Say hello to my new blender!

My fave and most used blender sponge from Suesh ripped in two and said goodbye so of course, I had to find a replacement asap. I went down the Shopee hole back in March to search for a good replacement for it and that's where I found out about AOA sponges. AOA is everywhere on Shopee (and rated highly too!) so I wanted to know what the fuss was all about, starting with their sponges.

AOA Studio is actually a makeup line by Miss A, a US-based online shop that pretty much sells most of their beauty products and skincare for at least $1 each. Resellers in Shopee, of course, sell the items about double the price (which is pretty much understandable) but I still find them really affordable and reasonably priced, at least when compared to other drugstore brands like Maybelline, Covergirl, and Wet & Wild. I'd say the prices are similar to local brands like Nichido, Detail Cosmetics, and Careline.

AOA's sponges are called Wonder Blender and they come in 4 types: the original, the super soft, the microfiber, and the mochi. Thought I'd try the original first and see how it does before venturing to the other three.

Here's a Wonder Blender description from the Miss A site:

"This latex-free cosmetic makeup beauty blending sponge perfect for foundation application and contouring. It's unique shape allows the blender to be used for many different products and easy to grip. Use the pointed top to contour and sculpt, the flat edge for foundation application to larger areas of the face with a flawless finish. This sponge is also great for adding highlight and blush to different areas of the face. 

AOA Wonder Blender rivals the beauty industry's leading makeup blender brand and is the ultimate sponge tool for all liquid, cream and powder products. This sponge provides a flawless, airbrushed finish without streaking or blotchiness."

They also give a guide on how to use the sponge:

"For a softer sponge, completely wet and lather with soap. Squeeze the sponge and rinse out. Repeat a few times to make it even softer. 

For natural coverage, completely soak the sponge in water and squeeze out excess water. This will make the sponge double in size and make the sponge bouncier! 

For a more full coverage look, use the sponge dry or light spray with water rather than completely soaking it. 

To add extra coverage to certain areas of the face apply concealer and bounce the sponge in place to blend in."

The original sponge comes in 3 shapes (teardrop, beveled, and sculpted) and 4 colors (purple, pink, black, and nude). I went with a nude beveled sponge because I found the shape itself pretty interesting and well, I haven't had a nude-colored sponge before.

As you can see, the beveled sponge has two sides: an angled flat side and a pointed side. The flat top is mainly to blend out the base all over the face and the pointed side is for getting into corners, as well as for blending out contours.

I gotta say, I absolute love the sponge once it gets damp and expanded. The size of the sponge is quite big, which is perfect for applying a base on a large amount of area in a small amount of amount. Because of it got bigger, it wasn't hard to grip and control at all.

Blending foundation is quite a breeze with this one. It's definitely denser than a Beauty Blender (which is great because that means it's tougher and won't get cut easily by my nails when I grip it) and I feel like it doesn't absorb a lot of foundation. The blend I get from this sponge is seamless and just beautiful, plus I can be quite haphazard with my application is still get a good well-blended finish. The angled flat side of this sponge is just perfect for blending out and the base AND applying powder for baking/setting, while the pointed side is great for those hard to reach corners. I haven't used this to blend out contour products but I think it'll work great with creams and liquids. 

Overall, I think this sponge is fantastic and a worthy replacement for my old Suesh sponge. I like that it has the density I look for in a blender and I like that it blends really well without eating up most of my foundation, plus it wasn't difficult to wash! Another good point: it's damn affordable! This sponge only retails for ₱108 at the VA Cosmetics shop and I think it's a steal, considering how well it works. Seriously, better get on with this sponge because I'm just hooked! This definitely makes me wanna try the mochi and microfiber versions now!