaning, cleaning.
Now for my makeup artist friends, as you know, every brush you use gets cleaned after every single face. And if you do five faces or you do 20 faces in a day, that’s a lot of cleaning and a lot of brushes to get cleaned.
So I mean, let’s not deny it. It can be a real chore, but that’s why using a solvent-based brush cleaner can be a quick solution to this first-world dilemma of ours.
I’ll link to some of my favorite solvent-based brush cleaners below as well. And I’ll also share a post about how to dry makeup brushes properly, because, in all honesty, that’s as important as cleaning them.
And really, it makes a difference to those brushes being dry and ready for their next use and for their longevity as well.
There is nothing worse than when you’re about to make contact on a face with a freshly cleaned brush and it’s not dry properly. All these steps matter.
Storage matters, not only after cleaning but also in between jobs when traveling and when you’re not working. Your brushes have to be stored safely and securely; otherwise, you can damage the bristles.
For me, when it comes down to the type of makeup I’m doing, the situation I’m in, and how many people I’m making up in a single morning, these factors definitely influence whether I choose sponges or brushes.
Now for you at home, some of these things probably won’t ever apply, but what’s still incredibly important is your hygiene and your cleaning routine.
So think of this every day that you use your makeup brushes and sponges and give them a good thorough cleaning as often as you can.
.
Click here to listen to this episode!
.
Resources mentioned in this episode :
Dior Backstage Foundation
Maybelline Fit Me Matte and Poreless Foundation
Beauty Blender
Eco Tools BioBlender
Wet’n’Wild Seeing Green Biodegradable Sponge
Biodegradable Sponge Wedges
Solvent-based Brush Cleaner for Special Effects Brushes
99% Isopropyl Alcohol for Beauty Brushes
70% Isopropyl Alcohol for Beauty Brushes
How to Dry Your Makeup Brushes Properly
Makeup Forever Dany Brush Pouch
Episode Transcript
Welcome back to Five Minute Face Talk.
In this episode, we are gonna talk all about the sponge versus brush debate. I know you probably have your own secret favorites, or perhaps you are strictly a fingers-on-your-face fan, but I wanna help you learn that while sponges and brushes may require a bit more attention on the backend, the results that you get may be far more like a pro finish than your fingers.
And that’s if you’re at home doing your own makeup, of course.
For me at home, using foundation on my fingers means that my bathroom countertop, the clothes that I’m wearing, and no doubt every other thing within a five-foot radius of me in the bathroom (and my bathroom’s tiny so that means basically that the entire bathroom has some remnants of foundation on it) everything in that space is guaranteed to be touched by my Dior Backstage N2, or my Maybelline Fit Me, Matte and Poreless Beige, depending on my current mood, of course.
So how do you decide whether you need a brush or a sponge?
Well, I want to answer this by taking a look at the pros and cons of each.
And while I may have my personal feelings about this, and in fact I know I do ’cause I know what my favorite is already, but I want to try to be objective with this as possible and keep it purely technical.
So here we go. But let’s start with makeup sponges first.
So here are the pros for a good old-fashioned makeup sponge, you can achieve a seamless, flawless airbrush finish with a makeup sponge, and particularly with cream or liquid foundations, because you can layer and build up as little or as much product as you need on any area of the face or neck.
And you also have to give sponges points from a hygiene perspective. And this is because for the most part, they’re entirely disposable.
Now, there is a flip side to that, as I’m sure you’ll know, and we’ll get to that in a minute.
But going back to them being disposable for my bridal artists out there, I’m sure you go through more than your fair share of packs of makeup sponges in your working days.
Now, a makeup sponge can be incredibly versatile. And if you haven’t added a beauty blender to your kit, I love the little tiny ones for under the eyes; by the way, they’re so cute. You can really roll the product to shear it out for a super sheer or dewy finish when needed to. They’re great. Okay, sponge cons, remember,
I’ve gotta keep this quick. You know, we are under a time constraint here.
So sponge cons, it’s the product turnover, isn’t it? So being that it is a sponge, you are no doubt gonna go through your product. No, not quickly, but you will go through it. This can result in wasted product as your sponge will soak up a lot of the makeup that doesn’t actually make it onto the skin.
Now, if you are conscious about how many bins full of disposable waste you create at home or at work, then disposable sponges would add to that significantly, and this is part of my ongoing torture basically, but I have some good news and I’ve just learned about this, but Beauty Blender fans, rejoice with me just for a second. But you must make a switch if you haven’t already, to the Eco Tools bio blender, which is the biodegradable option for a beauty blender.
Now, this is really exciting, and I had no clue that these existed till I started researching for this episode. So, and I hope that this means in time, non-biodegradable blenders will be phased out and that they’ll all become biodegradable. It just makes sense.
