Skinceuticals Blemish & Age Defense Serum Has Joined My Skincare Arsenal

I recently got my hot little hands on a sample of Skinceuticals Blemish & Age Defense after a friend told me it was recommended to her by Gee Beauty (one of my favourite shops & experts in all things Skinceuticals). We have similar skin types, and she really like this product. Well, I'm sold.

I don't know if I can blame the planets for my zits...but I will anyways.

Skinceuticals Blemish & Age Defense is a serum chock full of ingredients that fight acne & oil, help maintain even skin tone, and to refine the surface of the skin. It decongests pores while it reduces acne bacteria. I loved it within 3 days of using every night at bedtime. Then, as is my wont, or perhaps the curse of a beauty blogger, I turned to another product. Bad idea. Almost within 24 hours my skin broke out. Distracted by many things, I just figured it was something else (Mercury Retrograde? Can it cause zits?) and went about my business, which is ADD skincare and cosmetic use. A few nights ago, the Skinceuticals B&A serum caught my eye and I thought "Hey I should use this again". Lo and behold, it's already working it's magic. My pores are less noticeable, and my skin feels smoother and radiant when I wake up. If my skin feels a bit sensitive, I use it with the Skinceuticals Phyto-Corrective Gel serum, for a perfect combination and lovely skin. I am still using my Vichy proEVEN lotion during the day, and can't imagine being without it, either.

Next on my list: Skinceuticals Retexturing Activator. 

Erin from The Waltons - squeaky clean with Sea Breeze

Mario Badescu- Why Did I Ever Doubt You?

I'm such a magpie with beauty products. There is always a new sparky one that catches my eye and off I run, chasing a new holy grail. I am oily skinned and acne prone, which has always seemed quite unfair, especially when one is, ahem, over forty. My younger daughter is going through the acne roller coaster now: antibiotics- ineffective, retin A- hard to tell. Now she is trying ProActiv and so far so good. Before the ProActiv though we were away and a monster zit reared its head. She was desperate so I got her the old cult fave, Mario Badescu Drying Lotion. You know- the one that looks like Pepto Bismol and smells like, well, Buckley's Cough Medicine or Pine Sol. But it worked on that evil zit and made it into the arsenal of Zit Busters. 

I don't know why, but over the past few weeks my skin decided to freak out and treat me to some lovely cystic acne around my mouth. Maybe the weather? Who knows. Cysts are evil and almost always rooted in hormones which makes them very hard to treat. In a fit of pique and desperation, I busted out the Drying Lotion, gave it a shake, dabbed with a q tip and hoped for the best....

So, what happened? It worked! It kept the monster that was growing at bay for 2 days by using it at night.  Day 3 it started to shrink and by Day 4- today- it is gone! My skin is a tad dry where I applied the lotion, but I would rather have a dry patch than a monster zit or, worse, a scar. The interesting thing is how many people swear by this product and how effective it is. Yet when I looked it up on Beautypedia, it is dismissed as a nothing product with nothing in it that could ever ever ever help with acne. Good thing I read this after buying it and using it successfully or I might have believed it.

Thank you Mario Badescu Drying Lotion! I will never doubt your magical abilities again! Available wherever Mario Badescu is sold for around $17.

Whatever you do, resist and do. Not. Pop.