Have you ever wanted something so much but refuse to get because of the seemingly "insane" price tag? That's exactly what I felt about buying a Beauty Blender. Despite all the praises I hear about this much sought after sponge, I still can't bring myself to shell out a thousand pesos for it. I mean, what can an egg shaped sponge do that a regular one can't? Although the Beauty Blender hype has somehow reached its plateau and countless affordable dupes have emerged, the urge to satisfy my curiosity about this much talked about beauty tool still remains. So when asked what I wanted to get for our annual Kris Kringle last December 2014, I opted for a Beauty Blender. 

New Year: Gifts of Beauty

Image courtesy of fun2smiles.com

Hey guys! How's your new year so far? I hope you had a wonderful vacation with your loved ones the way I did. There's something about holidays that makes us all feel thankful for the year that passed and feel hopeful for the next. This is exactly what sets the new year apart from all other occasions in the calendar. The delightful feeling of gratitude for all the experiences brought by the previous year and that feeling of excitement over starting another year with a clean slate can really jump start your day.

Speaking of being thankful, I would like to make a shout out to all my loved ones who generously imparted their blessings. I would very much like to feature every single gift I received but I narrowed them down to skin care and make up for the benefit of my kikay readers like you. I'll be mentioning the items in the order of when I received them. 

Michelle Phan Make Up: Your Life Guide to Beauty, Style and Success -- Online and Off is my very first beauty related book. This was a Christmas gift from my loving husband who back in December was still my fiance. 

Michelle Phan is a beauty guru who became a YouTube sensation for her make up tutorials. She has come a long way since she started making videos in 2007. Apart from having written her own book, Michelle currently has a make up line called em and a beauty subscription box named ipsy. I've always wanted to have a beauty related book and getting Michelle's for Christmas is really a treat! 

I've been a skin care advocate since the day my pimples got out of hand in my teen age years. I tried almost everything just to keep my break outs manageable and one of my most trusted brands is Clinique. Receiving the 3-step skin care system in full and travel sizes plus freebies of their cosmetics is a dream come true! Kisses to my loving husband for spoiling me this Christmas. 

I'm not so much adventurous when it comes to fragrance and I often stick to one scent. Good thing my cousin gave me something new to try from United Colors of Benetton Let's Love for women. It has a fruity floral scent that lingers decently.

Another thing I always fail to do is use a face mask. It's something that I wish I could do more often to pamper my skin. Thanks to a good friend, I can try one that contains collagen from Etude House. 

I'm excited about this gift from a friend, Tony Moly tony tint. I'm not fond of using tints because I find them hard and quite tricky to blend. Despite that, I'm still looking forward to giving this a try and probably I can make it work this time.

I love a good hand wash by my sink and this Bath & Body Works gentle foaming hand soap in Warm Vanilla Sugar given by a friend came just in time to replace my old one. 

Last but not the least is a gift I got from our annual gift giving, the original beauty blender. I've been meaning to get one but the hefty tag that comes with such a tiny and simple tool kept me from buying. I remember having second thoughts every time I go to Purebeauty. Good thing I thought of putting it on my wish list. Thank you to my mommy!

That's about it. I feel so blessed being given these amazing gifts. I'll be posting separate reviews on some of them soon. Thank you for taking the time to read my post and have a great day!

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BEAUTY BLENDER DUPE

Hey guys! I would've raved about being off work for 4 days straight if it weren't for the heavy downpour of rain and flooded areas around the metro. Let's all pray for better days and hope that everyone is kept safe from harm.

Having stayed home in the past days, I was able to rearrange some stuff in my room, revisit my stash and saw this makeup tool I bought just recently. 

Cosmetic Sponge (200 Php)

This is a dupe for the most raved about cosmetic sponge, the Beauty Blender. I've seen and read about the wonders of using the Beauty Blender but I never considered buying one because of the hefty tag (1,050 Php). Also, I prefer flat top brushes when applying my BB Cream but when a friend offered this dupe for just a fraction of the Beauty Blender's cost, I couldn't help but give it a try. 

The shape is a bit different from a Beauty Blender because of the ridge in the middle of the sponge. I personally think that the ridge makes this sponge better because it's easier to hold on to the sponge when using it. 

The bottom has a round shape and is used in a patting motion to spread and even out your foundation or BB Cream. This portion of the sponge is best used on your forehead, cheeks and chin. 

The opposite end is pointed making it easier to reach the small corners of your nose and under eye areas. 

The sponge appears compact and is a bit rubbery in texture. It's really a nice tool for blending your foundation, tinted moisturizer or BB Cream. Just apply chosen product on your skin then even out by patting the sponge as if bouncing it all around your face to achieve that flawless finish. Just like a regular sponge, it's quite hard to clean so you might want to cleanse as often as possible to prevent it from getting really soaked with foundation. On a regular day, it takes more than 24 hours to dry completely but you can still use it damp because it's actually easier to use that way. 

Overall, I like this Beauty Blender dupe a lot and I'm buying a 2nd sponge so I can have a spare to use while waiting for the other one to dry. I highly recommend it to those of you who want a more affordable version of a Beauty Blender yet does the same great job. Thanks for reading and have a sunshiny day!

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