Archived Post
Hit List: Worst Blotting Sheets
What’s the Worst Blotting Sheets…?
What brand/products win this category? What makes it so terrible?
Explore Temptalia
We're here to help you make better beauty purchases that you'll enjoy and love! We recommend signing up to take advantage of personalized features like tracking products you own, viewing dupes that you already have, and more!
Here are some useful resources for you:
Compare Any Two
Curious how two shades compare to each other? Type in the shades below to get instant side-by-side swatches!
23 Comments
Comments that do not adhere to our comment policy may be removed. Discussion and debate are highly encouraged but we expect community members to participate respectfully. Please keep discussion on-topic, and if you have general feedback, a product review request, an off-topic question, or need technical support, please contact us!
Please help us streamline the comments' section and be more efficient: double-check the post above for more basic information like pricing, availability, and so on to make sure your question wasn't answered already. Comments alerting us to typos or small errors in the post are appreciated (!) but will typically be removed after errors are fixed (unless a response is needed).
We appreciate enthusiasm for new releases but ask readers to please hold questions regarding if/when a review will be posted as we can't commit to or guarantee product reviews. We don't want to set expectations and then disappoint readers as even products that are swatched don't always end up being reviewed due to time constraints and changes in priorities! Thank you for understanding!
Comments on this post are closed.
We try to approve comments within 24 hours (and reply to them within 72 hours) but can sometimes get behind and appreciate your patience! 🙂 If you have general feedback, product review requests, off-topic questions, or need technical support, please contact us directly. Thank you for your patience!
Oh I do I have some contenders for this. First, Ulta sells this very random, almost no-name brand of 50 blotting sheets for 6.99. They’re usually in the skincare section near the Neutrogena stuff or near the checkout…and they are TERRIBLE! They don’t pick up anything.
Another terrible Ulta version are the Basically U blotting sheets (Ulta’s cotton ball/cotton swab brand). They’re half a hair better than the other ones but still awful.
I’m really really really oily (give me 20 minutes and I’m shining like nothing else) and have been on an endless search for the best blotting sheets. So far, the best ones for blotting before foundation and after moisturizer are the blue Clean & Clear films, and the best for daily use or going out are the Shiseido blotting papers. Expensive, but they work really well and they’re larger than normal.
Phew, sorry for the insanely long post.
Palladio Rice Paper blotting sheets are DA BOMB! Get ’em at Sallys or Ulta
YES, i LOVE them!
I agree…NOTHING has worked for me except the Clean and Clear ones!
i don’t like blotting sheets with powder already on them, it never looks right after.
Quo Blotting Sheets are terrible.
elf blotting sheets. So flimsy, you’d be better off using the tissue paper inside gift bags. Waste of a dollar. -_- But you get what you pay for…
I got them for free and they were so useless that I just tossed them. I think it’s actually just tissue paper cut into squares
The worst blotting sheets I have tried are by ELF. Granted, they were only $1.00 but still. They were basically the same material that is used to make those toilet seat covers in public restrooms, lol. The best ones I have tried are definately by Clean and Clear. I also really like the Palladio Rice Paper!
I don’t have a worst, as I’ve been pretty loyal to the Clean & Clear sheets since high school, but I do have a few in a pinch solutions!
*The thin paper toilet seat covers make great sheets if you find yourself without!
*The recycled napkins from Starbucks and Yum dining establishments work very well too 🙂
E.L.F THEY ARE SO TERRIBLE. Fully worth the price.
I’m disappointed with Bobbi Brown blotting sheets. I have to use two to adequately blot, whereas with the Clean & Clear ones, I usually only need one.
Agreed on the e.l.f. ones. They do get some oil off, but they are too small area-wise for even moderately oily t-zone, not to mention the oil comes through the sheet on to fingers. That’s a little less than desirable..
I don’t remember the brand, but in general, the blotting papers that are quite similar with Japanese papers (the ones used for pastries, biscuits? baking sheets?) are the worst! 🙁 Waste of money!
the clean and clear ones contain mineral oil which I had found made me oilier. I was using some rice paper sheets that were pretty awesome.
ELF. You gotta try them to satisfy your curiosity of how anyone can possibly go wrong with oil blotting sheets.
I actually love the elf ones, they are the only ones I use. Yes they are pretty thin but they definitely work great for me!
Yeah, I’m kind of surprised with all the hate. They may not be the best, but they work just fine. But I’m super oily so I always have to use two :/
it’s been said but I’ll say it anyway – ELF. I was afraid all blotting sheets were like this (i.e. – useless) but fortunately they are not. save yourself the $1.
I know that this post is for the “worst” blotting sheets. Honestly, I just wanted to let everyone know that the “best” blotting sheets are the toilet seat safety covers provided at some restaurants/work places- THEY ARE LIKE GOLD for removing excess oil.
Bobbi Brown – before and after use is exactly the same look, pretty much. Same for The Body Shop Tea Trea blotting sheets. (Clean and Clear is not sold in my country).
SORRY WRONG PAGE…………I LIKE TO USE STARBUCKS NAPKINS FOR BLOTTING! FREE AND WORK GREAT!
I only like mac ones or the clean and clear ones. I hateeee those flimsy papers. Especially Boscia cause they’re so expensive for what they are!