Most primers succeed at smoothing out skin at a basic level, a few stand above the rest. If you have oily- or acne-prone skin, you might want to give Murad's Skin Perfecting Primer Acne and Shine Control ($35) a try. Formulated with salicylic acid to help keep pores clear, this matte-finish multitasker helps reduce and prevent breakouts. (Although it's not a substitute for your regular skin care Read more

When the weather gets chilly and windy, skin gets dry, flaky, and easily irritated. No surprise, then, that clogged pores pose a major problem. In warmer weather, using acid or a drying agent like benzoyl peroxide is the easy solution, but when skin is already sensitized, both often just end up inflaming things further. Don't worry, though. There are plenty of gentle ways to keep pores clear. To Read more

We're excited to present this story from our friends at Allure: Getting facial treatments with extractions may reduce premenstrual acne, but the timing seems to be important, according to a report in the International Journal of Cosmetic Science. When performing comedone extraction (steaming and gently pressing on the skin around blocked pores to remove dirt, oil, and debris), "I observed that Read more

There are several pimple-zapping devices on the market (such as Zeno and Thermaclear), but what differentiates Claro ($195) from many is that it uses a combination of three treatments to speed up healing time. Blue light attacks P. acnes bacteria, aka the germs that cause acne, red light works to help reduce redness and soreness, and infrared energy supplies heat to enhance the treatment. Full Read more

We've all been there before: you wake up one day to what appears to be Mt. Vesuvius erupting on your face. "Depending on how big a pimple is, it can create almost a shadow underneath it," explains L'Oréal consulting makeup artist Collier Strong. And if our foolproof steps to covering up pimples just aren't cutting it, don't give up hope. A few optical illusion-style makeup techniques can make Read more

Whether you're in your 20s, 30s, or beyond, getting a breakout is never a welcome occurrence. And regardless if there are just a few (or many) spots that have taken up unwanted residence on that sweet mug of yours, there are certain foolproof makeup tricks you can use to strategically hide them. Read: gone are the days of orange and/or caked cover-up jobs. So to see five easy steps to getting a Read more

While 80 percent of teenagers will experience acne at some point or another, it's not uncommon for the condition to afflict women well into adulthood. "The good news is that we have really great treatments, and nobody has to suffer with it," says Dr. Linda Stein Gold, director of dermatology clinical research at Henry Ford Health System in Detroit. That's why I asked Dr. Stein Gold some of the Read more

Exciting news for acne sufferers: bumps and lumps could someday become eradicated with a vaccine. OK, so that's just a possibility at this point, but scientists are embarking on an intense two-year project with hopes of making that dream into reality. French pharmaceutical company Sanofi Pasteur and UC San Diego scientists believe that by targeting the immune system, the experimental vaccine may Read more