IT Cosmetics not only makes skin look good but also solves beauty concerns, writes Meera Murugesan
SHE was once a news anchor and thought that would be her lifelong career path.
But things took a different turn for Jamie Kern Lima, co-founder and CEO of IT Cosmetics when she developed hereditary rosacea in her 20s.
Many skincare products irritate her skin and foundation and concealer that promised to cover her rosacea either didn’t work or would crease, crack, and look cakey, making her appear older.
Rosacea is a skin condition that affects mainly the face with symptoms such as persistent redness, dryness, and pimple like bumps.
“I knew there had to be a better way, and dreamt of creating products that actually solved beauty concerns, including my own, and gave women the power to look and feel beautiful,” says Lima.
UNIQUE APPROACH
She also realised that to create such products, she would have to do things differently from other beauty brands.
Lima, who has an MBA from Columbia University in New York, decided to partner with experts who know skin such as plastic surgeons and dermatologists, to formulate make-up in a new and innovative way. In 2008, IT Cosmetics was born.
From the beginning, her goal was to develop products that solved a particular skin or beauty-related problem rather than launch hundreds of colour collections or season-focused products.
“That’s what sets us apart from other brands. I won’t launch a product unless I believe wholeheartedly that it will change the lives of women and their skin while empowering them to feel confident.”
Lima has won many accolades for her work including Ernst and Young’s Entrepreneurial Winning Women Award and Goldman Sachs’ 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs of 2015.
Women today want make-up that works and it needs to do more than just conceal, she says. It must also treat the skin, contain powerful anti-ageing ingredients and deliver clinically proven results. At the same time the coverage provided must look and feel like there’s nothing on the face when in fact everything is covered.
Lima adds that women’s top complaint is that their make-up doesn’t solve the problem it’s supposed to. They also don’t like make-up that feels heavy or cakey on their skin, and doesn’t last all day. She says full coverage doesn’t need to be heavy or uncomfortable and great make-up can give great skin.
With anti-ageing ingredients including hydrolysed collagen, peptides, hyaluronic acid and antioxidants, women who use them are treating their skin to good skincare while getting proper coverage.
Every product that IT Cosmetics creates, starts life as clinically proven skincare and then colour is infused into it.
“So you get the best skincare to treat your skin and the best make-up with coverage that truly looks and feels like your skin.”
DELIVERING RESULTS
By partnering with leading doctors and scientists in the industry, the brand has been able to take a very unique approach to make-up and skincare and develop what it calls “colour-infused skincare.”
For example, its CC+ Cream with SPF 50+ actually started life as an anti-ageing skincare and was then infused with full-coverage pigments.
Lima explains that most of the brand’s customers don’t have severe skin issues like she does but they do want beautiful skin which the brand delivers.
But for those with skin problems like rosacea, hyperpigmentation, broken capillaries, breakouts and even vitiligo, IT Cosmetics has formulated products to provide the right coverage.
“Additionally, we aim to create non-invasive products that work. Some of our customers tell us they’re happy we work with plastic surgeons so they don’t have to!”
For example, a great alternative to fillers is the brand’s You Sculpted palette that gives the same visual result as fillers but in the form of easy to apply make-up.
While one would assume that the founder of a make-up line would use many different products on a daily basis, Lima prefers to keep things simple.
Given her busy schedule, she relies on multi-purpose products such as the brand’s CC+ Cream with SPF 50+ as it gives full coverage, anti-ageing benefits and sun protection in one step.
She’s also devoted to the best-selling Tightline mascara because it’s an eyeliner, mascara primer and mascara in one formula and the unique skinny brush coats lashes from root to tip, so they stay up all day.
Brow Power Universal Brow Pencil gives her the look of real brows while for her lips and cheeks, she uses the brand’s popular colour shade, Je Ne Sais Quoi to achieve the perfect pink tone.
“Even though I have skin issues and need coverage, I can achieve beautiful skin, brows, lashes and lips in under five minutes, and that’s the power of IT Cosmetics.”
Lima adds that for the day she loves a naturally pretty look with beautiful skin, polished brows, defined eyes, and a pink lip while for the night, she prefers a more dramatic look for her eyes, achieved with products such as the brand’s Superhero Elastic Stretch Volumizing Mascara to make lashes look wider, longer and thicker.
“I believe there should be no rules in make-up, and it should truly help you to feel beautiful.”