Confessions of a Makeup Magpie: Beauty Rituals Blending Trio (EcoTools) Review

Thanks to my Magpie tendencies I’ve been hoarding makeup and beauty supplies like a dragon amassing it’s hoard (I do love pretty things), so I thought every now and then I’d shared my thoughts on what I’ve been trying out. The good, the bad, the why-did-I-buy- that will all be included. Things could get interesting so stick around and see what I keep and what I toss.

  

Ulta was offering the Beauty Rituals Blending Trio from EcoTools as one of their Platinum Perks and I couldn’t resist this offer so in the cart they went. EcoTools is one of my favorite brush/sponge companies so I was expecting great things. Things happened, they sure did. Sadly, they were not great.

Just as a FYI: This set is an Ulta exclusive. As a Platinum Perk, I was able purchase this before it was available on-line and it stores. I believe it’s available on-line now and will be in stores February 2, 2019.

Here’s why I picked them up.

1-They were $6.99 and shipped free (I needed to pick up a few lip balms, so this was the perfect opportunity to do so without having to pay shipping)

2-I’m a huge fan of EcoTools’ brushes. (I love their fan brushes; they are dense and apply highlighter like a charm)

3-I needed a few flat sponges for my cream blushes and highlighters

4-They’re latex-free (I’ve been having a bit of a reaction to latex in my beauty sponges as of late).

5-They’re vegan and Eco-friendly

 

The set comes with three blenders:

1-Base Blender (emerald)—for foundation

2-Cover Blender—(amethyst) Concealer and such

3-Glow Blender—(rose quartz) Cream Highlighters and such

The wedge tips can be used to apply baking powders

 

Like all beauty sponges, you wet them then remove excess water before use.

 

My first impression—Right out of the package, these were super soft (they weren’t as bouncy as the mini perfecting blenders that I have from them but they were still soft). They plumped up nicely when I wet them and I was easily able to remove the excess water.

 

Application—I started with the Base Blender (the emerald one) and I wasn’t liking the way it was applying my foundation, which was Milani’s Conceal + Perfect 2-in-1 Foundation, so I remembered watching a video saying that the Glow Blender (the rose quartz one) applied foundation much smoother, so I picked that one up.

I do have to say that it applied my foundation effortlessly. It wasn’t being soaked up in the sponge and it wasn’t leaving that weird sponge texture on my face like the emerald on did.

 

Then I noticed a problem. I had tiny pieces of sponge all over my entire face. I mean, all over my face. The sponge had started crumbling from the center. Being late, as is my fashion, I didn’t have time to redo my foundation, so I did my best to brush off the crumbles. (I ended up picking random bits of sponge off my face all day long, so that was fun).

 

I continued on and used the Base Blender (the emerald one) to apply my cream blush and it allowed me to get a sheer wash of color, which is what I wanted since the blusher I was trying out was what could only be described as DayGlo pink (thanks, Ipsy lol). I did notice that it sucked up a lot of product, so I’m not sure how it would do with a lighter blusher. The Cover Blender worked okay for my cream highlighter. Parts were a bit patchy but I don’t feel like this one sucked up as much product as the other sponge did.

 

These weren’t the easiest to clean—obviously, I didn’t clean the one that’s falling apart—but I couldn’t really get these to look clean and even with my sponge cleaner the emerald one still has a bit of blush in it that’s refusing to come out.

 

Overall, I’m not a big fan of these. One crumbled with the first use and the others were just okay. If I use the blusher again, I’ll use the emerald sponge again, but I don’t think I’ll use the amethyst sponge for my highlighter. I might use it if I ever decide to bake under my eyes because it’s pointy and will probably pick up a nice amount of powder.

 

They were $6.99, so they weren’t the most expensive sponges out there but they’re not the best ones that I’ve had from this company and I feel that they could have been made a bit better. I’ve never had a sponge—even a cheap Equate beauty sponge—to crumble while using it for the first time. I’ve actually never had a sponge to crumble.

 

I just don’t feel that the quality is there with these sponges and I would honestly recommend picking another option.  

  

I would like to say that Ulta did give me a refund for these—even though I tossed the packaging—so kudos to them for having amazing customer service.