Product Review: IT Cosmetics Your Skin But Better™ CC Cream

As you may know, I am on a mission. I must find a foundation for my 50+ sensitive, breakout-prone skin that gives me at least medium coverage without looking like I've applied it with a trowel. I would like it to look as natural as possible (not matte or luminous), last at least 6-8 hours without migrating off my face, and not settle into lines and pores making me look years older than my actual age. Apparently, this is a lot to ask. Many foundations claim to do all of these things, but very few actually deliver.


My foundation-quest led me to Your Skin But Better™ CC Cream by IT Cosmetics. I had heard a lot of good things about it - but, of course, that didn't mean it would work well for me. (If you want to read more about my skin type and issues, you can find that here.) They also have a foundation (Bye Bye Foundation™ Full Coverage Moisturizer™), but I wanted to try the CC Cream first since it was available in a travel size.

The CC Cream says it's a full coverage color correcting cream, anti-aging serum, and broad spectrum physical-only SPF 50+ all-in-one product. When I read reviews, they were mixed - as are most reviews. What concerned me the most was the ingredient list. While it has a lot of good things, it also contains several things that could potentially be irritating - and I have sensitive skin. The potential irritants: lemon peel oil, orange peel oil, lime oil, grapefruit peel oil, eucalyptus leaf oil, and cinnamon bark extract.

Here is a list of the ingredients:
Water, Snail Secretion Filtrate, Butylene Glycol, Phenyl Trimethicone, Dimethicone, Butylene Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate, Orbignya Oleifera Seed Oil, Butyloctyl Salicylate, Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone, Cyclopentasiloxane, Cyclohexasiloxane, Magnesium Sulfate, Polyglyceryl-4 Isostearate, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Aluminum Hydroxide, Hexyl Laurate, Stearic Acid, Calcium Stearate, Caprylyl Glycol, Triethoxycaprylylsilane, Ethylhexylglycerin, Phenoxyethanol, Citrus Medica Limonum (Lemon) Peel Oil, Tocopheryl Acetate, Sorbitan Isostearate, Citrus Aurantium Bergamia (Bergamot) Fruit Oil, 1,2-Hexanediol, Disodium EDTA, Citrus aurantium dulcis (orange) peel oil, Citrus Aurantifolia (Lime) Oil, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Oil, Punica Granatum Seed Oil, Pinus Sylvestris Leaf Oil, Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Oil, Niacinamide, Citrus Grandis (Grapefruit) Peel Oil, Anthemis Nobilis Flower Water, Lactobacillus/Honeysuckle Flower/Licorice Root/Morus Alba Root/Pueraria Lobata Root/Schizandra Chinensis Fruit/Scutellaria Baicalensis Root/Sophora Japonica Flower Extract Ferment Filtrate, Perfluorohexane, Olea Europaea (Olive) Leaf Extract, Glycerin, Eucalyptus Globulus Leaf Oil, Cholesteryl, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Chrysanthemum Indicum flower Extract, Pueraria Lobata Root Extract, Perfluorodecalin, Morus Alba Fruit Extract, Magnolia Kobus Bark Extract, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Sprout Extract, Diospyros Kaki Leaf Extract, Cinnamomum Cassia Bark Extract, Artemisia Princeps Leaf Extract, Pentafluoropropane, Curcuma Longa (Turmeric) Root Extract, Steareth-20, Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid, Colloidal Oatmeal, Hydrolyzed Silk, Citric Acid, Sodium Benzoate, Potassium sorbate, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, N-Hydroxysuccinimide, Hydrolyzed Collagen, Caprylhydroxamic Acid, Tocopherol, Thiamine HCl, Riboflavin, Retinyl Palmitate, Pantothenic Acid, Palmitoyl Oligopeptide, Niacin, Folic Acid, Chrysin, Carnitine HCl, Biotin, Ascorbic Acid, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7, Chlorhexidine Digluconate. May Contain: Iron Oxides (CI 77492, CI 77491, CI 77499).

The scent is pretty strong when you open the tube and apply the product. This isn't from added fragrance, but from the oils. I also felt a cooling sensation upon application - much like when you use a menthol product - I assume that is the eucalyptus and/or cinnamon bark extract. I'm not fond of either the scent or the sensation. Luckily, they both go away fairly quickly.


