Mario Badescu drying lotion overnight on spots. Not cheap, and basically calamine and alcohol, but it will turn big zits into little zits and little zits will be gone.
I am not married to any particular brand and will use anything that is unscented, alcohol-free, and mineral oil free. When I’m in the US, I use Cetaphil and when I’m in Asia, I use JuJu Aquamoist. Before the application of moisturizer, I prep with a good humectant, and that is what makes the difference for me; for this, my dermatologist recommends Skinceuticals b5 hydrating gel, which she claims improves barrier function. Now, sometimes my derm gets into saleslady mode, and I get wary about whether the effectiveness of a product she introduces is as good as the commission she’d receive from successfully promoting it. But, I get the samples free from her and have really liked the results.
I don’t know much about this topic but I know that if you want more suggestions, you can always go ask this question on 4chan.
I love Aveeno Positively Radient moisturizer with SPF 30. You can also get it in SPF 15 for a little less. The 30 is hard to find, but I love it.
Bath & Body Works is having their semi-annual sale so I went in to browse. They now have a cream that says “cashmere” on it. Say what? So on go the reading glasses and, sure enough, one of the ingredients is “hydrolized wool.” Ewww. So I looked it up. Yep, hydrolized wool can be an ingredient. It’s not an effective moisturizer (try lanolin instead) but BBW will do anything to sell their products and the name “cashmere” probably sounds great to anyone who isn’t allergic to wool.
The facial product I am using now (and for the last year or so) is Aveeno Positively Radiant (ETA, corrected the name based on a post above). Not too pricey at $14 a pop and lasts a while.
The main reason is that my issue is dark patches, not wrinkles…I just turned 45 and for the last several years have had issues with darker patches of pigmentation, esp. with sun exposure (olive complextion plus peri-menopausal hormones) and this stuff seems to work fairly well at controlling that with soy extracts. I wear strong sunscreen on my face and wear hats during the summer, but the patches still emerge…they vanish during the winter months…this stuff, used daily, really helps year round.
It also has 15 SPF (and supposedly has upped that to 30, but I can’t find that product on the shelves yet).
Otherwise I like just a general, botanical lotion like NatureMade or Jasons OR some good OIL (johoba, olive, vit E, avacado, grapeseed, etc…) such as the blends sold by HomeHealth or Aura Casia (sp?). Great for adding to the bath and applying after/before bed.
I can’t use anything with peteroleum or “synthetics” as a rule…it makes my skin itch and BURN…so I steer clear of most of the stuff like Cetaphil or Eacuderm (sp?) even though it comes recommended by Drs. Sorry, tried it and it, like virtually all the stuff on the shelves, esp. the cheaper options (Vasoline brands, etc…) it STINGS. So I “invest” in a good $10 bottle of plant-based, all purpose lotion or oil for general use and use the Aveeno stuff on my face.