Someone in the make-up thread mentioned the important point that we can paint on whatever we want but our best bet is well cared for skin. Wanna talk about that?

I have old smokers skin. I did have some acne when I was a kid and still have the odd zit. I have some sun damage. So in a nutshell ... it's dry, with a tendency to blotch flaky and/or oily spots, with black heads on my nose and cheek hollows and dark circles under my eyes.

Many years ago I was an Artistry rep and used the full line (approx. the cost of a payment on my Sunfire). I was never very happy with it's effect on my clogged pores.

I fell off the "I care how I look" wagon for a few years.

When I realised I was wrinkling ... I surveyed some friends and started Noxema and Nivea. Too harsh for everyday use ... and to be perfectly honest ... I didn't do it everday.

I still had clogged pores and black heads.

Since then I've fooled with scrubs and cetaphil (the kids used it for acne).
Right now I'm onto Biore Pore Perfect Warming Blackhead Cream Cleanser ... or something like that ... a day cream from Dove and Nivea at night. And I am doing that twice a day.

I think my blackheads are disappearing but now my pores look big. I guess I'll see what happens as time goes by.

I'm finding skin care to be a constantly changing journey ... very much like weightloss actually.

I use the Biore pore cleanser and ANEW RETROACTIVE+ Youth Extending Cream SPF 25 Day from Avon.

I just got some new facial stuff Serious Skin Care Serious About Your Skin from HSN.com

I'm one for blackheads on the nose, big pores, oily skin and the occasional breakout. Because of my oily skin, I use Noxema astringent with salicylic acid--it keeps the oil to a minimum. I don't use foundation--just powder from time to time (am going to Ulta today to pick up some Bare escentuals). My biggest problem is the crease of my left eye (yeah, just one eye). That eye seems to open more than the other and my eyeliner always bleeds into the crease. Lately, the fix has been a little foundation on my eyelids, followed by oil absorbing power and THEN my shadow and eyeliner. At Ulta, I'm going to look for the Urban Decay Potion Primer to see if that works better. I'm also going to look for something like Proactive for DD's acne.

I use the Clinique 3 step system. They match it with your skin type and then you are good to go. I love the stuff my skin feels so clean after....its been helping. They even have a system if you are acne prone (like me). For day to day I use the aveno face lotion with spf 15 or if i know ill be out all day i use the neutrogena face lotion with spf 30

I use a Walmart brand version of Neutrogena - very light and gentle to clean with.

I started using Loreal Advanced RevitaLift Face & Neck Day Cream about a year ago and I can totally tell a difference. I think my skin is better than it has ever, in my whole life. Now maybe it is a combination of all of the water I drink, the healthy diet that I eat and the cream, but I think the cream is great. I don't bother with foundation anymore, I don't think I need it anymore.

I tend to use Lush products in the winter and Biore in the summer. Right now I use Biore pore scrub, ice cleanser, and astringent, followed by jojoba oil at night. I also use Lush Tea Tree Water before going out since makeup melts off my face in the summer.

When it gets cooler, I'll use aquamarine cleanser in the morning (it looks gross- pink roll with seaweed wrapped around it and is for "mature" skin, but it works great on my sensitive 19 year old skin!) and coal face at night.

I've always had super oily skin - but now - like my ovaries (he he) my skin is drier. In the summer I use Avon PoreFection cleanser and the mask once a week. It has bentonite and you can feel it sucking the oil out of your pores and it really minimizes them. In the winter (I work outside a lot) I use Aveeno for sensitive skin cleanser - and the moisturizer with SPF during the day. I just started using some Avon eye cream but I never use moisturizer on my face at night - yuck.

I use the ProActiv cleanser (and that's it) everyday and then I wash my face a second time with either the Aveeno Daily Cleansing Pads or the L'Oreal Dermo-Expertise Ideal Balance Foaming Cream Cleanser. I alternate every other day with those. If my skin is feeling dry, I used the plain old Olay day moisturizer with SPF 15. I have acne prone skin and it's usually pretty oily. I get blackheads on my nose pretty bad, and I've noticed that the Aveeno pads really help with those (the rough side).

If you're headed to shoppers drug mart already... they carry the neostrata skin care line which my dermatologist reccomended to me awhile ago... and which has seriously lightened all of my cystic acne scars. I'm so glad I found it. (they have different parts of their skin care line for diff skin types)

I have PCOS and Insulin Resistance, and along with that my hormones have been out of whack. Thus, I have terrible pores, oily skin, terrible acne, blackheads and cystic acne.

