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!).