ZIT ZAPPERS!

As someone who has battled acne since the age of 12, I have tried just about every product out there. I am now 40 years old, and still have frequent breakouts. I have tried accutane, antibiotics, and every kind of topical product (prescription and store bought) you can think of. Add to that the fact that I have sensitive skin and allergies and can't tolerate benzoyl peroxide, I have a dilemna on my hands.

These are 2 outstanding products I would recommend to anyone. I first noticed an ad for Mario Badescu's Drying Lotion in the back of several different magazines years ago. Then I read an article in which Liv Tyler was raving about it and I finally decided to give it a try. Wow! This stuff is awesome! It's famous for "drying up pimples overnight" and that's pretty much what it does. The Drying Lotion seriously shrinks whiteheads overnight. It contains calamine, salicylic acid, camphor and sulfur. When the bottle is left sitting, the pink calamine collects on the bottom and a clear liquid sits on top. You are not supposed to shake it up and mix it, you are supposed to leave it separated. Then you dip a q-tip in it and dot it on your whiteheads. It will dry and you leave it on overnight. You will see a big difference in the morning.

Mario Badescu's Buffering Lotion is made to "stop deep cystic pimples in their tracks." Boy does it ever! I've used this several times this week, and it is very effective overnight. I had one of those hard bumps that you can see under the skin. It was a little smaller than a dime. The next morning it was the size of a pinhead! And I had absolutely no allergic reaction to it over the course of the week. I am very apprehensive to put things on my face before I go to bed because I tend to roll around and rub my face in my pillow during the night. If I put something aggravating on my skin I will typically wake up with red, runny eyes and nose. This product has no smell at all and is a milky liquid that goes on clear.

Mario Badescu has a spa in New York and specializes in skin solutions. They address everything from ezcema to scars. They have an extensive skin care line. They do absolutely no animal testing. They have been featured in numerous magazines such as Lucky, Elle, Glamour, InStyle, Women's Health, Family Circle and Martha Stewart Living. Their celebrity clients include: Jennifer Anniston, Ashley Judd, Live Tyler, Charlize Theron, Gwyneth Paltrow, Courtney Cox, Martha Stewart, Eva Longoria, Natalie Portman, Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell and Oprah.

You may order these and other Mario Badescu products at http://www.mariobadescu.com/. And if you want to save shipping costs, Ulta just recently started carrying Mario Badescu in their stores. The items I have featured here are $17 each which is quite a good deal for such effective products. And they both last quite a while. If you have a teenager who is battling acne, or you are battling it yourself - please give it a try!

Skin Care

So today I thought I would start with the foundation of everything - skin care. As mentioned before, I have very fair, extremely sensitive skin, and allergies. I also have a tendency to break out a lot. I have oily skin that often appears to be flaky. These are the items I use daily with the exception of the moisturizer which I only use when needed.


I wash my face every night with Clinique Liquid Facial Soap Mild. You can rub this all over your face and eyes - it is very mild and non-irritating but removes makeup very well. Whatever eye makeup is left, I use Clinique Rinse-off Eye Makeup Solvent to remove it. This never irritates my eyes, and I like it because it is not greasy at all. I then use Clinique Clarifying Lotion 2 as a toner.


My Mom has dry skin and I have oily skin but we both have the problem with flaky skin. The flakes would even be in our eyebrows so when you ran your finger over them they felt gritty. We both went to different dermatologists and were prescribed various creams and given numerous samples and nothing got rid of the flakes. We were at our wits end. It goes against conventional wisdom to put a toner on your face if your skin looks flaky, but I'm telling you it will get rid of the flakes! I told my Mom to try it and she couldn't believe that it worked. She uses a Mary Kay toner and still gets good results.


I only use moisturizer occasionally in the winter or if I'm visiting a cold/windy climate or I'm on an airplane for a long period of time. When I do, I prefer Clinique Moisture Surge. It is a gel so you don't get that greasy feeling at all. My Mom loves it too. Again, I'm oily and she's dry - it works for both of us.


I wanted to mention that a good, and less expensive alternative to the Clinique Cleanser, is Eucerin's Sensitive Skin Gentle Hydrating Cleanser. It is Fragrance-Free, very mild, and you can buy it at Walgreens. I usually keep it in the shower and wash my face with it in the mornings then use the Clinique Clarifying Lotion when I get out.


I realize there is nothing groundbreaking here. Everyone knows about Clinique and Eucerin. Probably the thing I'm most excited to tell you about is the Premium Exfoliating Cotton Rounds I buy from Walgreens. You may not be able to tell in the photo above, but one side of the cotton round is soft and the other side has little bumps. They are 100% pure cotton, but the bumpy side is great to use when applying the toner/clarifying lotion. It helps remove the dead skin. Of course the softer side is great for removing your eye make-up. I have to warn you that Walgreens doesn't always have these in stock. The last 2 stores I went to were out, but I lucked out and found them today. I really love these things and now that I've been using them I hate to use anything else.


I hope you have good luck with these items if you give them a try. Let me know how it works out for you.