By Lauren Hubbard, Allure
With our electric toothbrushes, face-cleansing brushes, and freaky vibrating flatirons, the Allure office has firmly embraced the extra boost a little bit of buzzing can give our beauty game. So when I heard about Color Me, a new motorized makeup sponge, I had to see how it measured up to my low-tech fave, the five-time Best of Beauty–winning Beautyblender.
[post_ads]First, the stats: The Color Me works by pulsing 15,000 times per minute, which is meant to "mimic a technique used by professional artists to create a flawless airbrushed look." (Uh, makeup artists, or robots? Is that really something a human can do?) It comes with two detachable heads—spongy one for liquid and cream foundations and a fluffy one meant to be used with powder formulas. It's light and comfortable to handle, though I did have some initial trouble figuring out how to turn it on.(Hint: Press the button harder than you think you should, until it makes a loud click.)
Once I finally got it going, the process was easy enough, even if it did seem overly involved. The company suggests you apply the foundation to the vibrating head and then transfer it onto your face all while the device is turned on. I didn't really see what benefit that technique had over applying foundation to the machine before turning it on, or tapping foundation directly onto my skin first, but whatever: I followed the rules! (The company later clarified that turning the device on first was only recommended for use with powder foundations)
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Using the Color Me isn't unlike scrubbing down with a Clarisonic; you're supposed to move it around your face in steady, circular motions to blend the foundation in smoothly. I had to stop to add extra foundation after the first pass, which was slightly annoying, but the instructions assured me that the Color Me would absorb less and less foundation each time I used it. The vibrations were noticeably stronger than those of my usual cleansing brush, and as a result, my face tingled for a couple of minutes post-application. I found the sensation kind of pleasant, but if you're not someone who enjoys that post-pedi massage-chair buzz, it might drive you crazy.
As for the results, I found that when I compared the Color Me'd side of my face (on the left in the picture above) to the side I'd done using a Beautyblender (on the right), the difference was negligible. The stiffness of the Color Me head made it challenging to get into the trickier areas around my nose, but it was nothing that a quick touch-up with a normal, nonvibrating sponge couldn't fix. And where my rushed Beautyblender application had left a couple of streaky spots, the Color Me left a smooth, even finish all over in roughly the same amount of time.So is the Color Me worth it? I enjoyed the mini face massage it gave me, and it did make my morning makeup routine feel a little more Jane Jetson–glamorous than my usual one. But at $54, it's nearly three times the cost of a Beautyblender, and that's without the replacement heads (You can get a two-pack of them for $9, and the company suggests replacing them after seven uses, though they note that if patted down regularly with alcohol, the heads can last up to a month.) Given that choice, I'd rather save up for something truly splurge-worthy.
[post_ads]First, the stats: The Color Me works by pulsing 15,000 times per minute, which is meant to "mimic a technique used by professional artists to create a flawless airbrushed look." (Uh, makeup artists, or robots? Is that really something a human can do?) It comes with two detachable heads—spongy one for liquid and cream foundations and a fluffy one meant to be used with powder formulas. It's light and comfortable to handle, though I did have some initial trouble figuring out how to turn it on.(Hint: Press the button harder than you think you should, until it makes a loud click.)
[post_ads_2]
Using the Color Me isn't unlike scrubbing down with a Clarisonic; you're supposed to move it around your face in steady, circular motions to blend the foundation in smoothly. I had to stop to add extra foundation after the first pass, which was slightly annoying, but the instructions assured me that the Color Me would absorb less and less foundation each time I used it. The vibrations were noticeably stronger than those of my usual cleansing brush, and as a result, my face tingled for a couple of minutes post-application. I found the sensation kind of pleasant, but if you're not someone who enjoys that post-pedi massage-chair buzz, it might drive you crazy.
As for the results, I found that when I compared the Color Me'd side of my face (on the left in the picture above) to the side I'd done using a Beautyblender (on the right), the difference was negligible. The stiffness of the Color Me head made it challenging to get into the trickier areas around my nose, but it was nothing that a quick touch-up with a normal, nonvibrating sponge couldn't fix. And where my rushed Beautyblender application had left a couple of streaky spots, the Color Me left a smooth, even finish all over in roughly the same amount of time.So is the Color Me worth it? I enjoyed the mini face massage it gave me, and it did make my morning makeup routine feel a little more Jane Jetson–glamorous than my usual one. But at $54, it's nearly three times the cost of a Beautyblender, and that's without the replacement heads (You can get a two-pack of them for $9, and the company suggests replacing them after seven uses, though they note that if patted down regularly with alcohol, the heads can last up to a month.) Given that choice, I'd rather save up for something truly splurge-worthy.
