COMPARISON // BeautyBlender vs. Ebelin Make-Up Ei

Hello beauties!

Today is a post for my lovely german, swiss or austrian readers and anyone who has a chance to check out their drugstore. I have been using the Ebelin Make-Up Ei forever now, basically since it came out even though I read loads of reviews of BleautyBlender dupes and how none of them compare to the original. I did try out the Ebelin one though because it was the easiest to access for me and I never wanted to spend 19€ on a make up sponge (still seems absolutely ridiculous to me, tbh). But this week I took the opportunity to get it 15% off and decided to try out the BeautyBlender to see if it was really that much more magical.

Explanation: The sponge on the left aka the pink sponge is the Ebelin Make-Up Ei; the right sponge aka the black one is the original BeautyBlender!

Texture

As you can see from up close, the texture of both the sponges is completely different. The pink Ebelin sponge is a lot thicker and a lot more firm while the black BeautyBlender feels so lightweight and airy. Comparing the two just from the way they look, the BB looks like it would absorb way more product into it since it's pores are so large.

When squishing them both together (pictures taken while damp already), you can also tell that the BB is a lot more airy and lets you squish it together a lot more than the Ebelin sponge. It's quite firm and thick, I personally found it really hard to quish it together like this.

I did notice that the first few uses of the Ebelin sponge, it is especially firm, which goes away the more you use it, but the BB was soft and squishy right away.

I also find when you run it under water, the BB gets soaked a lot easier and quicker while with the Ebelin sponge, I do have to squish it together and put it under the water again, squish it, add more water a few times over and over until it actually let all the water inside.

Size

dry Ebelin sponge and BeautyBlender

As you can see above, the BB is a lot smaller in it's dry state than the Ebelin sponge is, when you run them under the water, it does add a lot more volume though, while the Ebelin sponge doesn't extend all that much, it does extend but not as much as the BB does.

damp Ebelin sponge and BeautyBlender

As you can see now, when they are both damp, the BB gets around the same size as the Ebelin sponge, which also just proves that it adds a lot more volume when damp than the Ebelin one!

In this case (at least for me), size does not matter. What does matter is the performance.

Performance

Right when I first used the original BB, I could tell from the first few seconds that it does absorb a lot more product than the Ebelin sponge which does have a good and a bad side. If the sponge absorbs more product, you are going to run out of your foundation/concealer a lot quicker and will probably end up putting more and more on your face because it takes down the coverage. The good thing is that it absorbs the spare product on your face so you should not end up looking like a cake face with creasing product all over.

The feeling on the face is of course better with the original BB because it's a lot softer and squishier while the Ebelin sponge is a lot harder and stiff. Of course it's not actually hard and/or hurts your face when pushing in the product, but in comparison to the original BeautyBlender, it's harder on your face.

When it comes to the actual performance aka the blending of the product, I have to be completely honest and tell you that the Ebelin sponge does just as good of a job as the BB does. I have used the Ebelin sponge for over a year for ever single make up application and I have just recently tried out the BB and I can't tell a hell of a lot of difference. When looking at my face up close, I can't tell a proper different when comparing the two. I feel like the BeautyBlender might just push the product in a tiny little bit better than the Ebelin sponge but performance wise, they are both really comparable.

Conclusion

Considering the price and everything else, the Ebelin sponge is a winner for me. You just cannot beat the pricepoint. For it's 2,25€ it is absolutely amazing. I think it all comes down to personal preference. If you are willing to spend 19,95€ on just a little make up sponge, than you are completely free to do so.

The only thing I will say is that since the Ebelin sponge is so much thicker in texture, it is a lot harder to clean and get all the liquid foundation/concealer out of it but for the price of only 2,25€ you can definitely afford to throw it out and use a new one if you struggle getting your old one clean again.

Pro's & Con's

BeautyBlender
+ feels a lot softer
+ easy to clean
+ performs nicely
- expensive (for what it is)
- absorbs quite a lot of make up

Ebelin Sponge
+ affordable
+ easy to get your hands on (considering you live in Austria, Germany, Switzerland)
+ performs amazingly for the price
+ really comparable to the original BeautyBlender
- harder to clean
- feels more stiff
- foams a lot when you damp it for the first time (wherever this is coming from)

I really hope this was helpful! Maybe you have been thinking about splurging on the original BB and I could make your decision a bit easier. See you soon!

xox, Julia