How do you 'diagnose' what skin type you have?

[wrenster]

It might seem quite strange that I'm not sure but I seem to have a little bit of everything and at the moment my skin is horribly problematic and I am no closer to getting it under control than I was 1 year ago! I'm obviously getting something wrong - can anyone advise? I'm 36.

I have very dry, flaky skin around my nose and sides of face near my ears - makeup catches in this which looks horrible.
The surface of my skin isn't smooth, it's bumpy but not really from spots
I have fairly large pores on my cheeks and my T-zone gets oily
I have spider veins under the surface particuarly on one cheek which makes it hard to see whether I have spots under my skin or it's the red marks
I have sensitive skin and can flare up with a few spots but never huge ones, always just really red, no heads.
My cheeks feel dry and tight but loads of oil on my nose.
Very wrinkly forehead!
Yes - I sound v attractive, so without fail wear I always have makeup on!

I double cleanse, first with miscellar water and cotton pads and then either Avene or La Roche Posay cleanser and wipe off with a muslin. I've tried lots of serums, but don't bother now as they always seem to give me spots. I moisterise with Avene in the day and a rich Avene cream at night. I use Origins masks once a week. I also use rosehip oil sometimes.

I think my skin looks dull, marked, red and generally quite horrible. I have no idea which products might help as I don't really know what's wrong.

Any ideas or advice would be appreciated!
Thanks

I feel exactly the same, by skin seems very erratic. I'm starting to wonder if I could reduce stress and get more sleep it may help but for now that doesn't seem to be happening. I'm hoping someone can advise on wonder products. I've had some success with clay masks, vitamin e moisturiser and calamine for the deep under the skin red sore spots but nothing has removed the vague spots or wrinkles, or evened it out.

Your skin sounds like it's dehydrated, to me.

Agree with the previous poster, your skin sounds dehydrated (lacking in water, as opposed to dry which means lacking in oil).

Look for serums and/or moisturisers that contain hyaluronic acid (which attracts many times its own weight in water, so will keep skin hydrated without being greasy).Dr Jart make a great hydrating serum, and I know some people swear by Hydraluron.