So as I immerse more and more in the local beauty scene, I'm pretty shocked to find that a lot of artists rely on Beauty Blenders. I am not trying to diss anyone, but I cannot imagine doing this myself.

Airbrush, I may not agree with, but I certainly understand the appeal. It makes quick work and has a lot of market value. While I'm a stickler for the level of artistry, amount of control and quality of foundations available via traditional makeup, I can see why airbrush is taking off. Simply and most importantly, it is a method of service not accessible to the common beauty enthusiast. The makeup job thus feels extra special.

While I am so happy with my manual skills, I do see the need to upgrade my kit with an airbrush gun.

On the other hand, I simply do not see the point in investing in a Beauty Blender (even though I use one personally.)

1. Money matters - A Beauty Blender is about PHP 1k, recommended for 3 months usable life span. Professionally, you're going to have to cut that by 30-50% due to increased wear and tear- meaning 1k will last me 1.5-2 months. For 1k, I can have a great quality brush and disposable sponge pack that will last at least half a year.

An artist who will use a deformed (due to wear and tear) Beauty Blender or skip washes to extend life span is simply being unfair to you.

2. I'm not comfortable reusing sponges that many times. I have this jumbo pack of dense sponges that I wash 2x at most (if used very lightly, or with powder.) Regularly, I throw it away in one use. Once a sponge is stained or deformed, it won't deliver the quality of work I aim for and it will definitely cause a client to raise their eyebrows at me. I prefer good-quality, single-use sponges because sponges are a hotbed for bacteria anyway.

3. The Beauty Blender is not irreplaceable. I don't think it's perfect. It could be stiffer. But the tension and shape of the sponge force you to bounce it on your face and apply makeup in thin layers. It eats up a lot of product, right? It's not just to rip you off, it helps control your layering, in a good way. I have trained well enough to do this with other tools.

Any makeup artist who has mastered applying different thicknesses of foundation can work with the tool of their choosing. The Beauty Blender is not the end-all and be-all of blending. Especially among professionals.

That said, if the Beauty Blender is an artist's tool of choice, that's not necessarily a bad thing.

We are all still judged by the end result we come up with, and a beautiful face doesn't have the sponge or brushes glued on it. Nobody cares what tools you used, as long as you end up looking like a million bucks. Moral of the story: don't judge a MUA by their Beauty Blender (or lack thereof).