skinny on skincare

Now that I've hit the four month mark, I'm starting to get more serious about my skin.

Allow me to give you the background on my skin: I started breaking out after I graduated from college last summer and it got pretty ugly. My over the counter products were failing miserably.

Of course, this was all happening when I was unemployed for six months (thank you, recession). I had no idea if I still had health insurance (I did) and we couldn't afford the expense of going to a dermatologist. So I trudged around DC, poor and zitty.

After becoming gainfully employed though, I made a dermatologist appointment. The doctor described my acne as "mild" (going to disagree there a bit) and prescribed me a retinol  and a benzoyl peroxide. Those two things are the paladins of the zit crusade, healing and exorcising my face.

Things have definitely improved in the year I've been using the prescriptions, but I still deal with hormonal and stres-related break-outs. So even if you have mild or occasional acne, get thee to a dermatologist and then perhaps try some of these products too!

Philosophy Purity - Gentle and removes make-up. I found it was way too drying to use an acne-specific cleanser plus topical treatments, so I use this instead. Morning and night.

Neutrogena Deep Clean Gentle Scrub - This is my once-a-day scrub but during the winter, every other day. It has Beta Hydroxy, which prevents pores from clogging and promotes skin shedding. Not too shabby.

Mario Badescu Drying Lotion - If you get a white head once in a while, this is probably the only product you need for acne. You apply it at night and the zit will be poofed by morning.

Philosophy Hope in a Jar - It's a super light moisturizer, absorbs quickly, and leaves my skin feeling smoooth.

Mario Badescu Wihitening Mask - It sounds a little sketch, right? I use it to gradually fade old acne scars.

Those are my basics. When I'm feeling fancy (read: not being lazy), I include these:

Clinique Clarifying Lotion - Toner. I'm prone to an oily T-zone, so I should really use this. But it's one extra step at 7 am I don't want to take regularly.

Mario Badescu Hyaluronic Eye Cream - I remember to use this about twice a week. Perhaps in 30 years I will regret my eye cream nonchalance.

If I'm leaving the house, I add Clinque Super City Block SPF 40, because I might enjoy being pale.

So if you're dealing with acne, the best thing I did was visit my doctor. But all of these products have worked really well with my prescriptions. What are your favorite skin care products, particularly for acne?