The consistency of the CC cream is smooth and thin - kind of like creamy butter. It's easy to apply. When I first started using it, I applied with a rounded foundation brush, buffing it onto my skin. I assumed this was the best way since it was sold with a brush on QVC. In my opinion, this sheers out the product too much, so I ended up using more to get coverage. But if you're looking for the sheerest application, then this is definitely your method. After watching a video on the IT Cosmetics website, I tried applying with my fingers (although I didn't apply nearly as much product as it appeared they did), and I was much happier with that application. I would like to note that no matter how I applied this product, in no way would I would ever consider this product full coverage - it's medium coverage at best, and that's if you do two thin applications. I found if I applied it too heavily (like they do in the video), it never "set", it just stayed tacky on my skin. And there is no way that it would have ever covered like it did in the video. I had a couple of tiny, mildly reddened areas that weren't covered by two applications of the CC Cream, yet their larger, much darker reddened areas were easily covered by just one application. Go figure.

Let's discuss color. Obviously I should've gone somewhere to test the colors. But there was a deal online, so I made my best guess and ordered. There are five shades: Fair, Light, Medium, Tan, & Rich. Since I knew I would be using sunless tanner soon, I opted for Light. When it arrived, I was surprised to see it was dark and "peachy" - not at all like the photos online. Even sporting a sunless tan, it's too peachy. Update 6/12/18: I have now also tried this product in Light (very yellow) and Medium (the most neutral of the three I've tried). Medium matches my sunless tan the best - and I wouldn't say that it's necessarily "darker" than Light. Light is peachy, Medium is more neutral. Also - the travel tube I had of the Light was definitely more peachy than the full-size tube I purchased. I have no explanation for you.

In the photo below, you can see the CC Cream (in the shade Light) on the back of my hand. I do not have any sunless tanner on, and that is a slightly faded burn mark you see next to the CC Cream. In this photo, you can tell that the Light shade definitely has peach undertones.


In the photo below, I have applied the CC Cream onto the area of my hand with the burn mark just as I would to my face - concentrating it on that specific area. You can see that it really didn't cover it much at all, even though when you watch their video, it covers everything on their faces. You can also see that the peachy tones aren't nearly as noticeable once the cream is applied, although it's certainly not a perfect match.


I know it probably sounds like I hate this foundation, but I don't. I actually like it! I just want to be honest and say that, in my opinion, it doesn't live up to it's claims of being a full-coverage color-correcting cream. So if you go into it not expecting it to be those things, you won't be disappointed.

Here's how I get this foundation to work best for my 50+ year old skin (updated 6/12/18):
After doing my usual morning routine (including sunscreen if I'm going outside the house), I apply the Laura Mercier Oil-Free Foundation Primer. Once that sets, I spritz my face lightly with Skindinavia The Makeup Setting Spray. I use my fingertips to apply the Your Skin But Better ™ CC Cream, then use a paddle brush to smooth it out. I like to take a dampened Beauty Junkees blending sponge to smooth out the CC Cream along the sides of my nose and any lines/wrinkles, then spritz the sponge with the setting spray to press along my nasolabial folds. I use Kat Von D's Lock-It Concealer Creme for any areas that need more coverage. I use Kat Von D's Lock-It Setting Powder Brush to lightly dust e.l.f. HD Powder over my face to get rid of any tackiness and make my pores less noticeable. Once I finish applying my other makeup, I lightly mist my face with Skindinavia The Makeup Setting Spray one last time.

With this method, I'm able to get the CC Cream to last a good 8-10 hours with minimal-to-no settling into my nasolabial folds. I definitely consider that a success! For the price, which is just a little more than half the cost of Koh Gen Do or Guerlain Lingerie de Peau, it's definitely a favorite.

I just want to touch on one more thing. In the video on the IT Cosmetics website, Jamie (the former owner) says that because it's an all-in-one product, you can skip your anti-aging products, your sunscreen, and your primer - so you actually save money by using this. Here's how I feel about that: The anti-aging ingredients are at the bottom of the ingredient list, so I'm not impressed - and almost no one uses enough foundation to provide adequate sunscreen application (I know I don't). Without a separate primer, I get a lot more of that cooling/burning sensation (that I don't like) when applying the cream. So, I'm just more comfortable maintaining my regular skin care routine with separate anti-aging products, sunscreen, and primer. But the option is there to skip them if you so desire.

Have you tried Your Skin But Better™ CC Cream? Did you like it? Let me know in the comments!