I purchased this because honestly, I have no idea how to apply makeup. With this wonderful little sponge, I can rest easy knowing I won't get cake face or streak marks putting on foundation in the morning. It's velvety smooth and it's shape, albeit simple, is wonderfully designed. And it's true that it won't suck up all your foundation-when I clean it minimal amounts of product are washed away.It's probably just me, but I think the cleaner smells a bit funky when you use it out of the bottle. After the sponge dries I can smell the lavender, but I don't know, I feel it smells a bit odd when out of the bottle. But it does it's job extremely well, and I also use it to clean my brushes.