The $2 “Little Luxury” That Actually Makes My Kitchen Sink Look Cute

As someone without a dishwasher, I spend a fair amount of time washing dishes by hand. While that’s not the most fun task on the planet, I never really minded it — but at the same time I thought doing dishes was something to just, well, do. I never realized I might actually find joy in the process. Then I discovered the Hawkins Lurex Sponges, and overnight washing dishes became my absolute favorite chore. 

Actually, I don’t even want to call washing dishes a chore anymore. These sponges are so gorgeous that I find myself using dishes and glasses just to get the chance to stand at my sink again and lather up. 

I originally saw these metallic sponges on an app called Flip (it’s like TikTok for shopping and has become my new obsession). This sponge set came up over and over as I scrolled, with people raving about the quality and how pretty they are. “Well, they’re only $6 for a pack of three,” I thought to myself after at least the 20th video heralding their amazingness, and decided to add them to my cart. 

Before discovering these pretty sponges, I frequently purchased the basic sponges you can find in any grocery store or local drugstore. You know the ones — they’re yellow on one side, green on the other, and, while they get the job done, they’re nothing pretty to look at. I have to admit that purchasing a set of metallic sponges was, in all ways, a chance to pretty-up my kitchen sink. I didn’t really think they’d get my dishes clean. Honestly, I figured that the metallic coating would scratch my dishes and nonstick cookware, and I’d use them once before tossing them and going back to those unsightly, brightly colored yet super-effective sponges I’d always used before.

Well, color me impressed! They’re puffy but surprisingly lightweight. I’ve tried using them with two different dish soaps — Arbour Daily Dish Soap and Dawn Ultra Dishwashing Liquid — and with both, they lather up amazingly well using only a couple of small squirts of soap. But best of all, they don’t scratch any of my cookware, dishes, or flatware. I’ve scrubbed plates, stockpots, frying pans, even my Le Creuset Dutch oven — no matter what, the items remain gleaming and good as new. 

When I say metallic, I mean metallic. They come in bronze, silver, and gold, yet all three are gold-medal winners in my book. (They also come in Warms and Cools, so cut to me buying both of those sets for later.) They’re designed in a mix of polyurethane and lurex, and each one measures three inches by five inches. They’re even dishwasher-safe; because I don’t have one, I just rinse them off once I’m done hand-washing the dishes. I like to keep the one I’m using in a mug atop my sink, close to my colorful rubber gloves.

It’s been four months since I first purchased these Hawkins sponges, and I’ve been happier than ever before doing the dishes. I switched them out after about three months, as the first one started ripping slightly at one corner — but as I mentioned before, I do a lot of dishes these days! Overall, they retain their shape and their scrubbiness, and their metallic sheen never disappears. They’ve definitely made dish-washing a heck of a lot more fun!

Intrigued by metallic sponges and want to try them out for yourself? Here’s a set from Amazon that has great reviews and looks nearly identical to the Hawkins sponges. Just watch how they’ll upgrade your kitchen sink in an instant.