So you have your bio blender, and after 30 days of use, obviously washing in between makeups, of course you can simply throw it out into your compost. Isn’t that wild? You just put it in your compost. And it’s my understanding that if you toss it in the trash, it will take 180 days to fully break down.
I’ve discovered a number of biodegradable makeup sponges as well, so I’ll share them all with you in the show notes from today’s episode so that you can make the switch as well.
I’m just super excited about this. I mean, let’s face it, sponges are disposable and that’s why we use them. They can also be time-consuming to clean.
So here’s where the work comes in, as it does take a minute to clean these guys when they’re not doing the work for you.
Now, this is definitely one of the less glam sides of makeup, don’t you think? But it’s very necessary. Sponges can sometimes not be as precise as a makeup brush, and for the most part, they may not give you quite the precision as a very specific brush for certain areas on the face. But that’s what those tiny little ones are for.
And I’m talking about the beauty blenders here. Or you can trim the wedges in half as well. The sponge wedges, we use them a lot for background in film and TV work. So there are workarounds, but for the most part, it is worth just considering that yes, a sponge is a little more limited in its precision than a brush.
And also, let’s not forget quality. Have you ever gotten a dud sponge? Sometimes you can get a dud that isn’t super soft, and I must say, I know that makeup sponges do have a limited shelf life, especially if stored in sunlight or in extreme dry or hot areas that they just turn crumbly and it’s time to say goodbye, and you are never putting that on anyone’s face.
Okay, let’s take a look at makeup brushes. Precision – ah my precious makeup brushes because you can basically find a brush for every angle, crevice, contour, and bump of the face. And I do think that makes them far more high-precision than a makeup sponge.
Brushes can be efficient with product use. Yep, a good brush will use and soak up less product than its spongy counterpart, for sure.
So this makes it a good choice for product efficiency, variety of shape, size, and technique.
As I mentioned, there is a brush for everything. So you are guaranteed once you build up your brush kit to find a brush to suit the look that you want to create.
Now, I’m not sure about this one, but I guess in comparison to a sponge, it’s true. And that’s being easy to clean.
So yes, a brush is easy to clean by comparison, and if you clean it carefully, but the quantity that you go through on a given day, that can kind of sour that for sure. And that might be the pessimist in coming out to say hello.
But if you are going to use 80 brushes in one day, I mean, that’s not a fun brush-cleaning session by any means, is it?
Okay. And then that leads us to our brush cons.
So brushes can have a bit of a learning curve. Now, if you are starting out in makeup or if you’re new to makeup brushes at home, there can be a learning curve, even just how to hold them comfortably in your hand, the angle, the brush contacts, the face, and how much pressure to apply.
There are so many unspoken aspects to our job that I don’t really even think about anymore. But yes, brushes do take a minute to adjust to and find your groove with. So that’s just something to think about when you’re starting out cleaning, cleaning, cleaning.
Now for my makeup artist friends, as you know, every brush you use gets cleaned after every single face. And if you do five faces or you do 20 faces in a day, that’s a lot of cleaning and a lot of brushes to get cleaned. So I mean, let’s not deny it. It can be a real chore, but that’s why using a solvent-based brush cleaner can be a quick solution to this first-world dilemma of ours.
I’ll link to some of my favorite solvent-based brush cleaners in the show notes as well. And I also wanna share with you a post about how to dry makeup brushes properly, because, in all honesty, that’s as important as cleaning them. And really, it makes a difference to those brushes being dry and ready for their next use and for their longevity as well.
There is nothing worse than when you’re about to make contact on a face with a freshly cleaned brush and it’s not dry properly. All these steps matter. So yeah, I’ll link to that, that, and you can check it out. Storage matters, and not only after cleaning, but also in between jobs when traveling and when you’re not working, your brushes have to be stored safely and securely,
otherwise you can damage the bristles, especially for instance, I I store mine in those makeup forever canisters, they’re sort of cylindrical canisters, and if somebody happens to store it upside down, so all the bristles are on the bottom, and so you take the lid off and they’re all bent over is torturous. It’s just those little things, so make sure you store them well,
or if they’re in a brush roll is a lovely, secure way to store a good brush set. Okay, that was my whirlwind. Sponges versus brushes, pros and cons. So it’s a pretty close call in fact. And for me, when it comes down to the type of makeup I’m doing, the situation I’m in and how many people I’m making up in a single morning,
definitely influences whether I choose sponges or brushes. Now for you at home, some of these factors probably won’t ever apply, but what’s still incredibly important is your hygiene and your cleaning routine. So think of this every day you use your makeup brushes and sponges and give them a good thorough cleaning as often as you can. Okay, that’s it for this episode.
I’ll see you next time.
.
