When I found out IT Cosmetics launched a new complexion product, I immediately added it to my Sephora cart to try out. Back in 2018 I tried and adored their Your Skin But Better CC Cream, so I was super excited to see how their Your Skin But Better Foundation + Skincare performed!
Information on IT Cosmetics Your Skin But Better Foundation + Skincare
Experience an instantly better-looking complexion and better bare skin in two weeks! Your Skin But Better Foundation + Skincare features medium buildable coverage that instantly perfects skin—minimizing the look of pores and imperfections while delivering all-day hydration and wear with a natural radiant finish.
Suitable for all skin types and infused with skin-loving hyaluronic acid, aloe vera extract, vitamins E & B5 and hepes acid, your skin-improving makeup works behind the scenes as you wear it. After just two weeks, skin looks smoother, skin tone appears more even and skin texture is visibly refined. IT’s truly your foundation for better skin!– Itcosmetics.ca
PRICE: $52 CAD
SIZE: 30ml
Made in: U.S.A
Total # shades: 40, various undertones
MY SHADE: Light Neutral 22 (picked it myself online)
Undertone: Neutral leaning pink, not my undertone. I feel like the Warm version would’ve been better and possibly similar to the Estee Lauder swatch.
PACKAGE: Clear glass bottle with a pump
TEXTURE: Thick fluid. It travels down my hand but not very fast.
IT Cosmetics Your Skin But Better Foundation + Skincare Ingredients
AQUA/WATER/EAU, DIMETHICONE, ISODODECANE, CYCLOHEXASILOXANE, GLYCERIN, PEG-10 DIMETHICONE, METHYL METHACRYLATE CROSSPOLYMER, BUTYLENE GLYCOL, PENTYLENE GLYCOL, SYNTHETIC FLUORPHLOGOPITE, DISTEARDIMONIUM HECTORITE, HYDROXYETHYLPIPERAZINE ETHANE SULFONIC ACID, CETYL PEG/PPG-10/1 DIMETHICONE, SODIUM CHLORIDE, POLYGLYCERYL-4 ISOSTEARATE, HEXYL LAURATE, CAPRYLYL GLYCOL, PHENOXYETHANOL, DISODIUM STEAROYL GLUTAMATE, TOCOPHEROL, SILICA, PANTHENOL, ALUMINUM HYDROXIDE, HYDROXYETHYL UREA, ALOE BARBADENSIS LEAF JUICE POWDER, SODIUM HYALURONATE, TIN OXIDE, HYDRATED SILICA, METHICONE, PENTAERYTHRITYL TETRA-DI-T-BUTYL HYDROXYHYDROCINNAMATE, [+/-: CI 77891/TITANIUM DIOXIDE, CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499/IRON OXIDES, MICA, CI 77007/ULTRAMARINES, CI 15985/YELLOW 6 LAKE, CI 42090/BLUE 1 LAKE, CI 45410/RED 28 LAKE, CI 15850/RED 7]. D247442/1
Highlighted Ingredients:
– Hyaluronic Acid and Aloe Vera: Instantly hydrate and visibly smooth skin.
– Hepes Acid: Gently exfoliates for a brighter-looking complexion.
– Vitamins E and B5: Moisturize and fight free radicals to support skin‘s barrier.– Sephora.ca
Skinthusiast Perspective…
Contains moisturizing ingredients such has various -cones (mostly for texture but nice as a type of occlusive in skincare in general), Glycerin (5th ingredient), Panthenol (vitamin B5), Hydroxyethyl Urea, Aloe Leaf Juice Powder, and Sodium Hyaluronate.
Antioxidant Tocopherol (vitamin E) and Iron Oxides are also in the formula to help protect against visible light.
Taken from a previous Foundation Friday post:
Both antioxidants and Iron Oxides have shown to reduce the effects of visible light and help with pigmentation issues. Lab Muffin does a great job at explaining all of the research behind this in a digestible manner – be sure to check out her blog post and others as well!
https://labmuffin.com/does-visible-light-cause-skin-damage-and-how-to-protect-against-it/– Me
Now let’s look at this HEPES Acid, a.k.a. hydroxyethylpiperazine ethane sulfonic acid. Skinceuticals describes its function as a “synthetically-derived acid [that] activates natural enzymes in skin to help break the bonds that bind dead skin cells to the surface for even exfoliation.” INCIDecoder and Paula’s Choice lists this ingredient as a buffering agent. The Derm Review also shares that HEPES Acid is pH neutral and commonly combined with Glycolic Acid as a buffering agent. Browsing the interwebs further, Skinceuticals actually formulated their Discoloration Defense serum with 5% HEPES Acid, and Vichy’s Idealia Peeling also has the same concentration, both exfoliating products are however formulated with other acids. Overall as a consumer I’m quite confused. For me personally, I don’t use exfoliating products in my skincare daily in general, and I don’t really want that feature in a potential daily wear foundation either.
Experience with IT Cosmetics Your Skin But Better Foundation + Skincare
PREP: Regular skincare routine, I always wore the foundation over a moisturizing sunscreen base that doesn’t add or subtract to foundation longevity. Eg. Purito Centella Green Level Unscented Sun SPF50 PA++++.
Overall Activities: Sitting on couch working, working out, walking outside, wearing a mask for 2 minutes. Wore it to the mall with wearing mask for a few hours.
