IT Cosmetics CC Cream Review

It's hard to believe that there may be a product waiting in the wings to snatch the crown from Estée Lauder's iconic Doublewear Foundation... but I think I might just have found it... In all honesty I don't think I will ever feel comfortable not to have a bottle of DW on my makeup shelf, reaching for it for those special occasions BUT Your Skin But Better CC+ Cream with SPF 50+ is the product I've been reaching for this Summer and is now my must have base.

What IT Cosmetics say 

Your Skin But Better CC+ Cream with SPF 50 is our #1 best-selling, colour-correcting cream that delivers 7 benefits all in one! This multi-tasking hero could possibly be everything your skin needs in one easy step: full coverage foundation and anti-ageing with SPF50 that brightens and hydrates while camouflaging skin imperfections. Our skin-loving CC+ Cream diffuses the look of wrinkles, minimises the appearance of pores and gives you a beautiful-looking complexion. Ideal if you’re looking for full coverage makeup, hydration and younger-looking skin. Your Skin But Better CC+ Cream is available in original, illumination and oil-free matte finishes.

My thoughts 

I use the original version in shade Light. My skin type is normal/combination and I am yellow toned, usually wearing one up from the lightest shade. This shade is perfect for me.

This does everything that it promises. From the useful design of the tube with an easy pump dispenser, one small pump and you get enough to give perfect coverage. The texture of the cream is serum like and blends beautifully and seamlessly into the skin so it looks just like your skin but better. For those who have a keen sense of smell, this CC Cream has a very light herbal scent. Full coverage, it covers blemishes, redness and imperfections. It feels hydrating on the skin, skin looks smooth and the foundation makes skin have a healthy and luminous glow without looking greasy. I love it.

A blindingly brilliant 10/10 I can't think of a single fault with this product. Have you tried it yet?

Your Skin But Better CC+ Cream with SPF 50+ costs £31 

Holiday Makeup By Day With SEVENTEEN

I recently spent a fabulous week holidaying in Ibiza, the week consisted mainly of lounging by the pool, the waterpark and a few brilliant day trips out and of course visits to the beach. I know it is known as the party capital of the world but seriously there is so much more to Ibiza than just the club scene. If you haven't been I highly recommend making a visit.

As a beauty lover I do tend to travel heavy when it comes to make up despite trying very hard to narrow down some faves, I just like to have options!  This time however, I was sent a few bits by the lovely team at SEVENTEEN to try, so I pretty much pushed aside/emptied out my usual faves and those tried and tested to take a leap of faith in these products....

During the day by the pool I like to keep things simple (I have a son aged 7 and we spend A LOT of time in the pool!) so I just went with my really high sun protection, a light coverage of the SEVENTEEN CC Cream which has SPF25 to just even out my skintone and hide those pesky blemishes.. I must say this CC Cream is a fantastic product, a little went a long way and it was the perfect shade for me (medium) but more on this in my next post - Holiday Makeup For Evening. 

I also opted for some highlighting magic from the SEVENTEEN Skin Wow Primer, this gave a beautiful dewy and super healthy appearance to my skin. Described as a 3 way HIGHLIGHTER GLOW & PRIMER, I used it all three ways and loved the way it lit up my skin, blended well so that its cool tone looked completely natural and just gave a wonderful glow and all round pick me up.

The biggest leap of faith by far was the SEVENTEEN Waterproof Mascara which promised the following - Both waterproof and smudge resistant this non clogging mascara lengthens lashes and lasts all day. As I mentioned, I spent a lot of time in the pool and we also had an adjacent water park that featured a HUGE bucket that tips its entire contents of water on to you if you stand under it. My son thought this was hilarious and made me stand directly under it, the cheeky thing!

So was the waterproof mascara up for the water challenge? I can confidently give this a massive thumbs up and resounding yes. It passed the water test with flying colours. Only the teeniest tiniest of smudging and no panda eyes in sight. I wore this mascara all day everyday. As a waterproof mascara this gave great definition and length to my lashes, was light and the formula wasn't thick or gloopy.

SEVENTEEN CC Cream £ 6.99
SEVENTEEN Waterproof Mascara £4.69
SEVENTEEN Skin Wow Primer £5.99

*Sponsored post 

Smashbox Camera Ready CC Cream SPF 30 Dark Spot Correcting

Smashbox say 

A multi- benefit complexion correcting cream that reduces the appearance of dark spots and enhances the natural radiance of the skin. Developed to help you achieve a flawless, luminous and camera-ready complexion, this pioneering fusion of skincare and makeup represents the next level of treatment cosmetics.

Smashbox Camera Ready CC Cream SPF 30 Dark Spot Correcting goes beyond priming, perfecting, hydrating and controlling oil in a single step to reduce the appearance of dark spots and effectively improve the appearance of uneven skin tone. It also offers SPF protection against UVA/UVB rays and leaves the complexion glowing.

My thoughts 

I am wearing shade Light and it is a perfect match for me. I have normal/combination skin and once again I find it ideal for it. Smashbox say that it is suitable for all skin types. I find it similar in consistency to the Estee Lauder BB Glow, so relatively thick but light as a feather applied and virtually undetectable when blended (easily) into the skin. It smooths the skin beautifully, hiding imperfections and leaving a nice bright finish and it is long lasting.

