Beauty Reporter: Beauty 101 Card.

Beauty Reporter: Beauty 101 Card

Cheat Sheet

1 Wash the face with lukewarm water and an oil-free, antibacterial cleanser -- preferably one with salicylic acid -- avoiding the eye area. 2 Rinse off all traces of the cleanser, then pat the face with a clean towel. Wait five minutes for skin to air-dry. Do not prod, poke, or pop the blemish. 3 After allowing the skin to air-dry for five minutes, rub a tiny dot of benzoyl-peroxide spot treatment on the pimple. Wait five minutes for skin to absorb it. 4 Apply an oil-free moisturizer with AHAs to dry areas, being careful not to wipe away any benzoyl-peroxide lotion. Let moisturizer absorb into skin for two minutes. 5 Gently pat oil-free foundation on the skin, if desired. Then, with a small, stiff brush, dot the tip of the pimple with a thick concealer that has peach or yellow undertones and matches the skin perfectly. 6 Blend concealer into the surrounding skin with the brush. Wait a minute for concealer to set, and add a second coat on top of the blemish and area around it. 7 Pat the concealer and the area around it with loose powder on a velvet puff, to ensure that concealer stays put all day. 8 Before bed, follow steps one through four.

Beauty Reporter: Beauty 101 Card

Treatments

* To clear and prevent even occasional pimples, choose a facial cleanser with salicylic acid that sloughs away pore-clogging dead skin without overdrying it, such as Clearasil Acne Fighting Foaming Cleanser (1) (clearasil.com). * Reduce swelling before spot treating pimples in the morning. Use clean fingers to dot the pimple with Aveeno 1% Hydrocortisone Anti-Itch Cream (2). Or dab Visine Original Redness Reliever Eye Drops (3) on a Q-tip over the blemish (aveeno.com; visine.com). * A spot treatment, like Peter Thomas Roth BPO Gel 10% and Sulfur Medication (4), delivers a shot of benzoyl peroxide and sulfur, which eliminate bacteria and clear blemishes quickly. If benzoyl peroxide feels too harsh, try antibacterial sulfur only, as in Aura Science Disappear Sulfur Acne Treatment (5) (peterthomasroth.com; aurascience.com). * The lactic acid in Eucerin Clear Skin Formula Skin Renewal SPF 15 Day Lotion (6) is both a humectant, drawing moisture to the skin, and a powerful nondrying pore cleanser (eucerin.com). * A sulfur clay mask, applied just on the blemish and worn overnight, delivers a concentrated dose of antibacterial ingredients to shrink the angriest blemish by morning. DDF Sulfur Therapeutic Mask (7) also absorbs excess oil (ddfskincare.com).

Beauty Reporter: Beauty 101 Card