I recently received a bag full of IT Cosmetics products from one of my grandmas. Why did she give me makeup? you ask. Perhaps you think that it’s because I love makeup and she would know how much I love it. Well, that’s only partially true.

Simply put, my grandma loves to buy stuff but rarely uses any of it. All of the products she gave me were brand new and unopened. She ordered the products from HSN because she loves shopping from the comfort of her television!

But, before you assume that I hit the makeup jackpot, let me show you the gag.

Yeah, none of the complexion products are in my shade. My grandma bought the products suited for tan skin (closer to her complexion) while I’m clearly on the deeper end of the color spectrum. But I’m still a makeup junkie so I’m gonna wear these products regardless of the color mismatch.

This post is both a review and a how-to. If you’ve found yourself stuck with products that are too light for you, this may help you get some use out of them. Who knows: you may be able to “mix up” your perfect shade once you get comfortable mixing stuff together.

That’s exactly what I did: I mixed IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Foundation in Tan with my summer foundation shade (L’Oreal True Match in N8 Cappucino). I applied the Bye Bye foundation as if it were a primer: it even made me a ghostly shade like some of my best primers do (LOL!) Then I blended the True Match right on top.

At the end of my day

*Tip: if you have a foundation that’s too light, mix it with your summer shade to find a hue that should be pretty close to your winter shade. I generally use a 25%/75 percent ratio (25% too light foundation, 75% summer shade). Your mileage may vary, but if you invested a lot in a shade that’s just a little “off”, this may help you save your money!

The resulting shade matched my chest perfectly! It also held up during the day, even though I didn’t use a primer underneath. Bye Bye Foundation is buildable, so if this was my ideal shade, I could make it go from light to full coverage easily.

Next is the IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Concealer, also in Tan. Again, I mixed it with my L’Oreal True Match, and it did a great job of concealing any discoloration under my eyes. Warning: use a light hand with this concealer. A little goes a LONG way, and it is very full coverage.

Both complexion products were lightweight on the skin and looked very natural, after I fiddled with the shade. I finished the look off with the Bye Bye Pores loose finishing powder in (you guessed it) Tan. I only applied that to my undereyes, and I used a light touch (I didn’t want that raccoon eye effect). The powder was nice: no heavy perfumed scent and didn’t settle into any creases. The color was also the perfect shade: not too yellow or too gray. I’ll be adding the powder into my makeup routine for setting my undereye concealer going forward.

I also tried the IT Cosmetics Hello Lashes mascara. I LOVED it! No clumping, defined my lashes and gave them a lengthened appearance, and it had a round tip that is good for applying mascara to the lower lashes. I have seasonal allergies, so it was nice to wear a mascara that didn’t irritate my eyes. Also, I did a light rub test, and the mascara DIDN’T BUDGE! No dark circles after a long day is always a win. This mascara is a keeper.

Hello Lashes Mascara making my eyes POP! (And a few particles of eyeshadow on my cheek)

The last product I tried is the Vitality Lip Flush in Je Ne Sais Quoi. Now this product is really intriguing: it looks like a clear balm, but when you apply it, it turns into a “flush” color: pinkish red that just looks like a lip stain with some sheen/shine. It reminds me of those color-changing lipsticks from the 90s, that were blue or green in the tube but turned to pink or coral when they warmed up to your body heat. It’s a cool product that I’d use again, especially on a day where I’m doing a “no makeup” look.

The Vitality Lip Flush in Je Ne Sais Quoi

I also got the Live Love Laugh Vitality Face Disc but the colors were much lighter than I could work with. The disc features a bronzer, blush and highlight that would be well suited for a lighter complexion, but looked pale and sort of flat on me. I may try to work the shades into my eye makeup routine, because it’s a LOT of product and I’d hate for it to go to waste.

Overall, I liked the line. The colors weren’t for my shade, but the products performed well, didn’t have any weird smells, and applied easily. I do have one critique for the product: I wasn’t a fan of the hygienic sealing on the foundation and concealer. The seal is difficult to remove (both because of the hard-to-locate perforation and small size of the sealing), which I normally don’t take issue with when it comes to cosmetics (better safe and hygienic than sorry!) But this was sold through HSN, whose customers are overwhelmingly older women, many of whom may have some vision and physical limitations. I’d guess that customers have difficulty getting into the products because of the wrapping. It would be fantastic if the company explored alternate method of sealing the products that isn’t so difficult for older hands and weaker eyes.

Other than that, I really enjoyed IT Cosmetics. Who knows: maybe I’ll try some of their products in my actual shade in the future! Shoutout to my grandma for giving me some new products to try!