It cosmetics your skin but better foundation vs cc cream

We tried the waterlight alternative to IT Cosmetics’ cult CC Cream ahead of the launch (here's what you need to know)

PRODUCT

IT Cosmetics Your Skin But Better Foundation + Skincare, £32

Available on IT Cosmetics from 1st September and nationwide from 1st October.

THE HYPE:

If you know, you know. IT Cosmetics Your Skin But Better CC Cream has become a best-loved insider secret for a reason. Imagine the hardcore coverage of Estee Lauder’s Double Wear with the lightweight feel of a tinted moisturiser and you’re pretty much there. It may have taken 200 goes to get the formula exactly right, but ever since its launch in 2007, the CC Cream has headlined as a best-seller at Sephora and Ulta in the US and Selfridges and Boots in the UK, cultivating thousands of 5 star reviews. Now, the brand has remixed it’s coverage with a new addition to the line-up: Your Skin But Better Foundation + Skincare, designed as a more lightweight alternative.

It tackles the issue of shade range, too, since the main complaint from the brand’s CC Cream fans has long been the skimpy shade range (only 12 colours thanks to limitations caused by the high SPF50 contained). The new iteration (which is free from SPF) comes in 40 options split equally between light, medium and dark skin tones. The question is, how does it stack up against the OG base?

REVIEWER:

Elle Turner, Deputy Beauty Editor

BEAUTY BIO:

I hate the feel of too much foundation, but I’m always on the look-out for something that will genuinely deliver on a “Your Skin But Better Finish”. If my complexion looks perfected in a natural-looking way, I’m sold. Having tried and loved the CC Cream, I’m interested to see how this one will perform.

THE REVIEW:

This is a strange one. For most brands a CC Cream would be a more lightweight version of their foundation. Here, it’s the opposite. While not watery, the foundation is more fluid than the original CC Cream and the finish is nowhere near as full as the CC cream. This one’s medium to buildable. That said, it does offer up enough lightweight pigment to give a decent amount of skin-evening coverage, that’ll see off redness and discoloration, but let freckles shine through. Anywhere you need extra coverage, there’s always the bullet-proof Bye Bye Undereye Concealer.

The texture has a silky slip that makes quick blending easy and the finish on my dry skin is natural to matte (I’d imagine it would show up slightly dewier on oily skin), however it’s infused with luminous pigments that add a subtle radiance to the high points of my face (like my cheekbones) when they catch the light. Given its waterlight credentials, it does feel fairly weightless on skin and left my skin feeling softer (thanks to the added hyaluronic acid, aloe vera and vitamin E infused within the formula).

THE VERDICT:

Overall, it’s a nice natural-looking option if you’re after a skin-perking finish that’ll even out skin tone without obliterating your complexion entirely, or feeling too heavy.