“Il faut souffrir pour être belle.”
-Unknown
Got my first, “Congratulations, you live in a city again!” major zit. Alas! Seriously, this sucker took up some major real estate on my chin. Such that even Jeff, normally a paragon of husbandly delicacy on such matters, was led to exclaim, “What’s that on your face?!” Several of its brethren are not so discreetly advancing as well.
Humid climates after a desert have conspired to wreak havoc on my skin, and my one facial after neglecting them for so long can only do so much. So city dwelling minions advise please. What weapons do I need in a city skincare arsenal?
Small Dog Syndrome 
I came back here to lurk for answers and no one’s made a peep yet? Rude.
Well, I’ve been using Burts Bees’ herbal blemish stick of late. Per the company philosophy, it’s 100% natural if you’re into that. It works better for me as a preventative measure than a treatment, so slather on when first you spy red! Not a cure-all, but it’s been better than anything else I’ve tried, and it’s not too pricey either.
Take a clandestine sniff in the drugstore before you commit, though. The oils may be a bit much for some. Though I think I remember you and tea tree getting along in the past…?
I know! I turn to minions for books and get swarmed with good stuff, but facial care? Nada. Either our collective priorities are very good or very bad.
I tried the Burts Bees roll on stick a while back and sort of liked it…until I saw flecks of skin and goodness knows what accumulating in the bottle. It gave me one of my rare bouts of squeamishness and I haven’t gone back. Tea tree oil was too harsh in the desert, but maybe in London I should give it another go.
My skin reacted poorly when I moved from the desert back to the Southeast too. I switched to an old teenage standby, Velocity Anti Acne Facewash by Mary Kay (Both the facewash and the moisturizer) and haven’t looked back. I also swear by a honey facial every so often and crushed aspirin on a monster zit in case of an emergency.
boots no. 20 protect & perfect lotion on the face every morning; it’s light and makes your skin look perfect. olay age-defying face cream every night. garnier nutritioniste exfoliating wash 2 mornings a week; the rest of the days (and every night) wash with water ONLY (no soap and no cloth) and air dry. clean & clear invisible spot-treatment on blemishes. neutrogena spf face lotion for days outdoors. deep-moisturizing face mask once a week.
NEVER AGE.
Boots I can do, I am in its very blessed land. Masks seem to be key here…
facial oil does wonders for me. seriously. keeps my skin from getting quite so dried out. use a mild cream cleanser with salicylic acid, then 2 drops of the face oil patted on the skin day and night. (i like jurlique.) once a week, use a face mask with clay, like the creepy/minstrelsy black boscia one that all the teenagers on makeup alley adore. (are you on makeup alley yet? you should be. the teenagers know where it’s at.) if that doesn’t work, amp up to a face wash with benzoyl peroxide in it, but only once a day at first so your skin doesn’t get inflamed. finally, spend real money on a good sunscreen to keep any inflammation down. as a last resort, don’t be afraid to ice that sucker, and if you give into temptation and pop it, treat it like any other open wound and put some real neosporin on it.
I swear by argan oil but lots of people have mentioned Jurlique. And never fear, I believe fervently in neosporin on all open skin on the facial area, I am sick of fighting the battle of the dark spots. What cream cleanser do you recommend? I’m used to the Clinique cleanser but frankly it’s not cutting it any more. Share the wisdom you have gleaned from the teenagers!
I’ve been using Neutrogena Deep Clean Cream cleanser for a decade and I love it. It’s thick enough that you can leave it on your face for a few minutes and let the salicylic really work. Plus, it’s cheap.
For a while I was using then Neutrogena at night and this benzoyl wash in the shower in the morning: http://www.lovelyskin.com/o/derma-topix-benzoyl-peroxide-wash-5. It’s quite intense + drying, so I would recommend alternating every other day starting out, and working up. (It’s the same stuff that derms give you, but without the expense of the appointment and prescription.) Now that my skin has calmed down a bit, I’m back to just the Neutrogena morning and night. But if my hormones go nuts again, this will the first line of defense!
Oh, and: a note on sunscreen and facial oils. In order to make sure that the sunscreen absorbs as fully as possible, put that on first. It has smaller particles than the facial oils, and you want to go smallest >> largest when you’re applying. This way the oil won’t block absorption of the sunscreen. Makeup has huge particles (which makes sense when you think about it) which is why you put that on last.
Thanks, lovely, this is all really helpful!
Have heard that Windex works wonders.;)
I’m close to trying it!