It’s frustrating to spend hours applying makeup, especially if you have to wake up early to do so. One time that stands out in my mind was when I had a wedding to attend at ten in the morning. I knew that it takes me ages to apply my makeup, so I ended up doing my makeup the night before…and then spent another hour touching it up in the morning.

Jamie Kern Lima understood that women have neither the time nor the wherewithal to spend hours every day applying their makeup. She believed that even people whose skin is in compromised condition should be able to look beautiful in mere minutes. Inspired by her own personal challenge, she created what today is the multi-million-dollar company, IT Cosmetics, improving the lives of women around the world.

It Cosmetics Company History and Background Explained

Lima suffers from a skin condition called rosacea.

Founder Jamie Kern Lima decided to start her own makeup line after she saw that her makeup was not doing her justice under the fierce lights and high definition TV cameras where she was employed as a news reporter. Lima suffers from a skin condition called rosacea, which is typically recognized as redness on the skin. Despite spending a large chunk of her income on beauty products, she was never satisfied with how her complexion showed up on camera.

She decided to create her own beauty line specifically targeted towards women who suffer from the same or similar condition. Jamie appeared on camera and exposed her skin without makeup in all its glory – redness and all.

She then applied her product and showed how effectively it concealed the rosacea and made her skin look beautiful in seconds. Word-of-mouth combined with her honest showing of how even someone with imperfect skin can look gorgeous made her products become super popular until it was eventually bought out by L’Oreal for $1.2 billion in 2016.

It Cosmetics Products Overview

Today, IT Cosmetics produces a range of makeup and skin care products. While their skin products still have a strong presence, the company also makes eye makeup products, eyebrow products, and lip products.

It Cosmetics Your Skin But Better CC Cream Review

Have you ever noticed that a lot of companies use models that have already near-perfect skin before they start? That’s because many a time, the products are either not suitable for people with compromised skin, or they won’t do much to enhance it. Not so with IT Cosmetics’ Your Skin But Better CC Cream.

This cream has been created with the help of plastic surgeons, so you know that the product is great for your skin and has been successfully proven to work well for people with acne-prone skin as well as those who suffer from skin conditions. Some of the positives that make this product special are the fact it is long-lasting, has anti-aging properties, is hydrating (proven to give your skin 179% hydration), contains SPF 50+ (which means your foundation is doubling as your sunscreen), and can be used as your foundation, or underneath it, as a primer.

In August of 2019, a paper was published in the Advanced Pharmaceutical Bulletin in regards to anti-aging and sun protection. The authors wrote: “There has been a tremendous rise in the cosmetic and cosmeceuticals market with products having a dual activity of anti-aging and sun protection. Research is constantly on the rise to ensure the safety of these products. Alternatives to the current topical application of sunscreen are being considered to overcome the drawback of reapplication of the sunscreen often which can be a boon to the cosmeceutical market.”

This CC cream, and products similar to it, manages to get two birds with one stone. These products moisturize and nourish, plus they keep the skin from absorbing too much of our Sun’s potentially-harmful rays. Many times, as with this CC cream, the SPF will be more than adequate. A product which doubles as a sunscreen can save time and money, making it highly convenient and a good daytime companion on-the-go.

Take me to Amazon: Your Skin But Better CC Cream

It has a dewy finish, which, as I wrote in another post, I really like since I have dry skin, but if you have naturally oily skin I would recommend you use powder on top of this product since you don’t want your face to look oily.

Being that the company was created with a focus on skincare products, it’s disappointing that their shade range is kind of limited – only 7 shades. You may have to mix two shades together to find the exact shade for your skin tone. Aside from that, I would give this product an overwhelmingly positive review. The coverage is really good and easily buildable, it will last you through the day and it treats your skin whilst improving your complexion at the same time.

It Cosmetics Celebration Foundation And Celebration Foundation Illumination Review

It Cosmetics Celebration Foundation And Celebration Foundation Illumination.

With three types of Celebration Foundation available – the Celebration Foundation, the Celebration Foundation SPF 50+, and the Celebration Foundation Illumination (phew) – it’s difficult to choose a favorite. The basic difference between the regular Celebration Foundation and the CFI is that the Illumination version offers an additional subtle glow not found in the original formula, due to “Drops of Light Technology.”

For this reason, I would recommend the Illumination version to those who have dry skin, and the original foundation to those who have oily skin. However, both are advertised as being appropriate to any skin type, which is pretty cool.

