Terrible skin, what can I do?

[Kaida]

Can anyone advise? I've always had bad skin: blemishes, redness, huge pores, a couple of broken capillaries. As it's become less oily the blemishes have settled down, but they're still bad the week before my period (so 1/4 of the time then) and the size of my pores is still bothering me. I have recently bought Witch Anti-redness moisturiser which helps cover the redness a bit, but I just wind up covering the pore issue up with foundation and I'd really rather not - I'm not one for make-up every day but I'm quite self-conscious about my skin now. I'm 27 and I only expect it's going to get worse if I look at my Mom.

Does anyone have any suggestions for treatments/products that will actually help the problem? Failing that, things that might cover it better than just ordinary foundation?

Well, I've had many years of bad skin (cystic acne) but I did the following night-time regime and it really, really cleared my skin.

Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish
Body shop Aloe night cream - fantastic for sensitive skins.
Alpha H Liquid Gold (gentle chemical exfoliant - once or twice a week)

Forgot to add, at a later stage when my skin was settled and clear I started to use a night time oil. Believe it or not, even with oily skin this has worked wonders too. I started off with Liz Earle oil concentrate but now I'm using Neal's Yard orange flower oil.

La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo or Effaclar K could really help.

Have a look in your local library for a book called 'The Skin Type Solution' by Leslie Baumann. Caitlin Moran highly praises it for helping her problem skin. There is a big questionnaire in it and at the end it tells you what skin type you really are and recommends lots of (not always expensive) different products and gives you tips. It has made a real difference to my skin and helps me when looking at different products.

My skin is definitely better since I started using oil as a moisturiser at night. I like vitamin E oil the best but I use Bio-oil too.

I've also started using lighter consistency foundations. I've got both of these but I like the one on the right the best. makeupbysparkle.blogspot.com.au/2013/01/garnier-miracle-skin-perfector-vs.html

I've always worn proper/full foundation before but my pores definitely look smaller with these lighter foundations.

Jalopy I like the Liz Earle toner I have, so that might work for me, I'll put it on my list.

QuinnFabray, how do I know which one to pick, the duo or the k?

Hetaera, that's great, thank you for the recommendation. I'll get to the library.

SavoyCabbage I do like my Liz Earle Superskin Concentrate, but haven't used it consistently so I could try that as a night-time moisturiser. It's interesting what you say about the lighter foundations. I had a sample of Garnier BB cream which I liked, but I can't remember whether my pores looked better or worse than with proper foundation. I think generally anything covers them alright-ish, but I hate feeling I have to cover up every day, especially long days when I have to re-apply etc.

Going to see a dermatologist was the best thing I ever did for my skin.

After reading about it on here I switched to Le Roche Posay about 6 weeks ago and its made a huge difference. If you go on their website you can work out the best combo for your skin. I've always had spots on my chin but they've pretty much cleared up now so I'm really happy with it.

I've also used Clarins lotus treatment oil and its madras my skin much softer.

I am the same age as u and have the same skin. Moisturiser just makes me worse. I have started with acid peels in the past few weeks and have noticed a big difference. There are a few threads on here about them. It's only around £10 for a bottle

Liz earle and then went to the doctors. I have a prescription now and, though it took a few months, I see a huge difference. By all accounts, my skin wasn't super terrible but I had a few spots on my face/ back and sometimes cleavage at any one time and felt self-conscious. I wish I could go back in time and tell my teenage self and saved a whole bunch of money on products!