Lecosmetique blending sponge review

I had never really found a way to apply my foundation that I was really satisfied with before trying this product. I've tried using my fingers, a stippling brush, a regular foundation brush, a flat top brush, etc. etc.  Everyone was raving over the original "beauty blender", but it's $20, and I just wasn't willing to pay that for a sponge. I looked for dupes, and like one or two people were raving about this one, so I decided to buy it since it was only $5.95. They're available on http://www.lecosmetique.com/ in several different colors.
I don't know what it is with my skin but I have to try pretty hard for my foundation not to look cakey and weird on it. I wasn't sure what to expect from this but I was very impressed. I soaked it with water and squeezed out the excess (using it damp works better than using it dry) and applied my foundation. It blended my foundation in so nicely. It made my skin look natural, but it didn't sheer out the foundation to the point where it defeated the purpose of even putting foundation on. It gave me coverage but totally prevented it from looking cakey. It really made my skin look like my real skin but better, not my-skin-covered-up-with-foundation. I haven't tried the original beauty blender but I'm quite happy with this one. It's my new favorite way to apply foundation and I probably won't be applying my foundation with a brush again for a long time. One slight con - after a few days of using it, I noticed a very small tear near the top. I wasn't  rough with it or anything so I was worried that it was going to fall apart. Update: 2 months after having this, I noticed a tear in the side as well. I'm not happy with the slight tearing but it's minor enough to where I can still use it just like normal. I'm hoping it will hold together and I won't have to buy a new one (although they're not too expensive to buy new ones if I need to!).

Revlon colorstay: normal/dry skin versus combination/oily skin

Revlon colorstay foundation comes in two types -  normal/dry skin and combination/oily skin. You might think "well, I'm just going to buy whichever one fits my skin type so why do I need to read a review on them?". I thought it might be useful to tell you guys the differences between them in case you have in-between skin or you have oily skin in summer and dry in winter.

First of all, the combination/oily skin one has a strong scent to it that smells pretty similar to wall paint. Yeah, like the actual paint that people paint their walls with. If you don't like strongly scented makeup it might be a problem. I could smell it on my skin even after I put it on and it set. This one also made me break out a bit. The sensitivity of my skin to breakouts is about average, but different ingredients in makeup break out different people so it really depends on the person. It also dries VERY fast when you apply it, so you have to work with smaller areas of your face at a time instead of just putting it all over your face and then blending.  If you're not careful putting this on, it can also look a little cakey. Also, the coverage of this one is a little bit more full than the normal/dry skin one. Finally, it did stay on really well. I wore it when I went on vacation to Hawaii and was doing a lot of outdoor activities and hiking. In warm weather I have oily skin, and I was surprised at how matte this kept my face without even reapplying powder or anything. It really does stay on until the end of the day. Be sure to take off your foundation completely at the end of the day if you use this or any long-wearing foundation.

The one for normal/dry skin goes on more easily. It doesn't dry super fast when you apply it and looks more natural. I wasn't too impressed with its staying power compared to the combination/oily skin one, but my skin gets a little oily throughout the day so if you do have dry skin it'll probably stay on better. It has an average foundation smell instead of smelling like wall paint. It did not break me out. It had a little less coverage than the combination/oily skin one.

As for application tips, I think a damp sponge works best for the combination/oily skin one since it does dry so fast and can look a little cakey using the average brush. You can use the average wedge sponges you get in a bag at the drugstore, or a beauty blender/beauty blender dupe. Also, even if you have oily skin, moisturizing before putting on the combination/oily skin one will help it to look more natural and go on more easily.
The normal/dry skin one doesn't really require any special tips as it's more easy to work with and closer to the average foundation formula that most people are familiar with.