I want it: Celebration Foundation Illumination

Both foundations come in five colors, which I have to admit is a bit of a downer, particularly if you’re a person of color. But we’re still hoping that as the company grows, IT Cosmetics will increase their color range to cover (see what I did there?) all skin types and tones.

I have dry skin, so I would choose the Illumination version over the regular foundation. However, both have the same anti-aging properties, equal buildable coverage and last all day. What really impresses me about this makeup is that it looks so natural. It feels extremely hydrating which is not something I have found with other powders. You can easily buff it under your eyes to get rid of bags. If having SPF in your foundation is important to you, there’s a special SPF version available.

It Cosmetics Bye-Bye Under Eye Concealer Review

IT Cosmetics produces five versions of Bye Bye Under Eye, the concealer that originally started the IT Cosmetics hype. There’s the regular version, the Illuminating Anti-Aging Concealer, the Corrector, the Anti-Aging Waterproof concealer, and the Eyelift in a Tube. Which one should you choose? Well, it depends what you’re after.

Have you got age lines you’d like to cover? Skin not looking as young as it once did? Then you should opt for the Anti-Aging Waterproof or the Illumination Anti-Aging concealer. What’s the difference between the two? Both are in fact waterproof and can be used as a foundation or under the eye. They are highly pigmented with anti-aging properties and ingredients that are good for your skin.

One such anti-aging ingredient which is most popular is retinol, or in its alternative spellings – retinyl or ROL. In a 2009 paper published in Skin Pharmacology and Physiology, the authors write: “topical application of a ROL-containing product improved all major aging signs assessed in our study (wrinkles under the eyes, fine lines and tone evenness). Moreover, tryptophan fluorescence increased in the active-agent-treated group and not in the placebo-treated group, indicating that cell proliferation was accelerated in vivo. These data demonstrate that a product containing a low dose (0.1%) of ROL promotes keratinocyte proliferation ex vivo and in vivo, induces epidermal thickening ex vivo and alleviates skin aging signs, without any significant adverse reaction.”

Both will not crease or crack even after many hours of wear, and a little bit will go a long way – for under eye circles, you only need a tiny spot on the back of your hand. The main difference is that the Illumination version, as its name suggests, offers a subtle, natural glow that will help your skin look brighter and fresher. It is also available in more shades than the waterproof Anti-Aging concealer.

Shop now: Bye Bye Under Eye

The Corrector is not really a full-coverage foundation. As its name describes, it’s really more effective as a corrector for under-eye circles or lines because it is very thick. The consistency is really creamy and easy to blend. Once applied, it significantly reduces under-eye circles to the point that you can barely tell they’re there.

The Eyelift in a Tube is similar to the Illumination concealer in that it works as a brightener and concealer. The difference is that the Illumination version works better as a full-coverage foundation. The Eyelift is mainly a concealer. However, they both can be used for either function and will work well for both.

It Cosmetics Brushes Review

Although certain products from IT Cosmetics seem to work better when applied with fingers, using a brush can really help with blending and maximum coverage, so it’s great that IT Cosmetics also produces a range of makeup brushes to make the process easier. They have blending brushes, foundation brushes, eyeshadow brushes, bronzer brushes, even two-sided brushes (which I love).

Possibly the coolest brush in the IT range is the Superhero 4-in-1 Eye Transforming Super Shadow and Liner brush. It’s literally any eye brush you might need. With one or two clicks, you transform the brush into another brush for a different eyeshadow function. The All-Over-Shadow function can be used as it sounds: to gently apply a base color all over your lid and upper eye area. With one click upwards, the brush transforms into the Crease brush. You can concentrate on your crease and blend into your base color.

Fan Brush

$32.00

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One more click upward, and you have the Smudger brush. This can add additional color, darken the edges or smudge out your eyeshadow. On the other end, you have a harder, thinner brush. This is perfect for applying eyeliner or eyeshadow to your lash line to give your eyes more definition.

I also have a thing for fan brushes, and IT Cosmetics’ fan brush is oh-so-soft. It’s perfect for applying bronzer and contour powder on top of your foundation, giving you an air-brushed look and adding that finishing touch. Because it’s such a large brush, you can use it not only on your face, but on any area of your body.

It Cosmetics Bye-Bye Redness Correcting Cream Review

The Bye Bye Redness Cream started out as a skin care product to treat redness and blemishes on the skin, before IT added pigments so it can now effectively double as a concealer or a foundation. Like all IT cosmetics, it’s super easy to apply, and in seconds, your redness is completely covered up. A tiny amount goes a loooooong way – so just dab the smallest amount on your brush to apply. You do not need a lot, so this product will last you a while (get it here).

