Real Techniques: Diamond in the Rough?

     I think today makes a good day to talk about the Real Techniques Diamond Sponge... and if it works (obviously). The sponge is said to be "uniquely designed to work with multiple products on different areas of your face. No two Miracle Diamond Sponges are alike - each has its own unique swirl design." It retails for $9.99 and I purchased mine at Ulta! Before we get into the pros and cons, I just want to quickly mention that I am a big fan of Real Techniques. They have great brushes at amazing price points and I love the original orange Miracle Complexion Sponge (which retails for $6.99 and though it is a bit denser, it preforms pretty well when compared to a Beauty Blender sponge). Since I loved the Miracle Complexion Sponge, I thought maybe I'd be crazy over the Diamond one!

Wet performance (foundation/concealer): The sponge expands with water and becomes much softer than when it is dry. For foundation application, I had a difficult time using the flat face of the sponge. The sides were a little better, but still... it did not easily blend the foundation into my skin-- it ended up patchy and streaky, so I had to go over my entire application with a regular Beauty Blender to fix it up. As for concealer, I was expecting it to preform just the way the foundation application did, but I was pleasantly surprised. The little triangle end of the sponge made it super easy to get the inner corner and it blended out flawlessly.

Dry performance (powder): Using the flat face of the sponge makes the powder application easy, fast and it looks really smooth! The sharp edges also help to create clean lines on the face.

Pros: Great for setting make-up with powder; great to use to apply concealer; squared edges aid in cleaning up contour lines; cleans easily

Cons: Difficult foundation application; creates a patchy finish

     Overall I would say this is a nice sponge to have around for powders. I typically just use the same sponge to apply both foundation and concealer so I would not go out of my way to wet this just to apply concealer under my eyes. Keeping it dry and using it to set my smile lines and clean up my bronzer/contour line is my favorite way to use it... the $9.99 price point to only use it for powder it questionable on whether it is worth it or not because I know there are cheaper sponges out there with sharp edges that may perform just as well, but I own this one so I am getting my money's worth!


Disclaimer: This post is not sponsored & all opinions are my own!
(This post was originally published on my previous blog forum, which I have since gotten rid of. You will now only find my blog posts here on BlogSpot/Blogger)!