Disappointing First Impression: Original Beautyblender & Solid Blendercleanser Duo

I picked up the Beautyblender sponge and Blendercleanser solid duo from Sephora's Friends & Family sale recently. My trusty Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge is on its last legs from daily abuse, so I had to give the name brand sponge a spin. The duo beautyblender and cleanser set retails for $25.

I apologize for the photo quality in this post - this is the result of impulsively snapping pics in my bathroom while cleaning my beautyblender.

I gave it all up in the title - this is one of the most disappointing first impressions a makeup product has given me in a long time.  Keep reading to learn why...

Check out that bleeding dye! After squeezing out handful after handful of bubblegum pink bubbles, I had to take a few pictures.

This picture shows the dye bleeding on the *third* thorough wash with the blendercleanser solid.

 I washed it last evening when I got it because I was concerned about dye bleeding, and I figured it was clean after washing a ton of fuchsia bubbles down the sink. This morning, I was still concerned about getting pink dye on my face while applying foundation, so I washed it again, watching more dye go down the drain. Tonight, I washed it for the third time and the dye is still running substantially.


Check that out - more dye bleeding from the beautyblender on wash #3


To be fair, the blendercleanser solid soap did appear to work as intended. It works equally well as my standard Dr. Bronner's soap.

On the left, the original pink Beautyblender, next to the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge, both wet.

To add insult to injury, the Beautyblender sponge didn't stack up well compared to my Real Techniques Miracle Complexion sponge. Using the Beautyblender this morning, my foundation didn't melt into the my skin like when I use the Real Techniques. I actually had to wet down my Real Techniques sponge to finish blending the foundation left sitting on top of my nose!

To be fair, this is a first impression on use and a third impression on washing. I will continue to use the Beautyblender for a week to give it a fair shot, but so far it isn't looking promising.

Has anyone else had serious dye bleeding problems with a pink Beautyblender?

edit: After a week of trying to love this, I just couldn't. I returned this to Sephora and picked up a new Real Techniques sponge.