it cosmetics Archives » Beauty Skeptic

On Sunday, I opened an Ulta email to find this IT Cosmetics Star Foundation brush.

First, let us deviate for a piece of personal trivia. Some people like hearts and heart motifs. Some people like polka dots. I, however, am partial to stars. I don’t necessarily want to wear them (okay, in pajamas I do), but I find them cute and enjoy looking at them.

80% of the time I am in a store (wait…what are stores? Do you remember stores? Pepperidge Farm remembers.), when I go, “Oh! That’s cute,” I’m reacting to something silly with stars on it. A mask? A lampshade? A throw blanket? 3-ring binder? As the trendier youth would say, “Fuck me up, fam.”

…so, all of that to say the IT Cosmetics Star Foundation Brush fully, unapologetically triggered my, “AHH, cute!” reflex. The bristles! The ferrule! the print on the handle!

–but, don’t worry; I didn’t hit my head. It also triggered my, “You guys serious?” one.

In late January I received a coupon from Ulta (because I’m Platinum this year) to get a free mini It Cosmetics No-Tug Waterproof Gel Eyeliner. I’m not too familiar with the It Cosmetics brand, really only seeing their line in Ulta. This sums up what I know about It Cosmetics:

They have a brush line that I hear is pretty good. They have a silly brush-themed logo on their aisles in both Ultas near me.
They have CC cream!
Their Naturally Pretty Vol 1 Matte Luxe Transforming Eye Shadow Palette has an exceptionally long name and reminds me of a mix of the two LORAC Pro palettes. Same price-point, too!

That’s pretty much it.

I redeemed the coupon and got the freebie It Cosmetics No-Tug Waterproof Gel Eyeliner to test the waters of the brand.

Here’s some info about It Cosmetics No-Tug Waterproof Gel Eyeliner, from Ulta’s Website, condensed into tl;dr for your reading pleasure:

Gentle, smooth, pigmented gel formula that glides on.
Waterproof, proven to hold up 8+ hours.
Contains vitamin C and E as well as collagen, supposedly for, “younger looking eyelids.”
Sets after about 30 seconds (so you can blend and smudge).

My freebie mini came in Black Brown which I appreciated – I don’t need yet another black pencil liner, and am happy to have a brown pencil handy. I actually forgot about it (out of sight, out of mind) since it was tucked into my drawer, but I finally got around to it.

It Cosmetics No-Tug Waterproof Gel Eyeliner - Swatch

It glides on effortlessly without much pressure, both swatched on the back of my hand and into my lashline.

The Wear Test: It Cosmetics No-Tug Waterproof Gel Eyeliner

Most pencil liners, even ones claiming to be waterproof, do not last on my waterline. I don’t have exceptionally watery eyes, but I guess my waterline is exposed to enough moisture that it usually breaks down and fades within an hour or two

At 7am, I tightlined with the It Cosmetics No-Tug Waterproof Gel Eyeliner to provide definition. I added just a little more along my lashline, but the real test is waterline usage, so I slapped it in there, too, in the outer 2/3 of my waterline.

I checked it at 8am, and it still looked alright. Not as intense in the waterline, but it was still visible. Upper lashline and tightline perfectly intact.

I checked at 9am – it faded more, but I could live with it because I don’t like a harsh dark waterline. I don’t bother with dark colors in my waterline most of the time because I feel like it closes off my eye…I don’t like my eyes to appear small. It was still intact and going good on my upper lashline and tightline, though.

By 10am, it was noticeably in trouble. At the outermost edge it was gone completely, meaning the It Cosmetics No-Tug Waterproof Gel Eyeliner line didn’t appear to start until a few millimeters into my lower lashline. Awkward. Top is in good shape, still!

At the 11am check, the product in my waterline was barely visible but the tightline and waterline looked great. I decided to reapply and try again. Unfortunately, it wore away within 3-4 hours, just like the first run.

I found it removed relatively easily with a Ponds makeup wipe – it was no more difficult to remove than an Urban Decay 24/7 pencil, for instance. Also, I can’t really speak to the whole, “younger-looking eyelids,” thing – I noticed absolutely no difference from tightlining with it, but I’m also in my mid twenties, so. I’m taking it with a grain of salt anyway because that part sounds like nonsense marketing.

The Bottom Line(r)

So this makes a good liner for the upper lashline and tightlining. You CANNOT sharpen it (at least this little version, anyway) as it is a twist up and therefore has a blunt tip; it is not suited to sharp precision work, but makes for a smooth tightline and not-intense upper lashline work. Its performance in my waterline shouldn’t be the only thing that tells you to buy or not – like I said, I have a hell of a time with most pencils in my waterline…so if you DON’T have trouble with them, this might actually work really well for you!

I personally won’t be repurchasing a full size when I run out of this. I don’t dislike it, but I don’t like it enough to spend $22 on. If you don’t have an exceptionally watery waterline, though, it may be a worthwhile investment for you.

Disclaimer: HEY. Although I got this for free, this was not a sponsored post. ULTA has no idea who I am. I only got a voucher for this product because I somehow managed to make it into the Ultamate Rewards Platinum tier, which anyone can achieve if they have a ~~problem~~beauty hobby.. This voucher was distributed to platinum members, so I’m not special. Questions? Feel free to ask.