If you do need extra coverage this works wonderfully as a skin primer, I wore it under a Lancome foundation and it was amazing just how flawless I looked. Unsurprisingly, the double layer worked wonders. However I would say that I do like to see my freckles and so I am pretty happy to wear this as it is.

Scent wise it smells a bit of suncream and I put this down to its welcome high SPF.

As to its claims of reducing dark spots, I haven't worn it long enough to find out but I like the product a lot, this will get used to the end.

Here I am wearing it

Smashbox Camera Ready CC Cream SPF 30 Dark Spot Correcting 30ml costs £29 and is available in 5 shades

*PR Sample

Clinique Moisture Surge CC Cream Review - Sachet Sample Sunday

I have been wanting to try the Clinique Moisture Surge CC Cream for a while and when I was purchasing one of the new Clinique A Different Nail Enamels the counter asst offered to give me a sample of the CC Cream so that I could try it.

I was matched with shade Light which is second up from the lightest shade.

Moisture Surge CC Cream SPF 30 Hydrating Colour Corrector

Clinique say 

Introducing a new, lightweight formula that immediately creates natural, glowing skin. Moisture Surge CC Cream SPF 30 Hydrating Colour Corrector is an instant complexion perfector designed to enhance skin’s natural radiance while leaving it hydrated and protected.

Suitable for all skin types. Coverage moderate.

Daylight

With Flash

My thoughts 

Shade match - light was perfect for me.

Texture wise I was expecting this to be lighter than it was, it felt much more like a foundation. I found it to be reasonably thick coming out of the pot but once on the skin it was easy to blend and was barely visible, I found that a little goes a long way. I like the scent which is similar to a sun cream. Coverage wise moderate is a good description. It covered and smoothed my skin (pores etc) well although more coverage/concealer was needed for red blemishes. My rosacea redness was dealt with brilliantly however. The product provides a nice radiant glow, living up to its healthy appearance claim. Lasting wise this gave at least 6/7 hours of coverage and it still looked nice and fresh. 

All in all this is a fantastic product and coupled with the high SPF and range of shades makes an excellent purchase.

Clinique Moisture Surge CC Cream 40ml costs £28 and is available in 9 shades

New Olay Regenerist Advanced Anti-Ageing CC CREAM SPF15

Just as I am getting the hang of the trend for BB creams and their benefits along come CC Creams - Complexion Correctors (also known as colour control or colour corrector creams)

CC creams provide more intense levels of tone-correcting and anti-ageing skincare ingredients than BB creams, at the same time as leaving the skin with a sheer, natural coverage. New Olay Regenerist CC cream takes it one step further with a unique 3-in-1 swirl system – the first and only cc cream to blend three core elements together – a serum, an SPF15 moisturiser and a sheer foundation so that skin is perfected now and over time. with a light texture the all-in-one corrective product gives complexions an instant gorgeous glow whilst balancing skin tone

Olay say

Olay Regenerist CC Cream’s 3-in-1 swirl blends the 3 elements together at the point of delivery:

• an anti-ageing serum containing Olay’s ‘Essential Glucosamine Complex’, which comprises N-acetyl glucosamine (Nag) and Niacinamide – clinically proven to reduce dark spots and wrinkles.

• a moisturiser with glycerine, SPF 15 sunscreen and anti-oxidant vitamin E– a powerful combination which hydrates and protects the skin instantly improving tone and texture.

• a sheer foundation incorporating mineral pigments which immediately blend and match skin tone delivering natural-looking and even coverage.

A pump of the CC Cream

My thoughts

Readers of BeautySwot.com know that I love my coverage to be medium/full so I am always wary of trying things that have the words 'sheer' in them..

First of all I love the clear packaging and swirl effect of the product, it look so pretty on my dressing table. The pump dispenses the right amount of product so this gets top marks for ease of use.

The CC cream has a pleasant light scent, not the usual stronger scent that is associated with many of the Olay products. It blends beautifully and seamlessly.

I have been trying this for a few days now and whilst I obviously have not tried it long enough to see any skincare benefits I find it to be hydrating as a moisturiser. The foundation is so light that it essentially is undetectable, if you really don't like to look like you are wearing foundation this is fabulous. Impressively just as promised my skin tone is evened out and the redness is concealed (which is always my main concern).

I am already using the serum/moisturiser duo and am a fan of Olay products in general, I feel that this is a great 3 in 1 product time saving product, perfect for busy mums like me who sometimes just don't have time to apply so many products but still want our skin to look and feel good.

Available in 3 shades - Light, Medium and Dark - I am using the Medium.

AVAILABILITY: NEW Olay Regenerist Advanced Anti-Ageing CC Cream SPF15 will be exclusive to Boots stores and Boots.com from 1 May 2013. Recommended retail price £24.99.

Join the Boots.com wait list now to be one of the first to hear when NEW OLAY Regenerist CC Cream hits the shelves in a Boots store near you!

Join the Olay Regenerist CC Cream wait-list now at www.boots.com/Olay.

*P&G/Olay sponsored post