Thanks so much frugal for your reply and for caring about my skin! I do seem to be almost clear today thank god. I don't think it is perioral dermatitis. its higher up along my nasolabial fold (just googles the name of facial lines!!) However, you have just amde me realise that perioral dermatitis is probably what I had this time last year just around the time DS2 was born. I went into labour with this awful spotty rash all around my mouth and it was just awful, I can't look at any photos of me when he was a baby - I've always longed to be one of those people who has a lovely post-birth photo with sunuggly new born but not this time around (or the first for that matter). Anyway I was lucky, the doctor who did DSs newborn test on the ward prescribed me fucidin HC there and then which cleared it up within a week or so (even then it was pretty stubborn)
My gel cleanser is REN so definitely SLS free, ph 4.5 so I'm told, and I have not used acids for three days now (except for my REN Clarimatte toner which is marketed as acidic but its all fruit extracts and apparently useless as an acid toner!) I hot cloth cleansed with Even Lom for years so I don't think that is a problem here, although I do need to be gentler with the muslin and that combined with the acids was probably overkill.
Did a sheet mask last night and that was lovely. Its so hard to be restrained with products when I have so many new things I want to try and also being on these threads and seeing people with such great results makes me want to throw myself back into it all, but I know its a bad idea.
Ooh not sure if its been mentioned before but the sheet mask I did last night was a Boots one (made in Korea), masque Bar anti wrinkle, it says on the front that it contains collagen but actually the third ingredient is snail secretion filtrate! Not once on the packaging does it mention snails! They're a bit pricey (9.99 for 3) but I needed an extra on their 3 for 2 promotion last week and they're actually really nice.