Shiseido Sponge Cleaner | Holy Grail
It's been a while since I've done a "holy grail" product post, the last time I did one was right at the beginning of my blogging journey in 2015! Today's post is a good one, believe me!
For the longest time I've been using cosmetic sponges to apply my makeup, I've always used whatever shampoo I had on hand to clean them, some shampoo's cleaned it better than others, but I was like "meh, whatever" it got the job done, so I didn't care.. it probably explains why I had bad skin during my teenage years since I was indirectly basically putting shampoo on my face on a daily basis.
Then last summer when I was on a trip to Japan, my cousin introduced me to a sponge cleaner by Shiseido, a well know Japanese brand. The sponge cleaner comes in 2 sizes, and they use numbers to identify the bottles, #198 for large (120ml) and #199 for the small bottle (50ml).
My cousin personally uses it herself too and she swears by the sponge cleaner and told me to buy a small bottle to try it out first and see how I liked it.
You'll be surprised at how long the small bottle lasts, a little goes a long way. I think I had mine for just under half a year before I restocked and got the big one, and I used it every 2-3 days. I'm currently using the big bottle, I've had it since the start of May and I still have more than half a bottle left.
The bottle gets straight to the point, just Shiseido's logo and what it is, "Sponge Cleaner", which is the kind of simplicity I appreciate. It's a very easy to use product, the first time I used it I was genuinely surprised at how much dirt and gunk it got out of the makeup sponge, it really did look brand new!
You can buy the Shiseido Sponge Cleaner from:
#198 Large: Amazon
#199 Small: Amazon
Or cheaper from YesStyle*, a well known Asian beauty supplier.
Here is how I use it on my Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge.
Normally it's way dirtier, but I only had a few errands to run today and didn't put too much makeup on. It was already clean before I used it, therefore it's not as grubby as when I do my "not doing errands" makeup.
Please do excuse how battered it is, it's an old sponge, I have a new one, but this one is still very usable, and I'm not ready to part ways with it yet..
The sponge is soaked in foundation, cream contour, and setting powder.
Step 1:
I like to wet my sponge a little bit first so that the sponge cleaning product has some kind of moisture to help lather up. Then I squeeze the excess water out, it only needs to be slightly damp, not soaking.
Step 2:
It comes out in a clear watery-gel-like consistency. You don't need a lot of it, about 5-10 drops will do, depending on how dirty your sponge is.
Step 3:
I then give it gentle squeezes mainly focusing on where all the product build-up is, so that the sponge cleaner can really soak in, and get into all the nooks and crannies of the sponge. I'll add a little bit more water to the sponge to really get a good lathering going.
Step 4:
Time to rinse! Just keep it under luke-warm running water, until it goes clear, occasionally giving it a squeeze to help flush out all the dirt and soap residue.
Tip: If you're unsure of how well the soap has washed out, fill up the sink with water, until it covers the sponge, and repeatedly squeeze it under water. You'll see soap oozing out of the sponge, when you can no longer see any more soap, it means it's all washed out.
Step 5:
This part is optional. I, myself don't do it every time, but every now and then, I like to soak the sponge in an antiseptic bath to kill any possible bacteria that may be living in there. It sounds grim, but just think about all the things we put our makeup sponges through, especially the amount of product build-up it has when we don't wash it after every use! A moist sponge (lol...) is a perfect environment for bacteria to thrive.
Fill a container with water, in my case, an old cut-opened Tresemme shampoo bottle, then add a small dash of antiseptic into there, I'm using Dettol. Then just drop your sponge in there to soak for about 5 minutes. Take it out, give it one last quick squeeze under running water, then get rid of any excess water in the sponge, and leave it in a place to dry.
I left mine on the window sill to air dry, since it was a sunny day.
Results
As you can see below, there is honestly no different between the old and new sponge, besides the obvious size difference since the old one has just been in water, and it looking a little battered. But apart from that, you can see how good of a job the Shiseido Sponge Cleaner does.
Left: Old (Washed using Shiseido Sponge Cleaner). | Right: New and Unused.
Left: New and Unused. | Right: Old (Washed using Shiseido Sponge Cleaner).
Left: Before | Right: After
Even though on the bottle it says "sponge cleaner", you don't have to restrict yourself to only using it for your makeup sponges. If you add a few drops to water, and swirl your dirty makeup brushes in it, it will speed up the process of getting them clean. Just make sure you do it a few times and thoroughly rinse them through after.
Hope you enjoyed this post, I'll be back soon with another, keep your eyes peeled!
Melody xo.
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