25 Common Beauty Questions Answered By A Makeup Artist Who Isn’t Judging, I Promise



I'm a cosmetic Nancy Drew. I'm addicted to solving the makeup mysteries of my family, friends, followers, and straight-up strangers. Are you stymied when your foundation gets patchy, or perplexed when you sniff your Beauty Blender and it smells like actual death? Perhaps you've dreamed of having your common beauty questions answered by a makeup artist so you don't have forge out into the glamorous minefields of lip liners, plumpers, and balm without the right weaponry? Alas, I happen to be a real, living professional makeup artist myself, and I can sense your fear, so let's face it together.

Makeup is easy once you learn basic theories, but damn near impossible when you have to figure it out yourself. No human is born knowing the difference between concealer and foundation. We're not even born knowing that 2+2=4. Somewhere along the line, a patient teacher gave us the answer and explained to us why it makes sense. Makeup is the same way. Once someone explains to you why different brushes serve different purposes, you will never forget it. So don't be afraid to ask the questions you think are basic, because we have all been there at one point or another. I've taught 13 year-olds and 80 year-olds how to properly use eyeliner. There's absolutely no shame in the makeup game.

To get a neutral pool of questions, I asked the Elite Daily team to send me their beauty quandaries, and while I laughed (out loud, perhaps guffawed is a more accurate adjective), I never judged.


1. How Often Do You Really Have To Clean Your Beauty Blender?

Good question TBH. In theory, all makeup sponges should be cleaned before use. Between applications, dust, dirt, and bacteria collect on your sponge. If you just dab it straight on to your face, all that grossness is going right on to your skin. I have super sensitive, easily-inflamed skin myself, so I have to give my sponge a quick clean every morning. It's not as annoying as it seems, though, because I head to the bathroom to dampen the sponge before makeup application anyway. I quickly swipe my sponge through some solid cleanser while the sink water is running, which takes all of 30 seconds. Another tip: store your sponge somewhere clean, don't just throw it back into your makeup bag.

Will you die if you don't clean your sponge everyday? Absolutely not. Everyone's skin is different, so you might not even experience breakouts from the copious amounts of dust and bacteria sitting on the sponge's surface. However, cleaning your beauty blender regularly will also help it live up to its 3-month lifespan, and IDK about you, but I'm not into spending money on a new sponge before time's up.

2. What Are You Really Supposed To Clean Your Beauty Blender With? Are Water And Soap OK?

Depends on the soap! If it's a soap gentle enough for sensitive skin, it will be gentle enough for your Beauty Blender. It should be something strong enough to break down the makeup caked into the sponge, but not so strong that it starts to wear down the expensive material. Baby soaps and Dove bars (which are highly recommended by some beauty vloggers and makeup artists) will get rid of the bacteria, but they won't really get rid of the makeup, which may affect how the sponge works over time. I've heard of some artists using Palmolive dish soap, which will break down the makeup in the sponge, but will also dry out the material it's made of. Adding olive oil to a dish detergent solution doesn't really help either, because it's like putting a bandaid on the problem. It kinda-sorta rehydrates the surface of the sponge, but the material itself is already breaking down.

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