Ricky’s NYC Classic 3D Blender — A Beauty Blender Dupe?

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Last week on Instagram (*hint, hint,) I posted a picture of the contents of my Ipsy bag. Among the usual random, mediocre items stood the RickyCare by Ricky’s NYC Classic 3D Blender.

This is arguably the most exciting item I have received from Ipsy in a very long time. I am always looking for outstanding affordable alternatives to my beloved Beauty Blender, because let’s be honest, that thing is expensive.

I saw this, and I was like, “It feels like a Beauty Blender. It looks like a Beauty Blender. (If I sorta squint.) It must be just like a Beauty Blender!”

Needless to say, I was quite excited. Keep reading over the jump to see how it went!

RickyCare by Ricky’s NYC Classic 3D Blender — the Basics

The RickyCare by Ricky’s NYC Classic 3D Blender is a latex-free makeup blending sponge that looks mysteriously like the Beauty Blender. It costs $10.00 on Amazon.

RickyCare by Ricky’s NYC Classic 3D Blender >> Purchase on Amazon

Let’s just cut to the chase. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so duped by a beauty product before.

And not in a good way. Just by looking at it and feeling it for the first time, I was convinced it would be great. The shape is very similar to the Beauty Blender, (thought the slight lopsidedness should have been a clue,) and the texture is velvety smooth and dense. Out of all the alternative blending sponges I have come across, none replicate Beauty Blender’s smoothness. While some get the job done just as well, such as the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge, they just don’t have that same luxurious feel.

Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge >> Purchase on Amazon

The sponge acted strangely before it even reached my face

With high hopes, I compressed the sponge in my hand, placed my fist under running water, and slowly started loosening my fist allowing the sponge to expand with water. I immediately knew something was off.

When I do this with the Beauty Blender, the material expands rapidly to fill the space, until it reaches its full size. The RickyCare by Ricky’s NYC Classic 3D Blender sponge did not expand much. Rather, it stayed squashed down like a ball of play dough. It’s clear that the sponge is comprised of a completely different material than the Beauty Blender. While the original BB is just as bouncy and spongy when wet as it is when dry, this sponge loses all sponginess when wet.

Instead, it somehow collapses into a dense blob. It feels more like a rubbery stress ball than a blending sponge.

I took the above photos after wetting the sponge with water, and squeezing out the excess water. With the Beauty Blender, I could never get a deformed shot like this one because the sponge springs back to its original shape no matter how you wrangle it. I took the image on the left several minutes after releasing my grip, and the sponge still hadn’t recovered. Then, I took the right image a minute later after trying to manually mould the thing back into its supposed shape. I shouldn’t even have to try to do this.

Foundation application is disastrous

Per usual, I messily smeared my liquid foundation all over my face. I do this to create a thin layer where less product is absorbed by the sponge, and more stays on my face. I then started blending with my little-rubber-stress-ball-thingie.

To be fair, my foundation ended up looking fine. However, the process of blending feels nothing like using a Beauty Blender. It doesn’t even come close to a quality dupe due to the weird, rubbery density. Since it squashes down and takes so long to bounce back, you can’t really “bump” your foundation into your skin. It’s so hard, you’d probably knock yourself out. It has zero bounce, and that makes me sad.

Concealer application is worse still

Next, I tried using the tip to attempt to blend my under eye concealer, as I typically do with a blending sponge. While the lack of bounce was annoying but workable for the majority of my face, it was awful in the sensitive under eye area. The fact that it smashes down to a flat and floppy triangular tip made the sponge tricky to control.

It took a much longer than usual to achieve a nice concealer finish. But as with the foundation, it is possible, and I ended up looking fine. I finished by “baking” with under eye setting powder. The flattened tip works fine for that.

It looked quite worse for wear after just one use

After using the product, this is what it looks like. As you can see, even though I spread my foundation around my face, the sponge still soaked up much more product than my other sponges. The entire bottom is saturated with color; this is something that doesn’t happen with the others.

I typically use one solid pump of foundation, and that is enough to get one full, even layer over my entire face with the amount of coverage that I want. I wasn’t satisfied with the coverage after blending in the first pump. The sponge soaked up 3/4 of the product! I used an extra half pump over my particularly red areas to finish the look.

And oh yeah, it’s still misshapen!

I actually found the RickyCare by Ricky’s NYC Classic 3D Blender rather insulting

I feel like the company tried very hard to make the sponge seem as Beauty Blender-like as possible in its initial form. As in, the state in which you would pick it up in a store, examine it, and decide whether or not to purchase it. The shape resembles a Beauty Blender, and when it’s dry, the material feels the most Beauty Blender-like out of all the replicas I have felt.

However, this is precisely where the similarities end. Once you get it home, wet it, and uses it like you would a Beauty Blender, you’ll find it completely subpar. It’s nothing like the Beauty Blender at all.

I just feel tricked. The RickyCare 3D Blender feels like an imposter. It’s like all the effort went into making it seem like it would be a great product, only for it to be like, gotcha, in the end. Or worse, hoping that we are stupid enough to not notice how bad the product is beyond its facade. I hate being that person constantly offended by ridiculous things, but this is terrible.

Humph… *Sticks nose in the air.*

The bottom line — I don’t recommend it

I couldn’t find any actual claims for this product. There is very little official info about it on the Ricky’s website. It’s like, “Buy it or don’t buy it. Whatever.” Regardless, I think it’s fair to assume that the intention is for this sponge is for it to work similarly to the immensely popular Beauty Blender.

Overall, yes, the product does its job of blending in your foundation. However if you are looking specifically for something that offers the ease of use and comfort of the Beauty Blender, this isn’t it. As always, I will keep experimenting with the Ricky’s NYC Classic 3D Blender, and I will keep you posted if I change my mind about it. Or if I miraculously discover a cool new use for it.

Basically, it’s a bogart Beauty Blender. #HarryPotterNerd

RickyCare by Ricky’s NYC Classic 3D Blender >> Purchase on Amazon

That’s all for today.

If you like this post, check out this one >> Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge vs. Beauty Blender Original

If you found this post interesting, informative, or just plain entertaining, tell me about it in the comments. And don’t forget, sharing is caring. Share this post!

Till next time. ♥︎

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FTC- This post is not sponsored by any of the brands mentioned. I purchase all products myself. All opinions are my own. Some links may be affiliated.