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It’s an Ulta bestseller, but don’t call it a foundation. It Cosmetics Bye Bye Foundation ($39.50) is a full-coverage moisturizer with SPF 50+. But still, I wondered: Is it worth the hype?

Billed as a skincare product, the innovative formula is the first-ever full-coverage moisturizer from the brand, which was developed with the input of plastic surgeons. With nearly 1,000 reviews and an average four-star rating on Ulta.com, there’s a reason users favor this lightweight moisturizer over a traditional foundation.

“I have aging, sensitive, combination skin with persistent dry patches, and this looks so much better on me than anything else I’ve tried,” writes one verified reviewer. Notes another, “I don’t want anything that looks cakey and this does not.”

I decided to take a closer look at what really makes It Cosmetics Bye Bye Foundation a makeup must-have, including its shade range, formula and whether or not it’s better than your average foundation. (Spoiler alert: I swear by it.)

The formula

Bye Bye Foundation was developed to be the “ultimate problem solver,” according to the brand. It does so by improving the look of skin and by covering redness, pores, dark spots, blemishes and fine lines. In addition to replacing the traditional foundation with a full-coverage moisturizer, the folks at It Cosmetics added SPF 50+ broad spectrum physical (mineral) sunscreen for protection.

Other good-for-your-skin ingredients include anti-aging hydrolyzed collagen, peptides and hyaluronic acid. It’s also made with a seven-ingredient complex of fermented ingredients that work together to increase the efficacy of the moisturizer.

However, the formula standout is the proprietary 3D Skin Flex Technology, which allows the hydrating formula to move with your skin. Translation? Coverage that won’t crease, cake or crack. The result is full coverage with a healthy, glowy finish.

The shades

The good news — and the bad news — is that Bye Bye Foundation comes in 12 shades. While most are a good fit for light and medium complexions, much is left to the imagination when it comes to the selection of darker tones.

An It Cosmetics spokesperson tells Yahoo Lifestyle, “Shades can’t go deeper due to the physical-only SPF 50 in the product.” Regardless, when the brand launched Bye Bye Foundation in 2018, the shade range nearly doubled, to 12 (the popular existing Your Skin But Better CC+ Cream with SPF 50+ had seven hues at the time), so my fingers are crossed for another extension.

Bottom line

Ulta reviewers summed it up with the list of “best uses.” They agreed that It Cosmetics Bye Bye Foundation is ideal for “light to medium coverage, full coverage, dry skin, normal skin, and mature skin.” When it comes to the “pros,” users say it’s “easy to apply, goes on smoothly, blends well, lightweight and [has] good pigmentation.”

My job requires me to try every beauty product under the sun, which I love, but I always come back to Bye Bye Foundation. I have dry, redness-prone skin with fine lines around my eyes, and deal with the occasional breakout, so this has become my makeup go-to when I want natural-looking full coverage that won’t crease and lasts all day long (the trick is to prime your skin with a moisturizer). I am constantly trying new beauty products in search of the best ones to recommend, and I can always count on Bye Bye Foundation.

Shop it: It Cosmetics Bye Bye Foundation Full Coverage Moisturizer with SPF 50+, $39.50, ulta.com

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