Application:
1st Attempt: 1st layer Split-face application with Sigma F80 Flat Kabuki Brush and Beauty Blender. I dotted the foundation on various parts of my face and neck, brush-side had some minor streaking. 2nd layer I used the sponge all over face and neck, still using the dotting technique. Used about 2 pumps total. Looked very cakey, dry patches all over, radiant finish, medium coverage, pores looked more textured. I decided to wash my face and start over.
2nd Attempt: Decided to just apply 1 layer with the Beauty Blender. Instead of dotting all over, I dotted in one area and only applied more when I needed it. I used 1.5 pumps all over my face and neck with this method and it was the best one.
Coverage/Buildable?: 1 thin layer is a light coverage. 2 layers it is a low medium coverage.
Finish: Radiant, not borderline oily. Seems to be the particles in the foundation that disperse light more nicely. 1 layer skin looks smooth, pores look blurred despite radiant finish. Noticed some dry patches but it is forgiving, I don’t see them unless I look really up close. 2nd layer of foundation skin looked cakey, the radiance was a bit extra, sitting into pores, more dry patches, pink undertone was more obvious, wasn’t flattering at all on my skin.
Feel: Light, slightly tacky. Skin started to feel dry every time within 2 hours of wearing the foundation. Sometimes I felt itchy.
Flash Friendly? Yes. My face is lighter than my body (and ears) so I don’t consider this flashback, just a mix of my lighter-skinned face and a wrong shade match.
Oxidize? No, however with 2 layers I notice the pink undertone more.
Oil Controlling? I don’t get super oily until end of day, I found my oils did peak through around that time.
Long Lasting? After work outs, low activities or just chilling all day, I found most of the coverage still lasted after 8-10 hours. I didn’t notice anything significantly disappear unless I wore a mask in which it rubbed off my nose and chin.
End of Day: 1st layer skin always looked like skin from either far away or up close, coverage was still there, some of my natural oils came through.
Natural Light: Looks like my skin but better with 1 layer. 2nd layer looks terrible.
False Light: Looks fine most of the day with 1 layer. End of day I find I notice my skin texture in general but it’s not grossly emphasized with the foundation. When I tested with the 2nd layer I saw texture on my forehead and pore area from a distance near end of day.
OTHER WAYS I’VE WORN THIS FOUNDATION:
- With powder (over 1 layer) – Emphasized dryness in the center of my face, made my skin look more dehydrated, nasolabial folds looked more prominent. I did a split-face with my Mac Studio Sculpt Foundation (NC20) and my Mac side looked moisturized, no dry patches, and skin still looked plump and moisturized.
- Cream and powder cheek products – Both work fine.
Final Thoughts on the IT Cosmetics Your Skin But Better Foundation + Skincare
DID IT MEET THE CLAIMS?
- Better bare skin in two weeks – With the handful of times I wore this foundation, my skin felt dehydrated every time I wore it and I actually feel like this broke me out.
- Medium buildable coverage – More like light to medium buildable coverage.
- Minimizing the look of pores and imperfections – Yes. Skin looked smoother and I like how my pores looked most of the time with 1 layer.
- All-day hydration – Nope, opposite actually! (Refer to first claim)
- Natural radiant finish – Yes, I noticed the particles and felt like light was reflecting off my skin differently. Looked too much when I layered though.
- Suitable for all skin types – Meh, I guess, it’s just up to you how you want to work with it/can work with it.
- After just two weeks, skin looks smoother, skin tone appears more even and skin texture is visibly refined – Did not wear this foundation long enough to see, but I have my skincare routine to do this stuff. I never rely on foundations for skincare benefits other than maybe not drying out my skin, and potentially protecting against visible light. I actually noticed my skin broke out every time I wore this foundation, quite a bit on my cheeks.
OVERALL PROS:
- Quick and easy to apply all over face and neck with a brush or sponge.
- Radiant finish doesn’t look borderline greasy.
- Improves the look of my skin texture, makes skin look smoother.
- Buildable coverage.
- Pores look blurred despite radiant finish.
- 1 layer looks the most skin-like and not cakey once I finished my makeup routine.
- 1 layer it looks really good up close as I wear it throughout the day.
- 1 layer dry patches are not exaggerated.
OVERALL CONS:
- Cannot build the coverage without the foundation looking horrible on me. 2 layers don’t work for me because it increases how cakey my face looks, the dry patches, and gathers near my nasolabial folds.
- Can’t use powder to subdue shine without it making my skin have more dry patches and look dehydrated.
- On its own, 2 layers makes my skin look dehydrated.
- Feels drying within 2 hours with both 1 and 2 layers.
- I don’t like exfoliating ingredients in my foundations, it just invites more skin problems than improvements in the long run.
MY BEST FACE: 1 thin layer applied with the beauty blender, no powder (other than cheek product).
Overall, the It Cosmetics Your Skin But Better Foundation + Skincare is a pass for me. I was hoping this could be a potential go-to for an effortless, medium coverage, natural, long-lasting, pore blurring foundation. Alas, I just don’t like my skin feeling tight and dry throughout the day, and building coverage does not work for me. If you’re not prone to dry patches, do not get easily sensitized to drying products, like radiant finishes but want a skin-perfecting quality, you may actually like this foundation! It overall has a good shade range with a variety of undertones and has good coverage, so it may work for you more than it did for me!
WHERE TO BUY:
It Cosmetics
Sephora
Ulta
All links are affiliate links. If you click on a link and make a purchase, I earn a small commission at no extra charge to you. Thank you so much if you decide to use it! If you feel uncomfortable, feel free to google a new link.
And that’s it for this review! Hope you found it helpful and informative!
xo, M