Must Have ::: It Cosmetics CC Cream

All photos by {accordingtoame}

I mentioned that I picked this up in a Loving Right Now a couple weeks ago. It's the first CC cream I have ever tried, or been interested in trying. I love the brand's brushes, and their pressed cheek stain, like, love-love. But I intensely hated the concealer. So I wasn't exactly sure how I was going to feel about this one.


Let's say that this is rare for a newish product in my arsenal to hit "Must Have" status...

Packaging ::: 
The CC comes in a pump-style tube, and the pump is quite nice.  I am curious to see how well that continues to work as the product left in the tube decreases.  It dispenses a little more than you really need, but I find that somewhere between half a pump and full pump works well for me. 

Ingredients :::
The first thing I noticed when I received this in my order from Ulta.com was the 2nd ingredient. Snail Secretion Filtrate. Yea that sounds delicious. Exactly what I want to smear on my skin. That's the 2nd ingredient after water. Seriously? What in the hell is that?! 

I immediately googled that shit. I felt like surely there had to be some reason for such an ingredient, especially being so high up on the list.  And apparently I am NOT the only person who freaked when she saw that ingredient on the box. Another blogger emailed the company, in fact, and this is what they sent in reply:

"Snail secretion filtrate is collected from leaves and flowers after a snail makes its way over them. This ingredient is collected, washed and then filtered to remove any debris, dust and contamination from the surface. This process does not harm the snails in any way and we at IT Cosmetics would not have it any other way  This ingredient is extremely hydrating and promotes healing within the skin! Kindly find the link below to a very interesting article about Snail Secretion Filtrate: http://www.newdirections.com.au/articles/article.php?aid=88

I don't know that it really "clears things up" for me, but I decided to try it anyway since I had it in my hands.

Shade Selection :::
I went with Fair, and it was perfect. Like, seriously, incredibly perfect. Just the right level of yellow-olive, and pale enough for me.  I remember from my misadventures with the concealer that the Light was wicked dark and off for me, and the Fair was better but a little light and I got no coverage from either. I was expecting similar with this, but the Fair in this product was really a great shade. 
 

Texture and Application :::
The texture is nice, creamy but not greasy feeling, and it blends fairly well and dries down nicely. I had better luck using my fingers than I did with the It Cosmetics foundation brush or my BeautyBlender sponge, which shocked me, since I tend to find foundations, etc. go on very streaky with fingers.  I remember when I saw TiffanyD initially review this, she also mentioned fingers, and I will admit I blew that off at first, but she was right.  Pressing it on like she does is the way to go. I do use the full pump, so I can get it down my neck but otherwise I think she's right about the amount, also. 

One pump was plenty for my whole face and down my neck, but two pumps created a serious oil slick, and did not improve coverage. So I don't think about this as a buildable product. A couple-few layers of concealer were still required, mostly around my eyes, but that's pretty much the way of the world for me. Then I used my mineral veil as usual.

Two befores:

Yikes, I look ready to go back to bed...

The swipe under the eye before blending (what's going on with my eyes?!)

and here's the "after" CC cream shots, before concealer and powder:

 Uh that looks way more flawless than it should 

and my eyes are insane, thanks Blogger.

Coverage :::
Coverage was, for me, pretty good, not what I would consider full coverage, but really quite good otherwise, especially for what I'd think a glorified tinted moisturizer would provide.  Not what I was anticipating at all, quite frankly.  I read quite a few reviews, and saw it raved about in many video reviews, that the coverage of this product was pretty incredible, full-coverage foundation equivalent.  I don't totally agree with that, but I'd say medium coverage would be a fair assessment.  

In the finished face image below that Blogger did some airbrushing on for me, you can sort of see the better finish after concealer around my eyes and then my mineral veil as setting powder. 

Again, what the fuck, Blogger? My teeth look weird, too.

Wear and Longevity ::: 
Based on the reviews I'd viewed and read, I expected this to wear a full day, like a hearty foundation. I would consider that pretty accurate. I'd like it a little better, but like I said, pretty good overall.  I wore it while I was in Texas for a pretty gnarly 6 days and it stayed intact quite well, and I felt like I was having the best skin of my life. 


Bottom Line :::
This stuff is magical for me.  It's kind of that balance between spot concealing and a full face, so that you feel polished but not overdone.  I got several compliments on my "glow" in Texas, and for once it wasn't just makeup and sweat. This time it was just makeup hah!

If you can get beyond that weird ingredient--I stopped looking at that side of the tube--it's worth a try.  I am already watching out on QVC for the "super size" tube of this for when I run out.

You can pick it up at QVC, The Shopping Channel (in Canada) select Ulta stores (I would probably wait for that good 20% coupon that allows prestige brands), and from It Cosmetics website directly for around $38 or less depending where you get it. 


Do you use a CC cream? Which is your favorite?

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