Review: Daiso Sponge Cleaner

For a shop that sells mass market things in abundance and at low-low prices, it is certainly amazing that Daiso is able to create a "scarcity mentality" in shoppers. I've personally experienced this "scarcity mentality" several times. In the past, when I did alot of crafting, I noticed Daiso was always running out of items that were used by crafters. For example, someone posted a tutorial on using Daiso pulp coasters for making mini-albums. Suddenly, within a few days, pulp coasters were out of stock in Daisos all over Singapore. People came online to forums to lament their inability to find these coasters and some confessed they bought multiples (read double-digit numbers) to "stock up".

Recently, on one of my regular forays to Daiso, I came across the famous Daiso sponge cleaner and decided I should pick one up. I had first read about it on local online forums and blogs, and it seemed like a great cleaner at a cheap S$2. But it had been out of stock for so long and the Daiso SAs were also always kind of clueless when I asked them about it. They seemed to be unaware of the existence of such a cleaner. I almost concluded that it was an urban-myth item!

I'm a clean-freak. I wash my sponges and brushes every weekend (and clean out my entire house too, but that's another story). I've always been irked by the fact that my usual liquid soap/baby shampoo is unable to wash off all traces of makeup on my sponges. Usually the sponge will retain some colour from the makeup no matter how diligently I clean it.

It turns out the cleaner is truly fantastic! With the Daiso sponge cleaner, all traces of the makeup are gone from the sponge. I read that this cleaner is quite harsh and could destroy some delicate sponges/puffs. So, I don't use it for my brushes. But I'm really happy with the way it wipes out all makeup from the sponges.

Look at this ickky sponge, filled with one week's worth of powder.

And look at how brand-new it has become after a wash with just a few tiny drops of the sponge cleaner! (Any colour deviations you see on the sponge is shadow cast by the light. The sponge is completely clean and clear of makeup.)

Since I discovered how good it was, I told a colleague about it and she wanted me pick up a bottle for her. However, for several weeks, I could not find any of this sponge cleaner at the 2 outlets I regularly visit (Vivocity and Plaza Singapura).

Yesterday, I popped into Daiso to pick up some stuff and diligently kept an eye out for the sponge cleaner. Woot! It was in stock!! And you know what? This scarcity mentality got to me, and I picked up 2 bottles! 1 for my colleague and a backup for myself. Hahaha. So, this is how Daiso makes people spend more than they really need to. :D

Do go get this cleaner at your nearest Daiso. If you are as much of a clean freak as I am, you'll enjoy washing your sponges with it. Good luck with finding a bottle!

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