I Finally Found a CC Cream That Lasts All Day — Without a Primer

The It Cosmetics Your Skin But Better CC+ Cream makes my skin look like a million bucks. Actually, make that a billion bucks. When L'Oréal Paris shelled out $1.2 billion cash to buy It Cosmetics last year, I’m pretty sure that this highly-pigmented-yet-ultralight formula is what sold them. I think someone at L'Oréal Paris with access to all the money put on this CC cream one morning, watched their skin become clear and dewy and all the other pretty-skin words, and said: "I will give a billion dollars to whoever came up with this."

Here’s how I use the Your Skin But Better CC+ Cream: I blend a drop of the light shade and a drop of the medium shade together in the palm of my hand — a mix of these two is the perfect match for my skin tone. (There were originally only seven shades but in 2017, the brand expanded to 12 shades.) I use my fingers to blend it over my cheeks and around my nose. I walk away. That's it.

I’ve found that even without a primer this CC cream goes on smoothly and won't crack or crease over the course of the day. And even though it gives solid coverage, I don’t have to go back in with a sponge to blend out streaks or chalkiness. It’s a liquid formula that blends really easily. Oh, and the sunscreen — I don't know how these chemists maintained such an elegant consistency while achieving an all-mineral SPF 50+ but it's a miracle. (Or at least a feat of science worth, give or take, a billion dollars.) For my wintertime commute, it's nice to know I have some solid coverage. (If I'm going to be outside for any length of time, though, I layer another sunscreen underneath. (Two drops isn’t enough to get you anywhere near actual SPF 50 protection.)

And if you're the type of person who subscribes to a multi-step skin-care routine in the morning (you overachiever, you), this stuff has you covered there, too. The ingredient list reads like a dermatology 101 textbook: glycerin, niacinamide, vitamin C, and snail-secretion filtrate. The magic here may just be in snail slime; it’s the second-most prominent ingredient (after water), and here’s why: It's rich in copper peptides and hyaluronic acid — things that will make your skin even more beautiful over time.

The It Cosmetics Your Skin But Better CC+ Cream is a 2020 Allure Readers' Choice Awad winner. See the complete list of this year's winners here.