As soon as I first heard about silicone makeup blenders I shook my head in disbelief. “Whatever next?” I thought, as I dismissed the notion of ever trying one out for myself.
As a long-term lover of the original Beauty Blender and the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge, I couldn’t even fathom the idea of patting some silicone imposter across my face. Anyway, fast forward some months to the September Glossybox, and what should I find inside? A STYLondon Siligel Blender!
I have to admit, I was curious and even a little bit excited to try it out once I’d removed it from the packaging. It felt softer than I imagined, almost a little (technical term) squishy. The surface could almost, almost mimic fingertips on the face. I decided to try it out with a tiny pearl of my L’Oreal infallible 24H Stay Fresh Foundation on the back of my hand and actually, I was quite impressed with how it blended in. Sure, it took a little longer, felt a little fiddly and took me a few attempts to hide any traces of the edge of the blender. But in the end? It looked rather okay.
Feeling a little more positive about the whole silicone blender notion, I decided to put it to the test on my actual face. Now let me tell you, this feels much fiddlier than a sponge beauty blender as it’s pretty flat so you don’t have that lovely plump sponge to grasp. It felt quite hard on my face and I found that no matter what actions I tried (patting, squishing, sliding, tapping), I could not conceal the tiny lines it left behind. I quickly returned to using my original Beauty Blender and smoothed out my complexion.
After this, my thoughts were a little mixed so I left it for another day and decided to try the whole thing out once again, but this time, with a different foundation. This time I tried my beloved MAC Studio Fix Fluid foundation on the back of my hand and pressed the Siligel Blender in. It was a revelation – my skin instantly looked smooth and I was pretty impressed once again. There were no tell tale signs of the edges of the blender like I’d experienced beforehand. So then came the real test once again – the foundation on my face! Oh Lord, let me tell you, this is where I felt like the Siligel blender failed again. I quite literally had to slap it on my face to try and disguise the marks it left behind and my skin looked cakey and dry (of which it is not). I’m not even going to include a photograph of the aforementioned as it was wiped away in quick succession.
So, I’m a little flummoxed by the whole Siligel saga. Let me fill you in on my pros and cons.
PROS
Hygienic
The Siligel Blender is a dream to wash and go. With virtually no drying time and the ability to have it squeaky clean within less than a minute, I love the idea of this blender on the hygiene front.
Cheap
It’s much cheaper (£5.99 as opposed to £16) than a sponge beauty blender.
It works
Okay, it works to an extent. I think the Siligel Blender works much better with the smallest amount of product at a time. Overload it and you’ll have a smudgy mess to try and blend out. I think it would be fairly good for those spot concealer days or even those days where you have a bruise or a mark on your body that you’d like to cover. It seems to work nicely on the back of my hand, but as soon as I try it near my face? No baby, no.
CONS
It’s not luxurious
Bopping your beautifully soft sponge blender across your face feels luxurious, relaxing and soothing. Tapping your silicone blender across your face feels a little less so.
It isn’t fool proof
It’s hard to get an even coverage with the Siligel Blender thanks to the edges. You can spend a long time trying to hide those babies to no avail. It also leaves little pore marks across my face which my sponge blenders don’t tend to do.
It’s time consuming
It takes a long time to delicately work your base into your skin with the Siligel Blender, but with a sponge or brush, the job is done within a couple of minutes.
As you can see, I’m in a bit of a mixed mind with my Siligel Blender. I want to love it, I really do, but it’s just not quite right for me. For now, my beloved beauty sponges are still at the top of my list.
Have you tried a silicone/gel beauty blender? What are your thoughts?
© Rachael Divers 2017.