deep clean your beauty blender

Oh the Beauty Blender, one of the makeup community's most coveted sponge applicators.  My evolution of applying foundation began with my fingers (I'm cringing!), then on to a $30 stippling brush, and now the beloved Beauty Blender; I prefer this one.  There's nothing quite like it - in fact, my favorite way to achieve flawless skin is with a damp Beauty Blender.  The product is versatile and forgiving - two factors that simplify my morning-makeup routine.  If you use your Beauty Blender daily like I do, then it probably has some ombré stains from foundation or concealer.  Just as with makeup brushes, you'll want to clean your Beauty Blender after each use or quite frequently to eliminate bacteria build up.  I'm sharing the best way to remove stains and sanitize your Beauty Blender from the inside out - keep reading below!

Using a brand new Beauty Blender can be intimidating, knowing that you're moments away from having a stained applicator.  Don't fret!  After one simple makeup application, all Beauty Blenders will look used, but can easily be restored to their original condition.  Heavy stains will appear on the sponge where you most frequently apply makeup; for me the two worst spots are up top near the tapered point and down at the rounded bottom.

For a while, I was cleaning my Beauty Blender with a pump of hand soap after each time I applied foundation.  Not only did I go through containers and containers of bottled soap, but my  Beauty Blender was still stained!  So, after many trial and error situations, I've found the best way to remove stains and have a guaranteed clean.  It's a simple and inexpensive way that yields the best results.  You'll need any bar of soap - I had a few generic brands in my linen closet, so I figured I'd give them all a try.  Pictured below are Irish Spring, Lever 2000, and Dial Gold.

You can kill two birds with one stone by cleaning your Beauty Blender while you shower, or you can do it at the bathroom sink, like I did.  To begin, start with turning on the faucet with lukewarm water and give your Beauty Blender a few squeezes (as if you were preparing it for a damp makeup application).  Once the entire sponge is soaked, it's time to bring out the soap.

In order to prevent tears or rips in your Beauty Blender, you'll want a healthy water-to-soap ratio while cleaning (not enough water could initiate small tears and lead to bigger rips down the road).  To effectively maintain this balance, place the bars under the running water to melt the soap.  Take your Beauty Blender and glide it back and fourth in a continuous motion against the bar.  After a few seconds, you'll see the stains fading away and most likely lots of foundation-tinted water.

Keep massaging the Beauty Blender against the bar of soap until it's stain-free.  I repeated this process for about five minutes so when I squeezed my Beauty Blender, clear water came out.  Give the Beauty Blender a good rinse to cleanse the suds away and make sure to store it in an open space to allow for proper drying.  Give your sink a good wipe down to prevent caked up makeup from lingering.

Good as new!  Congrats on your fully restored Beauty Blender - I bet it hasn't looked this good since you first bought it!

Enjoy!

xx Rach