Do you have questions about complexion makeup, finding the perfect colour match and everything beauty-related - Ask iT Cosmetics ambassador Rose Gallagher

[MaddyMumsnet]

Created for iT Cosmetics

The world of beauty can feel like a minefield - Why does my foundation look so cakey? Is this concealer giving me spots? Should I be contouring? It’s only 5pm, where’s all my makeup gone?!

Expert Rose Gallagher, is here to respond to Mumsnetter’s beauty-related questions.

• Everyone who shares a questions on the thread below by 7/4/24 will be entered into a prize draw
• One lucky Mumsnet user will win a £200 voucher for a store of their choice
• Rose will be back on the week commencing the 22nd of April to answer some of your questions
• Save 10% on IT Cosmetics via Boots, using code 'ITCOSSAVE10'. Offer ends 14th of May

About Rose Gallagher:
“Rose has worked with IT Cosmetics as their UK and Ireland ambassador since 2018. Having started her career as a makeup artist, she found a passion for writing about beauty and is now a freelance journalist, contributing to the likes of the Times, British Vogue and Glamour magazines. She loves creating content around managing rosacea, a skin condition she was diagnosed with some years ago. On Instagram and TikTok she creates regular tutorial style beauty videos and speaks to a combined audience of over 100k people.”

Here’s what iT Cosmetics has to say:
“iT Cosmetics is a cosmetics brand specialising in makeup made with skincare, that partners with plastic surgeons and dermatologists to create trusted beauty solutions with clinically proven results. As the brand continues to grow, with its #1 premium CC Cream franchise in the UK*, skin-loving concealers and ultra-plush makeup brushes, so does its mission: to serve all people with products that are truly innovative — and truly work — in order to make the dream of confidence a reality. iT Cosmetics is for anyone who seeks or likes to have skincare ingredients and benefits within their makeup, or skincare that is so effective, you might forget to wear makeup…”
*Source: Circana Group (UK) Ltd, Prestige Makeup Foundation, CC Cream, since Nov 2022, 12 months ending Oct 2023, value sales and unit sales.

Thanks and good luck!

MNHQ

Rosacea
Best coverage please 🙏 finding ones I've used are too orange, too pale, too ashy. Would like a foundation/cc cream that looks natural but really covers the redness. Thanks!

How do I fill in/define my patchy eyebrows to look groomed and defined, not 80s Madonna?

Best product to conceal fine lines - and how do use this ?

SO many CC products at Boots - In know I need to improve my make-up routine, but I don't really know which of the products to start with - I want a clearer competition with a glow, and have minimal contouring - I want to look natural - so which of the myriad of products would you recommend as essential for this ?

Would I still need a moisturiser if I were wearing a sun cream in the summer - and what is the best suncream to wear before applying make up - or is this a no no ?

I am a very minimal makeup wearer - eyeliner mascara and lipstick - I really don't know what products does what and for how long for me - if that makes sense - the CC products sound like something I would want to use - but If you were to pick the 'essentials' which ones would suit a 40 plus - even skin, some finelines and some more deep lines on the forehead ?

Hi everyone! Thank you so much for sending in these questions. One of the things I do as part of the IT Cosmetics team is work on tutorial style videos for their Instagram page, and your questions are so useful to help shape our ideas moving forward! In the meantime, I've gone back to a selection of your queries, and I really hope these answers will be helpful. Lovely to meet you and looking forward to chatting soon! Rose XXX

Hi @TrustPenguins. There are a few things I would suggest here. First and foremost, I'd recommend visiting your nearest beauty hall and trying out the foundation you want to buy in person. All brands will do this for you, free of charge, and it's a great idea not only to see your right shade but also wear that formula for the day and check that it agrees with you. In addition, if you know your shade in one brand and you're hoping to try a different one, you can use the website findation.com to then discover your closest match from a whole host of other brands. I'd recommend checking the foundation in two places - the jawline, and the centre of the face - at the very least. A simple check on the back of your hand is never the same as a proper road test where it's going to be worn.

