I feel like I have been putting off this blog post for quite some time and I don’t actually know why. It was not a hard process but I will say if I was to do it again, I would just use my actual face but my skin has been so bad for the last few weeks that I didn’t want to subject the internet to that visual.

 

You may be thinking to yourself as you read through this post, why are the balloons blue? Because I like blue and as I was running out of Target they were the first ones that I saw when I was in there the other day, I went in for the balloons and coffee creamer and still almost forgot both of them. That’s what happens when you go on a Target run, you get 17 things that were not on your list and you also forget the one thing that you go in for. I have done it so many times and then I have to stop somewhere else on my way home and get that one thing because it is just embarrassing to walk back into the Target for that one thing.

Okay disclaimer time, these are my personal opinions, believe me this was a learning experience for me too as I put foundation on balloons on a Thursday morning in my bathroom hoping that no one was going to judge me.

A tip for washing makeup brushes, I have found that using dish soap really helps; it cuts through grease so you know it will get things clean. I use Dawn and water and it makes my brushes feel soft, clean, and actually smell really good. You do need to make sure that they are cleaned and rinsed thoroughly because otherwise you will just have soap in your brushes when you go to clean them. Also when it comes to cleaning invest in a brush cleaning mat, mine looks like a cactus and I found it at Marshall’s, it has really helped me get my brushes clean and make sure that I am getting all of the makeup out of the bristles so I can feel good about them not being germ ridden nightmares next time I am trying to do my makeup.

The foundation I used was Maybelline’s Fit Me Matte and Poreless in the shade 110 (I think it is one of their lightest if not their lightest) I got this one because I have heard good things about it and I got it in my shade so I can still use it even after this post. I think it would be really wasteful if I bought it just for this post and then let it sit in my makeup collection collecting dust. I also got this one because it is a drug store brand, it can be found in many places and it is not $40 like my Urban Decay foundation.

 

Application Method One: A beauty sponge.

All images show the clean applicator, the balloon, and then the applicator after the application process is over.

This is not a Beauty Blender, that is a specific brand this is a beauty sponge and I got it last month in anticipation for this. If you want to see how I felt about it when I got it go check out my July Beauty Haul post. Now I tried the application both with the sponge dry and with the sponge damp.

Looking at the pictures I hope that it is pretty clear that a damp beauty sponge in this case worked a lot better. Now my one issue with this is how much product that you lose in the process of using a sponge; a sponge is used to soak things up and even though this sponge is pretty high density foam it still soaked up quite a bit of product. I have only used a beauty sponge a few times because I have heard from several people that you have to throw them away pretty frequently because of the potential of bacteria build up and I really don’t want to add to my skin problems.

Final Verdict:Would I use this applicator again, yes, I would. I liked the buffing effect I got with it and because it is egg shaped like the Beauty Blender so you can use it for foundation, concealer, and powder.

 

Application Method Two: A silicon beauty applicator

I feel as if I need to disclose that this is the application product I use on a regular basis; I am a huge fan of the silicon applicator. I find that it puts my foundation on pretty evenly as well as being a little easier to hold than a brush or a beauty sponge. I actually used too much product so I had to put some back in the bottle because I am still used to having use a lot of product when it comes to foundation using a brush so I had to take some off. Does it buff as well as a beauty sponge, no, not really.

As you can see by the picture it did have a pretty even coverage across the balloon, I used a little bit too much so it does look a little like frosting on a cake but I tend to reach for this when I am applying foundation. It doesn’t soak in the product and all that you have to do is wash it off at the end of your makeup application and it is ready to use again. Because it does not soak anything in I feel more comfortable about it not harboring germs that could later go onto my face.

 

Final Verdict: I use this product most frequently since I got it a few months ago, I find that it gets the job done and I enjoy using it because it doesn’t waste a lot of product which means that you use less and therefore can save some money over the life of the bottle of foundation that you are using.

 

Application Method Three: Oval Mermaid Brush

So I lived by the mermaid brush for well over a year. I am a huge fan of it but it is really hard to clean. This is actually my second or third mermaid foundation brush because with the last one I had I broke the brush part while washing it. RIP that brush. I like that it buffs in well and it makes the foundation look pretty good, it can get a little streaky because it is indeed a brush. I prefer the mermaid brush to a paint brush shape because it is denser and therefore it is easier to work with.

 

This brush does soak up some of the product and can be interesting to clean out because it is so dense but it is a great brush when it comes to making your foundation look amazing. Again, it’s a balloon there are limitations to it exactly looking and acting like skin.

Final Verdict:I have been using a mermaid brush for a long time; at least three years and it is something that I reached for every time before I got my silicon applicator and I know that it is a staple in my makeup bag because it is something that I like to use when doing foundation.

 

Application Method Four: Brush

I don’t know what else to call this, it is a traditional paint brush shape and for me like I can expect many others this was the type of brush we all had as our first liquid foundation brush. You felt like you were putting extreme brush strokes on your face and if you were like me you didn’t notice or at the time how to fix it to make it look like it wasn’t just painted onto your face like you were painting a wall.

I got this brush in Sephora probably 10 years ago when I really started to do my makeup when I was in high school. It was my first foundation brush so it did its job for several years; it has been semi-retired since then because I find that I like it least, I don’t like feeling like I am physically painting my face on. I have never liked that feeling, buffing with the brush for me is almost an impossibility so therefore I would be streaky and uneven when I had foundation on and that was pretty common for years.

I finally retired it after I was done with university a few years ago and I made sure to still keep it around but it is there are a treasure to be the probably last of my first products from Sephora that I still own.

Final Verdict: I don’t use this brush much anymore, it did its job when I was learning to wear makeup and it is a tried and true brush for me. Times have changed in my makeup bag and it will always remain as part of my all-star collection that reminds me of my makeup applications of time past. It is probably however my least favorite foundation application method.

 

So what are your favorite things to apply foundation with? Do you have any suggestions of methods that I should use in the future?

-MJ