[Review] Etude House Baby Doll Puff vs Too Cool For School Marshmallow Puff

Hi there! 3 reviews in 3 days! I'm on a roll!

As the title reads, this is a comparison review between Etude House's Baby Doll Puff and Too Cool For School's Marshmallow Puff.

I'll start out by telling you that I've just recently bought TCFS's Marshmallow Puff while looking for a replacement for my Etude House's Baby Doll Puff. Reason was my Etude House's Baby Doll Puff started breaking off in tiny pieces after 2 years of usage. That said, I was left without a puff for half a year, and in those months I realized I missed my Etude House's Puff because application of my concealer just isn't as perfect without it.

So I went to Etude House's landed store in Malaysia, and found out they have replaced the pink Baby Doll Puff with a new puff that looks exactly the same but in cream colour - the Soft Cream Puff. However when I saw the price, I hesitated. If I remember correctly, it retailed at RM40. So when I was shopping at althea.kr (see store review here) and came to know about Too Cool For School's Marshmellow Puff at RM17. Needless to say, I grabbed it.

So here are my personal opinions on both these puffs. While they look almost identical with their pink colour and gourd-like shape, believe me when I say they are more different than you can ever imagine.

I'll start out with the pictures:

Too Cool For School's Marshmallow Puff
in it's hard casing, with aluminium covers.

TCFC's Marshmallow Puff is pink but looks like a fat
and rounded gourd.

This is how Etude House's Baby Doll Puff looks.
It comes in a regular plastic container, and the puff is pink with a slim, shapey gourd-like shape.

Similarity:

Colour:

Obviously they are both pink.

Size:

I would say they are very similar, but if you have to choose one, I'd say Etude House's smaller because of it's shape.

Water absorption:

Plus, you know how those beauty puff grows in size after soaking them in water? both these puffs do not in anyway grow in size when soaked in water. The material is not water absorbent, but it does hold water with the little little holes they have like a sponge.

Differences:

Shape:

Okay, so this is where the difference starts. As you can see, Too Cool For School's puff has a fat and more rounded gourd-like shape without any steep slope. Whereas Etude House's puff is like the healthy gym-going version. It has a slimmer center, and is leaner and shapier overall.

And why does the shape matter? Well firstly, steeper slopes at the top (tip) allows easier access to corners such as your undereye area, and the slimmer center allows for better grip and control. So in this aspect. Etude house wins.

Texture:

The texture is one of the main reasons why I would never repurchase Too Cool For School's puff every again. Compared to Etude House's soft, bouncy, malleable cushion-ey texture, Too Cool For School's puff is tough, stiff rubbery and overall uncomfortable on the skin. I rather use a normal makeup sponge.

Application:

Because of it's texture, Etude house provides the best application, it gives a even, smooth and flawless finish without scraping off or removing foundation or concealer even when you press it too hard. Its soft texture moves with the shape of your face when you dab it on your skin, making blending easy without moving too much of your makeup.

Too Cool For School's Marshmellow Puff is the opposite of that. Due to it's stiff and tough texture, you cannot press or dab it too hard on your face. No thanks to its rubbery texture too, it works like a windscreen wiper. If you press or move it too hard on your face, you'll see patches of skin with no foundation on because it's been scraped off, moved or even absorbed by the puff. Even with normal strength of handling puff, it's still hard to get a nice and even finish especially at smaller edges like the undereye area. I really do not like this.

Cleaning:

Cleaning is easier with the Too Cool For School's Marshmallow Puff because of it's rubbery texture. All your products tend to collect at the surface of the puff, so by using a normal bar soap, you can easily remove any unwanted products.

That doesn't mean it's too difficult with Etude house's Baby Doll puff. Eventho products gets deep into the puff, I'm still able to remove almost all the products with a normal bar soap albeit longer time.

Life Span:

Etude house's Baby Doll Puff lasted me 2 years before it stared falling apart. I've only used Too Cool For School's Marshmallow Puff for 2 weeks now, and I can't 100% tell you if it'll last as long. But based on the texture and feel, I'd say it will not. Reason is its dry, tough, stiff and rubbery texture makes me feel like with regular use such as dabbing washing squeezing it, it'll crack and fall apart in no time.

Storage:

The only positive point for Too Cool For School's Marshmallow Puff is the case that comes with it. You can keep it nicely sealed after using unlike Etude House's regular throwaway plastic case.

Overall:

Hands down. Etude house's Baby Doll Puff FTW! If you are ever in doubt, just grab Etude House's Puff. The quality, application and finishing is a gazillion times better than Too Cool For School's. Even if it's a little more expensive, it's worth it. I really do regret purchasing Too Cool For School's Marshmallow Puff, and will definitely invest in Etude House's Soft Cream Puff when the Buy 1 Free 1 Promo comes about.