Hi @youareonlyhereonce - fab username! There's a few things to chat through here. Contouring is designed to emphasise the natural shadows on your face, calling out things like the cheekbones that you mention here. Because of that, contour shades tend to be a lot cooler and flatter, because they're designed to look like that shadow. If you've never contoured before and simply want to add a bit more dimension and polish to your skin, I might suggest you do a bit of clever bronzing instead. Bronzers are much warmer in tone (they're designed to mimic the sun, rather than the shadows) but when you apply some bronzer in a 3 shape round the forehead, along the cheeks and then under the jawline, you'll naturally achieve the same kind of finish you're mentioning here but also add some warmth to the skin! I think you'd prefer this technique if it's all a bit more new to you. A fluffier brush like our French Boutique Blush Brush is lovely for this job because it's soft, so it will give you a fresh, blended finish, but it's also angled so you can use it to sculpt any areas that you want to define that bit more. By all means, pop to your nearest counter and have one of our team show you in person! We'd love to have you.

Hi @DrJoanAllenby. I'm going to be completely honest with you, and this may be an unpopular opinion in the group here, but personally I'm not a huge user of primers. Rather than use a primer to help to smooth the appearance of texture, I think we can do it that bit more easily with a skincare step! Using a gentle exfoliating acid in your skincare routine (provided you don't have very sensitive skin, that is) is a brilliant way to reduce the appearance of texture, and also to reduce the appearance of pores. If you like the sound of a serum, something like our Bye Bye Breakout serum would be ideal for this. It contains glycolic acid which will gently exfoliate the skin and unveil a smoother finish. Alternatively, you can find many toners on the market that will do the same, and you can sweep them across the skin with a cotton pad, following up with your regular serum and/or moisturiser.

Hi @Changer2010. First of all, how exciting and I hope you enjoy experimenting and finding what feels good for you! Sometimes, when I do a bridal party for example, there will be someone in the group who wants their makeup done for the wedding but doesn't usually wear any, and this is where I start with them. Depending on your brow shape, you might like to try a tiny bit of pencil. Shaping and sculpting the brows a tiny bit more than usual is something that instantly feels quite polishing and can make you feel like you've elevated your everyday look. Then, some mascara always feels lovely, again simply accentuating the features you're already used to. Our Hello Lashes mascara is a tubing formula, which means it's smudge resistant. And then lips wise, I know this might sound really boring, but it can be great to start with a lipstick in a shade similar to your natural lip colour. That way, again, you have this lovely creamy, polished version of a colour you're comfortable with, and it isn't out of your comfort zone but it just makes your everyday look feel that bit more elevated. Start with these steps, they sound small but they make a big difference, and then from here you can experiment with if you wanted to try any different steps on your complexion. But, if you've gone this far without wearing any, it sounds like you might be quite happy just as you are, and we can focus on simply highlighting all of the things that you're already comfortable with!

Hi @marmiteandminticecream - what a combination, are these at the same time or indiviual pleasures?! I've just started to notice my first few thread veins (I have rosacea) so I am right here with you. I honestly mean this, but our Bye Bye Undereye concealer is one of the best things I can recommend for you. It's a completely full coverage concealer (when we used to do live TV demos on QVC we would use it to cover tattoos and it would always deliver) but it feels comfortable and hydrating on the skin. My advice would be to use a tiny, dense brush to apply this, and target the veins rather than the entire area. That way, everything else can still look quite fresh, and also you know that your product is going directly onto the area of high colour rather than being spread too thinly across a larger surface area. We have a double ended concealer brush that is perfect for this, the Dual Airbrush Concealer brush, or if you wanted something even smaller you could try a traditional eyeliner brush.

Hi @plantmother71. First of all, I'm sorry to hear you're having some different issues to normal with your skin. Lots of people find that with things like pregancy and menopause - the hormonal changes in your body can sometimes make a change in your skin. You've specifically used the word 'bumpy' here which has led me to one particular ingredient - have you ever used azelaic acid? I have rosacea, which causes bumps in the skin that don't have a white head or a black head, they're just texture really. Traditional exfoliants can aggrevate this somewhat, but azelaic acid is brilliant for calming it right down and can do so quite quickly. It's honestly a wonder ingredient! Unfortunately we don't have anything in our current range that contains this, but I wanted to flag it because it's a brilliant ingredient to use. I use mine at a prescription strength, but there are a handful of brands that have versions of this as a single ingredient on the high street. This is really your treatment ingredient, and then something like our Bye Bye Redness serum is incredibly calming, which would work hand in hand with your treatment step to create a smoother, less inflamed and more calm skin to work with. Good luck, and I hope that helps.

