Can You Use a Dish Sponge as a Beauty Blender Dupe? Let's Find Out!

TiTi's Corner
by TiTi's Corner
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5 Minutes
Easy

If you’ve been looking for a beauty blender dupe, I have a pretty fun hack for you. Use a dish sponge as a DIY makeup sponge!


I saw mariaybeauty try this on Instagram a few months ago, and seeing how flawless her makeup was, I knew I had to try it out too.


My beauty blender is definitely on its final stage, so this is the perfect time for me to try this out before splurging on a new one.


Dishwashing sponges are so cheap and easy to get your hands on, so if you’re interested to see how to make a sponge for makeup with a dishwashing sponge, keep reading!

Tools and materials:

  • Dishwashing sponge
how to make a sponge for makeup

1. Cut to size 

The sponge I chose has a coarse, scrubbing side and a soft, spongey side. We’re only going to be using the soft side.


I went ahead and cut my sponge in half and then in half again to achieve this small DIY beauty blender shape. 

Soaking the DIY makeup sponge in water

2. Soak 

I’m going to soak it in water and then squeeze out the excess. This is the same thing that you’d do with a beauty blender or any other makeup sponge. 

Applying foundation to the face

3. Apply foundation 

Next, take your foundation and apply it to your skin. How you do this is up to you, but I like to dot it all around my face.

Blending foundation with a DIY makeup sponge

4. Blend foundation

Now it’s time to use the dish sponge to blend! Blend with gentle patting motions as you would with your regular makeup sponge. 


At this stage, the sponge is very soft and porous with a lot of holes which I think is why it’s not giving me a very even finish.


It feels a lot like the makeup is sitting on top of my face rather than blending in naturally. I’m going to blend it in some more and see how it turns out. 

Do makeup sponges make a difference?

I thought the sponge, because of how porous it is, would soak up more product than it would deposit on my face, but it surprisingly didn’t at all.


Additionally, after patting more of the foundation into my skin, it began to blend quite well, and at this point, it looks good and really even.


This DIY makeup sponge definitely passes the foundation test!  

Applying concealer under the eyes

5. Add concealer

I just added some concealer in this triangular shape underneath my eyes, along my nose, and my forehead, and then blended it out with the sponge.


As I blended, I noticed the same effect as with the foundation. Initially, it didn’t look natural and appeared pretty cakey, but after patting it in some more, it blended nicely. 

Using a beauty blender dupe to blend makeup

As opposed to a beauty blender, I noticed the shape of this sponge made it really easy to get into the corners of my nose. 

Blending concealer with a DIY beauty blender

The dish sponge worked really well here. It blends out the concealer really well and gives it a very natural look. It doesn’t look cakey or like there’s a ton of product on your face at all, which is a huge plus. 

Blending makeup with a dish sponge

6. Apply contour and blend

I’m just going to apply the contour to the sides of my face and blend it out just like in the previous steps. 

Can you apply makeup with a dish sponge?

After applying my contour, I can officially say I’m super impressed with the sponge.


I typically find it difficult to blend out my contour with a makeup sponge, and I end up switching to a makeup brush instead to get my desired look.


However, the dish sponge made the job much easier and I didn’t have to switch tools halfway through. 


For the final test, we bake! 

Applying setting powder with the dish sponge

7. Apply setting powder 

I’m just going to dip the sponge into the powder and gently pat it into my skin.


I used a fresh, damp sponge for this. I initially thought that was a bad call because the dish sponge absorbs more water than I’m used to, so the powder felt wet when applying, as opposed to when I use a beauty blender, but I ended up really liking the finished look.


I think this DIY makeup sponge helped the concealer set into the skin really well without making it look too patchy or powdery. 


Here’s the final look of my base makeup:

Results of the beauty blender dupe

DIY makeup sponge tutorial

The finish is incredible and I can see myself using the dish sponge again in the future! It really gives the skin an even, flawless finish with zero creases.


I think it’s safe to say that using a dish sponge as a beauty blender dupe works really well when applying cream, liquid, and powdered products. It’s a pretty close dupe to the beauty blender!


I think the beauty blender has a slightly better finish, but for the price (a beauty blender costs $20), the quality of this can’t be beaten.


If you guys try this out, let me know how you like it and if it’s going to replace your favorite makeup sponge! 

Suggested materials:
  • Dishwashing sponge

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