Ive tried every medicine perscription and over the counter, and not much has worked for me. None of the acne or pore minimizing creams etc from regular stores (Walgreens etc) to the fancy dept store counter products (Lancome, Clinique) have ever worked. Ive also tried Arbonne and Proactiv.

So, I found that Retina basically just tore up my skin. The antibiotics Ive been on for so many years, they dont work. The topical antibiotics cause reactions that drove me crazy.

The only thing Ive found that works well is a Panoxyl bar, which is just a bar with peroxide in it. But when its TOM or Im stressed out, nothing stops the cysts or acne from happening.

Anyone have any advice? I dont know where else to turn, Ive been to my primary care and a dermatologist, they just throw Retina and other creams and pills at me that havent worked.

Skincare is my favorite subject! I've been an esthetician for 8 years and love it. I used to work for a dermatologist, which I loved, but now I work in a salon.

For those of you battling blackheads and oily skin; try products with alpha hydroxy acid in it. Even drugstore brands carry them now. Try using them every other night or every third night to get your skin used to it, and then work your way up to every night. Also, those home microdermabrasion kits are pretty good. Pretty much any skintype can use them except for sensitive or acneic skin. You should always use sunscreen anyway, but be especially sure to use it if you use any of these products, because they do make you more sun sensitive.

Something I recommend highly is going to an esthetian for a facial. She'll tell you exactly what your skintype is and what to use on it. She will probably recommend her own line of products (or whatever they sell at the spa), but you can ask for samples and try them out before you try them. If you find they're too expensive (and often, they are very expensive), you can take her recommendations and buy comparable items at the drugstore.

eander-I had cystic acne as a teenager. My parents are sort of the hippie types and didn't believe in taking me to a dermatologist. My mom did take me to a nutritionist who ran a bunch of tests based on urine, saliva and blood samples. He discovered that I am lactose intolerant and have a wheat allergy. I quit eating both and within a month my skin cleared up. That was a LONG time ago, but I still can't eat any dairy, although wheat doesn't seem to bother me. I don't know if that's something you'd be interested in, but it may be worth a try.

The skincare system I use is Obagi, which is a doctor prescribed line. It is fantastic! I'm 40, but it's made my sun-damaged and wrinkled skin look like a 25 year olds. I've been very pleased with it.

Well, sorry I've blabbered on. Like I said, I'm really into skincare!

I use proactiv and neutrogena to get my mascara off. My skin has cleared up greatly, except for when I eat bad, it shows up on my face Im still paying for that slice of pizza I had a week ago..

I have been using the Avon Anew products. I have been slathering cream at bedtime and again during the day all over my face for weeks. My husband keeps telling me that I don't need it. I have never had any skin problems, but after losing almost 25 lbs my face is starting to deflate like a balloon. I am sure all of those puffed out wrinkles are going to start showing any day now!

Seriously, I did have some wrinkles just under my eyes. I also had some wrinkles on my chin, damage from a very bad sunburn I had 20 years ago. After using the Anew products for just a couple of weeks they are no longer noticeable.

I have to share... without chemicals, I am enjoying the best skin of my life! I've been using DHC. They are a Japanese skincare company that now has catalogs here in the US and a website. After trying everything else, expensive and inexpensive, I swear by this stuff.

I had blackheads, combination skin, acne, dry skin, fine lines around my mouth and eyes... basically hormonally destroyed skin (I recently had a hysterectomy). In less than a month, I am noticing virtually no acne problems (I do occasionally skip my evening cleanse) and, for the first time in forever, no blackheads! Not one!

Their olive oil lines have been awesome for me. I use the Deep Cleansing Oil, the Mild Soap, and the Mild Lotion to cleanse. To moisturize, I use the Olive Virgin Oil (I love the name!), the intensive eye cream and the nightime moisturizer. Their travel sets, if you want to try their basic lines, are only $35 and they include four free samples with every order and catalog request, too.

Unlike harsher products, I didn't need to adjust to the products at all and I didn't have that initial break-out other companies claim is just their product working on old dirt.

I also switched out my mascara for Neutrogena lash tint. It cleans off easily and has saved me from using harsher eye make-up removers.