Paw Paw blender comparison (beautyblender dupe?)

I tested and compared the Paw Paw Wonder Blender with other blenders – is it a Beautyblender dupe?! (No.) Find out more in the Paw Paw blender comparison post.

I always use a sponge when I apply foundation, and until now, I always came back to the original beautyblender. But since influencers sung the praise of Paw Paw sponges, I’ve been curious – and finally took the plunge. And it is indeed a plunge if you’re located outside of the US and can’t buy them at Walmart or order them with overnight shipping at the Miss A site! (Because jeez, shipping to Europe is a pain.)

The brand

Miss A was founded in 2013 and now has also some brick-and-mortar stores in the US. All (nearly all) products retail for $1. That’s because they cut marketing and other extras, selling directly from manufacturers (allegedly).

What is it?

Paw Paw Super Soft Wonder Blender:

This sponge is great for a flawless application of cream or liquid products on the face!
This latex-free cosmetic sponge perfect for foundation application and contouring. It’s unique shape allows the blender to be used for many different products and easy to grip. Use the pointed top to contour and sculpt, the flat edge for foundation application to larger areas of the face with a flawless finish. This sponge is also great for adding highlight and blush to different areas of the face.
AOA Wonder Blender rivals the beauty industry’s leading makeup blender brand and is the ultimate sponge tool for all liquid, cream and powder products. This sponge provides a flawless, airbrushed finish without streaking or blotchiness.

Miss A

A six pack retails for around $9. It can be used wet or dry.

My test candidates for comparison

• Beautyblender regular and mini
• Kiko minis
• EcoTool sponge
• Real Technique sponge (discontinued)
• Makeup Revolution sponge

Method

I used two dampened sponges every time I did my makeup: for one side of my face, I always used the Paw Paw sponge, on the other side one of the other test candidates.

I also used the various mini sponges for my concealer, and from time to time, would use the bigger sponges for cream blush and liquid highlighter (you all know I’m not really for creamy cheek products). For testing purposes, I used various foundations: from very thin, liquid textures to a foundation stick.

Texture

 You can see immediately that the Paw Paw sponge isn’t a beauty blender dupe: not only is it larger, but also the material is totally different. Both are latex-free, but the BB feels like a proper sponge, albeit a very soft and bouncy one. PP’s sponge texture is less open, less porous, and feels like a mix between a sponge, a mochi and a silisponge (remember those?!) with a hard center. It’s unique of all the sponges I own, although Kiko’s minis come close. It’s a very, very, very squishy feel.

Results

All sponges apart from the Paw Paw one were similar in texture, but were different in form. Real Techniques and EcoTools I found indistinguishable from the original Beautyblender but for their ‘unique’ forms (which I didn’t like in both cases). The Makeup Revolution sponge sat in between the Beautyblender and Paw Paw in texture of the sponge itself (porosity and squishiness) and the results it delivered.  

I’ve to give it to the Paw Paw Wonder Blender: it achieves a very smooth, blurred finish with any kind of foundation I tried it with. Depending on the foundation and the sunscreen I used under it, I found that the beautyblender worked better in not lifting that base. The Paw Paw sponge would also always yield a sheerer finish than the beautyblender. All sponges were similarly convenient to clean.

When it came to the mini sponges, no matter the Mochi or mini Paw Paw sponges, I didn’t like them for concealer at all. They all lifted the concealer noticeably, when a brush or fingers would give a better result. They’re nice with blush or highlighter.

Pros & Cons of the Paw Paw sponges

Cons

• Shipping fees, shipping time and taxes: for me in Europe, the package took over a month to arrive. For my order of a six pack of Paw Paw sponges and three individual sponges, I paid about 30€ (32$) including shipping, taxes and fees instead of the approx. $17-20 I would’ve paid in the US.
• Absorbs a LOT of liquid
• Less sturdy than the OG beautyblender, prone to ripping (especially with longer nails)

Pros

• Smoothing properties
• Blurred finish
• Price

There you have it! For me, the cons outweighs the pros. Sure, the look of my base is great with a Paw Paw sponge, but I’d be equally content with a beautyblender that I can restock easily by popping into a store over here (and buy them with a discount so the price doesn’t hurt that much). I’ve a feeling that the beautyblender will hold up better long-term. As I’m not a makeup artist and clean my sponges regularly, I don’t feel the need to replace them every three months anyway.

Please note that this review is not sponsored in any way. We buy products ourselves, with our own money, and don’t accept exchanging goods, or money, for reviews. We are completely independent, and our reviews reflect that.