Because it’s pretty thick, you might not like how it looks as a full-coverage foundation. But if you have a blemish, this is just the product for it. The one downside to this product is the limited color range. This actually seems to be a somewhat recurring issue with IT Cosmetics skin products.

Even so, IT claims that it will work for every skin tone. I can’t vouch for that since I have fair skin, but based on the online buzz it seems to be a crowd pleaser. Aside from that, this product is really pigmented.  It’ll last you for ages without cracking or creasing, and all things considered, I would definitely recommend.

It Cosmetics Bye-Bye Pores Review

IT Cosmetics has devoted an entire range of products to reduce your pores.

IT Cosmetics has devoted an entire range of products to reduce your pores. Yes, really! There’s primer, pressed powder, blush, illumination powder, airbrush finish powder, and bronzer, all under the “Bye Bye Pores” banner.

The most popular products in this range are the Pressed powder and the Poreless Finish Airbrush powder. These powders are both translucent, so you can use them on any skin tone. They’re also remarkably versatile. You can use them under your foundation, on top of your foundation as a setting powder, or on top of setting powder to blur out fine lines and pores. Oily skin girls, this one is for you.

These powders contain ingredients which have been heavily linked to unclogging pores and minimizing their expansion. Substances such as silk, green tea, and oats are part of what makes the “Bye Bye Pores” line effective.

In a review article from 2012 published in Cosmeceuticals, the authors discuss the benefits of herbal cosmetics, stating: “Oat oil is rich in antioxidants, essential fatty acids and natural emollients. Oat oil is used in many lotions, creams, facial oils, salves and balms since its properties add unique benefits.”

Check it out: Poreless Finish Airbrush powder

The difference between the two powders is that the Airbrush powder is loose, while the pressed powder is, well, pressed. It’s purely a preference thing, but I prefer pressed powder since I find there to be less fall out and better coverage.

It Cosmetics Naturally Pretty Palette Review

IT Cosmetics has four eyeshadow palettes, three of which make up the Naturally Pretty eyeshadow range –  the Super Hero Eyes Must-Have set, the Matte Luxe Transforming set, and The Romantics set. These eyeshadows are so creamy, you won’t believe that they’re powder. On your lid, they have a matte finish, plus the extra color – Transforming Pearl. It’s a pearly, shimmery shadow that can soften color and give a shimmery look.

The Superhero set is the “essentials” eyeshadow set – it comes with six matte shades plus Transforming Hello Light (also known as Transforming pearl), which are all the basic colors you need to create a range of eyeshadow looks, from neutrals to a couple darker colors for the edges.

This set also comes with Stretch Volumizing Mascara, which is advertised as giving your lashes “500% volume in one coat”, so it’s basically your complete travel eye makeup set, because the darker shades can also be used as a liner. It’s very compact and can be easily stored in your handbag.

Eyeshadow Palette

$34.89

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Then there’s the Matte Luxe Transforming palette and the Romantics palette. They’re both awesome so I would recommend both. There are fourteen colors in each, plus Transforming Pearl. It’s a really good mix of shades, so you can create any look you want.

These shadows are super-easy to blend and smudge out for a smoky-eye look. Meanwhile, the vitamins and anti-aging ingredients help to treat your skin and make it look and feel great.

The Romantics set colors are probably a bit more pastel, whereas the Matte Luxe set is bolder colors. Both have a mix of lighter and darker colors. The Romantics set is pink and silver, which matches its girly colors, and the original set is gold and pink. This gives it a slightly sharper look. The quality of these shadows is incredible and they look great on every kind of skin.

Is It Cosmetics Cruelty Free? Is It Cosmetics Vegan?

The company itself is cruelty-free; however, in 2016, L’Oreal, which is not a cruelty-free brand, bought out IT Cosmetics. So while IT Cosmetics IS cruelty-free, its parent company isn’t.

IT Cosmetics is not a vegan brand. However, they do offer a number of vegan products.

Conclusion

If you’re passionate about easy, quick makeup that makes you look great, IT Cosmetics is a fantastic option. It’s particularly useful for those with skin conditions. Whether its eye makeup, skin makeup or lip products you’re after, IT Cosmetics promises to offer a quality product that will also help your skin feel its best.

They’ve covered so much in such a short amount of time. Seeing the kind of quality that IT has already produced, it makes me wonder what they will think up next. One thing is certain though: it’s going to be a winner.

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