Hi @neilyoungismyhero. It sounds like you may have some pigmentation or dark spots on your skin, which are completely normal and commonly occur in lots of people. There are lots of ways that you can reduce the appearance of them using skincare, for example by using ingredients like Vitamin C or niacinamide in your routine. We have a serum at IT Cosmetics called Bye Bye Dark Spots which would be brilliant as a starting point. Then, moving forward, using an SPF every single day is the best way to prevent them from reoccurring. We have an added SPF in all of our CC Creams which serves as a brilliant bonus to your dedicated SPF, and our original CC Cream is a full coverage formula, perfect for concealing the spots.

Hi @OkOkWhatsNext - I guess we had better follow the username and figure out what's next! First of all, I'm sorry to hear you're experiencing these new symptoms with your skin. Seeing as they are new and only affecting one side of your face, I'd recommend having your doctor check them just to be on the safe side. Boots have a brilliant Online Doctor service which might be of interest to you if you aren't readily able to get to your GP for that. In the meantime, it sounds like you could benefit from something within your routine to strengthen the skin barrier. A compromised skin barrier will present with symptoms of discomfort like the itching you mention, so using ingredients like ceramides will strengthen the skin barrier and help to alleviate some of the discomfort. We have a lovely new serum, Bye Bye Redness, which is designed to instantly and over time soothe and relieve red, hot skin. I personally have rosacea so I am very particular about what I can and will use on redness, and I'd whole heartedly recommend it. Another thing you might find useful is running your wrists under cold water in the moments when your skin is hot to the touch - it works wonders to take your temperature down.

Hi @Coconutter24 - that username has really tickled me! This is probably the most asked question I've had in my whole career. I totally get the juggle between wanting makeup there to colour correct but then hating the way it gathers, and my answer really is a bit simplistic. Try to use as little product as you possibly can, because the less product you use, the less likely it is to gather. One thing I would mention is that all makeup is going to gather at some point, that's the nature of it, but what we can do is take steps to reduce the likelihood of that happening. Do you use an eye cream, or take your moisturiser up to the eye area? If so, I'd be inclined to skip the primer, and apply your concealer straight onto freshly moisturised eyes. That way you have one less layer in this area. Then, once your concealer is on, I would lock it into place either with a translucent setting powder (like our Bye Bye Pores) or a setting spray that is safe for use around the eyes. You can spray your brush with the spray and then dab it on for the safest application. Locking everything in can keep things in place for longer, but ultimately I think the best thing to do is keep an eye throughout the day and gently pat and press the concealer into place if it moves. If you try to find a concealer with a very high coverage, then you'll only need a tiny bit anyway. I know it sounds like a terribly obvious segway, but Bye Bye Undereye concealer truly is fantastic for this. Next time you're passing one of our counters, have one of our team try it on for you (no pressure to buy) and you can see how it wears before you make a commitment.

Hi @bubbletubble, your message did make me laugh! You may not be an ogre, but you do have lots in common with pretty much most women out there, me included. Luckily, you're in the right place. You have literally reeled off a list that would lend itself perfectly to the original IT Cosmetics CC Cream. There are several variations of CC Cream that we offer, it's the product we're known and loved for, but the original in the silver tube would be my pick for you. The CC Cream offers a completely full coverage but has a fresh, dewy finish, so it doesn't look like you've got that much coverage on at all. It's very hydrating so it will help to soften those dry patches, it will cover the redness, blemishes and dark circles, and there's a built in primer in the formula which can help to smooth over the appearance of the pores. If you like the sound of all of that but not the dewy finish, we also make an oil-free version which has more of a velvety finish. Please feel free to pop to any of our counters to try it - it's my favourite product of all time!

Hi @FloofyKat! (I have two of those myself, both bickering between themselves as I write to you, in fact.) In terms of your makeup at any age at all, the number one thing is that you have fun and wear colours that make you feel good. I'm not one for prescribing particular styles of makeup for any age, and I think we all grew up being told a lot of these mistruthes about what we should and shouldn't wear. But, what I will say is that I think it can be really helpful to use a routine with a skincare base when working with skin that may have a few fine lines and wrinkles. Things like our CC Cream have ingredients like collagen, peptides and niacin in the formula, so they are great plumping and hydrating properties that will care for your skin as well as giving you the results you want from your makeup. It can also be good to experiment with cream makeup like blusher and bronzer, because they will help to add radiance to the skin.

