CC Cream vs. Tinted Moisturizer vs. Foundation: What’s the Difference?

Here at IT Cosmetics—where skin-loving makeup is a top priority—you’ll find many foundation options ranging from our top-selling* CC cream to pore-blurring powders and beyond. To help connect you with the right formula, we’re offering a briefing on the most popular types of foundation.

Related: Which Foundation Finish is Best for Me?

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What Is Foundation?

Today, the word foundation is a catch-all term used to describe any complexion-evening makeup applied to your entire face. This includes CC and BB creams, skin tints, and tinted moisturizers. If we’re getting technical, though, traditional foundation is a product with one primary goal: to even out your skin tone by minimizing the appearance of any discoloration and covering blemishes. Often, it provides fuller coverage and has a slightly thicker consistency than other face makeup, like tinted moisturizers and CC creams.

Bye Bye Foundation

The foundations you’ll find at IT Cosmetics go above and beyond the basic goal of perfecting your complexion. For example, Bye Bye Foundation is a great choice if you love the weightless look and feel of a tinted moisturizer with SPF but want fuller coverage and even more anti-aging benefits.

The formula is specifically designed to cover and help improve the look of common skin concerns, including uneven skin tone, dark spots, and facial redness. Plus, it features seven key fermented ingredients to increase the absorption and efficacy of your skincare as well as SPF 50+ broad-spectrum sunscreen.

For a quick and easy application, apply your foundation to clean skin with the Heavenly Luxe Foundation Brush #22. This makeup brush has a densely packed, triangle-shaped head that reaches all the curves and contours of your face. Starting at the center of your face, use the brush to smooth and blend outward for complexion perfection.

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What Is Tinted Moisturizer?

With all the above in mind, we can more easily lay out the differences between tinted moisturizer vs. foundation. In short, tinted moisturizers focus primarily on providing moisture and hydration, while coverage takes more of a back seat. Because of the lighter coverage, tinted moisturizers are a good choice if you prefer a natural makeup look. Many formulas also contain ingredients that nourish your skin and help give it a healthy appearance.

Your Skin But Better Foundation + Skincare

The closest product IT Cosmetics has to a tinted moisturizer is the Your Skin But Better Foundation + Skincare. Suitable for all skin types, this medium-coverage foundation is loaded with skin-loving ingredients that not only perfect your complexion right away but can also improve the look of bare skin in two weeks. The formula instantly hydrates and smooths the look of skin while also visibly brightening your complexion.

To apply, we recommend using the Heavenly Skin Skin-Smoothing Complexion Brush #704.

Ideal for liquid foundations, this makeup brush features IT Cosmetics’ patent-pending Heavenly Skin hair, which is infused with ingredients such as collagen, silk, peptides, niacin, and antioxidants.

Related: The Benefits of Hyaluronic Acid in Skincare

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What Is CC Cream?

Short for “color correcting cream,” CC cream is a complexion-perfecting product that specifically targets skin discoloration and provides medium to full coverage. It’s also often formulated with a blend of skin-loving ingredients that moisturize and beautify.

When comparing CC cream to tinted moisturizer and foundation, it’s almost a mashup of the two—but with the bonus of being formulated with lots of nourishing ingredients. You’ve got the hydrating and moisturizing goodness of a tinted moisturizer, the coverage you’d expect from a traditional foundation, the added perk of color-correcting benefits, and SPF protection.

Did You Know? Ever wondered what a BB cream is, or what the difference is between BB cream vs. CC cream? For starters, “CC” stands for “color correcting” and BB stands for “beauty balm,” The two are very similar in that they provide medium to full coverage and a multitude of skincare benefits. Often, though, CC creams are formulated for fuller coverage and include anti-aging ingredients.

IT Cosmetics CC Creams

Each of IT Cosmetics’ multitasking CC creams instantly camouflage skin imperfections and discoloration, including redness, large pores, dark spots, and blemishes. At the same time, the formulas hydrate, protect, and target signs of aging.

• CC+ Cream Full-Coverage Foundation with SPF 50+: Our original CC cream is an all-in-one complexion perfection product that delivers full coverage and a natural finish. It now features an extended shade range so even more people can enjoy it.
• CC+ Cream Oil-Free Matte Full-Coverage Foundation with SPF 40: People with oily skin will love the oil-free, mattifying version of our original CC Cream. Have confidence in shine-free skin for up to 12 hours.
• CC+ Cream Illumination Full-Coverage Foundation with SPF 50+: Want a little extra radiance? Reach for the Illumination CC Cream formula, which delivers a glowy finish thanks to micronized light-reflecting pigments.
• CC+ Nude Glow Lightweight Foundation + Glow Serum with SPF 40: Our medium-coverage CC+ Nude Glow instantly makes skin appear glowy. Even better, the 90% skincare formula has been clinically tested** to visibly brighten bare skin and improve skin texture, softness, and uneven skin tone in four weeks.

To apply, dispense one or two pumps onto clean skin and blend in with the Heavenly Luxe Complexion Perfection Brush #7. The big, fluffy end is great for covering large areas of the face while the opposite end is perfect for smaller areas, like around your nose and eyes. Set with either Bye Bye Pores Pressed Setting Powder or Your Skin But Better Setting Spray+.

To get naturally glowing skin, you’ve gotta work at it. Commit to these skincare tips, and you’ll be on your way to more beautiful skin.