Dupe time!

So a year or two ago, a makeup cleaning tool made headlines because of how innovative and clever it was: brush cleaner sponge. There were two that was the most popular, the Vera Mona Color Switch and the So Natural Makeup Brush Dry Clean Sponge. To summarize, they're basically sponges in a tin. You swirl your brush, mostly eye brushes, onto the sponge and this sponge helps clean your brush on the spot. A spot cleaner, so to speak, and a dry one at that. Perfect for those who need to work with different shadows at a time but don't want to reach for a new brush for each shadow. Another feature is the sponge in the middle where you pour some water and dip your brush on it to help make the shadows you're working with more intense. Like, foiling.

The texture of the Color Switch sponge is something that's quite familiar. I've watched someone's video about it and that the texture is similar to a hair donut. So it's quite coarse, a bit porous, and not that compact. So that's what I always had in mind. Since I'm not willing to use my hair donuts as brush cleaner, I used this sponge I saw lying around in my mom's drawer. I touched it and you guys, it was perfect.

So this is pretty much my cheap ass dupe for the Color Switch.

I don't know what this is called exactly but this is similar to a stippling sponge. If you know how a stippling sponge feels and looks like, you can pretty much use that. This sponge is a bit coarse, and a bit porous. Don't use the typical dishwashing sponge that's quite smooth and dense. Just use the photos above for reference because I cannot, for the life of me, describe it properly. :))

I tested it recently and here's how it performed!

 Swirl the brush around...

 Voila! Clean-ish brush I can use for other shadows!

The residue I got from the brush after swirling it around. If you feel like the product on the brush is still there, just swirl it again, gently, on the sponge. This method of cleaning won't make your brushes squeaky clean, just clean enough that it won't mess up the next shadow you'll use.

Different shadow and brush, same result. :)

I'm pretty much satisfied with this dupe. All I need to do now is to put it in a container because if I don't, every cleaning time will end up like this:

If you're one who still wants to get the "original" sponge cleaners, go for it. But honestly, I don't see the point of buying one when you can have a cheaper alternative. The middle sponge, personally, can go. I prefer spraying liquid on my brush rather than dipping it, but that's personal choice. Little reminders before I end this post:

-if you're DIY-ing this like I did, make sure you get a tin for your sponge to avoid a huge shadow mess.

-make sure to swirl your brushes gently. You don't want to splay the bristles.

-this is a spot cleaning technique. It won't clean, condition, and sanitize your brushes 100%. You still need to deep clean them once a week. (Sorry, guys, we can't hack deep cleaning.)

-you still need to wash the sponge at least once a week. Product will build up and shadows stain the sponge so washing it is a must.

-this isn't effective with cream products. Cream products will just smear all over the sponge. Stick to powders. Even foiled shadows (the shadows that were sprayed with liquid) are okay to use with this sponge but never cream products.

Good luck! xx