Celebrity Skin...

is what I want! No, not this type of Celebrity Skin!

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This type...

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Unfortunately, I am not one of the blessed few with great skin, much less good skin. I started breaking out early and often, and just remembering those times makes me cringe (senior prom with very red skin from the Accutane I was on - ugh). Now I am approaching 30 with pores large enough for their own zip code, a few milia around my eyes, some acne, general unevenness, and dry skin. My wonderful, cannot say enough good things about her, esthetician Claire at Carolina Medi-Spa told me I have most unusual combination skin where I am almost always both too oily and too dry - at the same time. Thank you, gene pool!

Having good skin is pretty much always a battle for me, and now that the engagement shoot is coming up, the stakes are higher! I'm not trying to have spotty engagement pics. Enter Secret Weapon #1:

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You know those electric toothbrushes that get your teeth oh so clean? Well this is the same thing, 'cept for your face. It's like The Best Ever At Home Exfoliating Brush for Your Face...Ever. Or is it?

I started using it a couple nights ago, and used it with a really mild cleanser:

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But after using it, I noticed I was really flaky, like peeling. This might have been due to a salicylic acid facial I had had a few days previous (I told you, I'm not messing around). It's making me break out (eek!) but Claire the Esthetician said that is to be expected for several weeks as it is "bringing all the gunk to the surface." OK, but gross. I'm gonna hang in there and hope it's true. I'm noticing smoother skin from all the exfoliation, but big, bad breakouts. So, maybe it's kind of working? Stay tuned...

Here are ALL of the products I am resting my faith in. Please feel free to feel sorry for me and my poor, sad skin.

                

Cleansing:


Dermalogica Clearing Skin Wash and Ultracalming Cleanser, depending on whether I'm breaking out or dry.

Exfoliating:

Dermalogica Microfoliant (It is a very light rice-based microfoliant...best product ever!) and the Clarisonic Brush (verdict still out on this one).

Moisturizer:

 

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The elta MD lotion is good for warm weather - light but still moisturizing. Since I am using Retin-A (see below), my skin is very sensitive to the sun so I really have to wear a sunscreen. As a girl who grew up at the beach, this has been a tough lesson to learn, but I am finally into wearing sunscreen...I even slather extra on the backs of my hands to prevent aging.

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In the winter, I need double the moisturizer so my face doesn't flake right off. So I use both the elta MD and this SkinCeuticals product.

Spot Treatment:
That's right, I said spot treatment like I'm British...or like I'm treating a stain.

Clearasil Rapid Action Tinted Cream and/or Dermalogica Overnight Clearing Gel. I actually don't think either of these is awesome. Do you have a good spot treatment?

Prevention:

Retin-A is supposed to change my life skin. I am still waiting although my skin has evened out a bit. I try to use it every night but skip it if I am too dry. Also, I learned that you should not put it on when your face is still wet from washing. Let your face dry for ten to fifteen minutes, otherwise your skin will absorb too much of the Retin-A too quickly, and you might flake up.

SkinCeuticals Phloretin - CF is a very expensive product that I got for free during a promotion. I have no idea what it does, but I know I am supposed to use it in the morning.

Notice what's missing? An eye cream! I just cannot deal with another product right now!

What do you use to keep your skin clear and glowing? And if you say you just use Vaseline or "Irish Spring" bar soap (true stories, I have friends with perfect skin who use these), I will scream!!!