Hi @DewinDwl. Have you ever tried our original CC Cream? There is a shade, Light, which sounds like it could be a really good fit for you. It's one of the fairer shades but it has a distinctly olive base. Next time you're passing a counter, please feel free to ask one of our team to try it on for you. Because it's a CC Cream rather than a traditional foundation, it's designed to colour correct any areas of uneven skin tone (like the redness) and create a unified complexion. I think it might be just the thing for you. As for the oily t-zone, it also comes in an oil free version if you'd prefer to try that one.

Hi @indecisivewoman81! This is honestly something that so many people experience, and there are so many answers to this. First and foremost, I always think the answer to this can be in your skincare. If your skin is dry or dehydrated it will absorb the moisture from your foundation, rendering it patchy. Using a hydrating serum in your morning routine and/or a rich buttery moisturiser will really help to prevent this from happening. I'd recommend our Bye Bye Lines serum, packed with hyaluronic acid to retain moisture, or our rich, buttery Confidence in a Cream, packed with ceramides and niacinamide to lock in moisture and strengthen the skin barrier. Outside of this, try setting your makeup with a touch of setting powder. Bye Bye Pores is our translucent setting powder, designed to set your makeup into place without drying the skin. Be mindful of how often you touch your face - so many people do this throughout the day without realising and it can remove your makeup quite significantly. But to go into lots more detail about this, you might like this YouTube video I made. It's full of tips on how to get the most out of our CC Cream, but by all means you could apply them to whichever base you already love and use:

Hi @LadySpratt. First of all, I'm sorry your favourites aren't available now. It's always so disappointing when that happens. What I'd do before you begin is get really clear on which steps you really liked so that you know what you're hoping to replace. For example, that tinted cream (I know the one you mean!) is really rich, hydrating, and gives the skin a lovely glow. It sounds like you'd enjoy a skincare based foundation or bronzer to achieve something similar - our CC Nude Glow could be a lovely alternative. Then, I'd keep your steps really simple in the beginning, use those for a while, and then identify the gaps. Rather than kicking off with a 7-8 step routine, try and find a great cleanser, moisturiser, SPF, and foundation, see how those feel, and then you can always add from there.

Hi there @nicetobenice67. This is a super easy one for me and one I hope you are going to love! We do a fantastic CC Cream called CC Nude Glow that I think and hope you will love. It's a very lightweight skin tint, is comprised of 80% skincare to give your skin a natural glow, and gives the loveliest fresh, glowing finish to the skin. It's almost like a gel consistency; the glow is like you've been for a brisk walk and have a soft sheen to the skin, there's no glitter or shimmer in there. Please feel free to pop to any of our counters and try it for yourself. It will gently colour correct any areas of uneven skintone but the coverage is very fresh so your natural skin will still show through.

Hi @purplecatshopaholic - luckily I have a great solution for you here! When it comes to our Bye Bye Undereye concealer, there's a brilliant Instagram page called ItsYourShadeFinder, and they have every shade photographed on real skin. Find the model with a complexion most similar to yours and you'll find your best match in no time. If the undertones are too confusing, avoid anything warm or cool and simply stick to the middle route - the neutral undertones.

Hi @Itsywitsy! It's totally your call on whichever method feels best for you. One of the lovely things about our CC Creams is they truly do go on so nicely whether you use your hands, a brush or a sponge. One word of warning I'd give though is that because they're so heavily skincare based, I personally find that the sponges tend to drink them up a lot more quickly. You might find you're having to pop to the shop for a top-up a lot more quickly when you use the sponge. As an alternative, I'd recommend using your hands or a brush to apply, and then maybe just use your sponge as a final step to bounce the product into the skin? Hopefully that way it won't absorb too much. Give that a try and I hope it works out for you!

Hi @Beabeautiful - I totally hear you, there is so much to take in from the beauty world at the moment! I'm going to keep things simple and recommend a few steps you might like based on the things you've mentioned here. For both the uneven skin tone and the fine lines, you might like to add a retinol to your routine. Retinol is an ingredient that encourages your cells to turn over a bit more quickly, and as a result you often notice a reduction in pigmentation and dark spots, and also a reduced appearance of fine lines as it has quite a plumping impact. Our retinol is a nightly moisturiser that you use once a day, very comfortable to use even for a beginner, and you'll need to use an SPF every day if you start to use that. Outside of this, a simple cleanser morning and night would be great to use, and also a simple moisturiser like Confidence in a Cream every morning. As for the cheekbones, take a look at our Bye Bye Pores blushers. These use the same technology as the powder you've mentioned, but will give your skin a lovely rosy glow along the way and bring out those cheeks!