6 quick skin fixers for when things go south

When a big ol’ red spot sets up camp on your face, chances are you’ll immediately want to squeeze it. It’s just who we are. But we also know that doing this makes it a thousand times worse. Trust us when we say this - choosing a spot treatment with the right ingredients is a way better plan. Try Thursday Plantation Medicated Gel*. It’s a natural goodie made from tea tree oil, so it has both antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. This means it’ll not only help your spot heal faster, but it’ll prevent other spots from joining the party, too.

* Always read the label. Follow the directions for use. If symptoms persist, talk to your health professional.

If your skin has just decided to flake right off your face just for the hell of it, arm yourself with a soothing balm that’ll help nourish and replenish rough areas and dry patches, like La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Baume B5. This guy is fragrance-free, paraben-free and lanolin-free, and won’t leave your face looking all white and ghostly. Score!

Skin looking a little bit meh? Opt for an over-achiever like L’Oréal Paris Revitalift Red Cream. This little slice of red-tinted delight will help fight visible signs of fatigue and dullness, giving you a healthy-looking glow. It’s also enhanced with advanced pro-retinol, which is perfect for smooth, youthful-looking skin.

Do you know who is a fan of puffy eyes? No one, that’s who. Waking up with puffy eyes sucks – they make you look extra tired, bloated and like you’ve been having a few too many wines on a school night (which is TOTALLY not the case because we’re all responsible adults here, jeez). If the old cold spoon trick isn’t cutting it, you need to try Pixi DetoxifEYE Depuffing Eye Patches. These little eye masks contain caffeine to energise and increase circulation in the under-eye area, while botanical collagen works to smooth the skin for bright, well-rested eyes.

We get it – your skin needs pores in order for it to be able to function and all that jazz, but that doesn’t mean we’re happy about how dramatic they can be sometimes. Enlarged pores *really* know how to mess with your perfect skin goals. Besides the fact they basically invite ALL of the dirt and oil around to clog them up, enlarged pores can make applying foundation a really hard time. If you want to draw out all those toxins and shrink the appearance of large pores, reach for something like Swisse Pore Perfecting Clay Mask. It’s made with Australian pink kaolin clay and bentonite clay, which work to deeply cleanse your pores, remove dead skin cells and absorb excess oil. It also contains some stellar natural ingredients that help the pore-refining cause.

Oiliness and grease seriously seem to pop up at the most inopportune times. And while there are a slew of skin care products out there that’ll help tackle oily skin, if you’re already all made up and ready to go but spot some oily areas on your face, an easy fix is to use blotting paper and dab it on your T-zone. We like Fenty Beauty Invisimatte Blotting Paper because it’ll soak up all the excess oil while leaving your makeup still intact. Plus, they come in a little refillable lipstick-shaped compact that’s cute AND convenient.