Beauty blenders: adding a condom might be taking it too far

I’m relatively new to the phenomenon that is the beauty blender. In fact it was only a few weeks ago that I first used one, as research for this column. It wasn’t love at first use. I found that applying foundation, once a relatively quick step in my routine, quadrupled in time with lots of spongey dab dab dabs. The results though, were obvious. Foundation stayed on longer and looked so much more natural. After a few uses, I forgot about that extra time, and now I’m hooked.

The beauty blender is an egg shaped sponge. Its results have to do with how it applies make-up to the surface of our skin. Before, when applying foundation with brushes or fingers, we were unknowingly just pushing it around on the skin’s surface. The dabbing motion, used in applying with the beauty blender, means the foundation sits down into the skin’s surface, below the layer of fine hairs. (Don’t worry we all have them.)

Bye bye foundation

There is only one problem with the current beauty blender: it absorbs a lot of make-up. This means it’s hard to clean, making it unhygienic, and half your expensive foundation ends up in a sponge. Silicone beauty blenders were developed to solve this problem. The first versions of these blenders resembled the ‘chicken fillets’ teenagers put in their bras and were bad for application due to their shape.

In January this year the ‘Evie Blender’ arrived. This glittery silicone egg shaped blender was funded though kickstarter, and is not yet available for purchase. Some beauty bloggers are so desperate to get their hands on the ‘Evie Blender’ that they have started making their own makeshift versions. This involves tying a condom around an old fashioned beauty blender. I’ve tried it, and not only did it feel (and smell) disgusting. It didn’t work particularly well. Top tip: If you want to go there, buy a non-lubricated one and give it a wash before use.