Favourite Spot Treatments

Mario Badescu Drying Lotion / Mario Badescu Buffering Lotion / Origins Super Spot Remover

I've tried a ton of different spot treatments over the years. When I was younger I thought that I could get away with just using something on my spots rather than having a proper skincare routine in place. That probably explains why my skin looked so terrible! Now that I religiously use good quality products that work for my skin type I find that I no longer have to reach for spot treatments as often. But sometimes we all get those horrible little buggers that just won't go away with regular cleansing and something a bit more potent is required.

In my opinion Mario Badescu make the crème de la crème of spot treatments. Theres a reason why so many celebrities frequent their spa in New York and their Drying Lotion is basically the brand's hero product. This strange liquid is godsend for whiteheads. It zaps ones thats have come to the surface overnight and also helps to clear any big ones that are lurking just under the skin. To apply it you just dip a cotton bud through the yellow liquid into the pink sediment at the bottom of the bottle and dab that onto your spots. Don't shake it up because that will ruin it. It contains calamine which helps to dry up spots and calm the area around it. The pink colour will stay on your skin so its better to apply this one at night. I don't get whiteheads too often, it tends to be closed comedones or deep blemishes for me, but when I have had them its a total lifesaver.

My favourite ever spot treatment has to be the Buffering Lotion. This one is a lot more effective on my skin as it is designed more for those horrible deep spots that I'm prone to. Back when my skincare routine wasn't much more than a Johnson's face wipe at the end of the night this stuff was like magic for my skin. I used to apply it every day as I constantly had new spots cropping up and it got rid of them no problem without drying out my skin whatsoever. You do have to shake up this bottle and it becomes an opaque white liquid. You then just rub a few drops onto your skin until it disappears. It absorbs really fast and because its invisible you can wear it under your makeup for spot fighting action during the day as well as at night. It contains nourishing B vitamins and amino acids for healthy skin as well as soothing anti-inflammatory herbal extracts to promote healing. This is an amazing product for anyone with cystic acne. Its also pretty good at getting rid of scarring. The fact that it heals spots without drying out your skin is such a plus point. I made the mistake of using benzoyl peroxide for a while and that just left my face dry, red & irritated. Something like this is a lot gentler & a lot more effective.

I'm sure most people have heard of the Origins Super Spot Remover by now. I actually heard about it a good few years ago from my sister. She had really bad skin & swore by the stuff. I kinda ignored her opinions though because she knew literally nothing about beauty products. This is a girl who once applied normal moisturiser as if it were a face mask... Anyways I wish I'd listened sooner because this stuff is really great. This is a tingly gel containing salicylic acid. I like this one because its the best to use on really painful red spots. The caffeine & red algae it contains soothe the area and stop spots from hurting overnight. I apply this with a cotton bud to avoid spreading bacteria & to prevent me from using more product than I need to. This tiny bottle seems expensive at £13 but you only need to use a small drop so it lasts for absolutely ages.

Favourite Mario Badescu Products

I've always had combination skin that is prone to breakouts and not much would work on it, even my many attempts to clear it with expensive brands such as Dermalogica and Bliss. I heard about Mario Badescu online 3 years ago just before my first trip to New York. Mario Badescu is not exactly a household name in the UK. In America his products are well known as many celebrities are devotees of the brand. Seeing that they had a spa on East 52nd Street I decided to pop in one day and try some of their products. I originally purchased the Acne Repair kit and the effect on my skin was nothing short of miraculous. Now I hardly ever get spots! Since then I've tried various other products in the line, some great, some not so great. Here are 7 of the products that I really love.


Glycolic Foaming Cleanser
To get my skin feeling really clean I prefer gel based cleansers to creamy ones. It might just be me but I think they leave my skin feeling a lot cleaner. This is a really powerful one for when your skin looks really dull. It does make my skin feel quite stripped so its best to only use this once or twice a week, anymore than that and I would imagine your skin would feel quite sensitive. It contains glycolic acid which will completely remove any build up on the surface of your skin. This acid actually helps to exfoliate your skin so it looks really smooth and fresh afterwards. Although it can be used on all types of skin, I wouldn't say this cleanser is for everyone as it is uber-powerful. But it is ideal for when you're having a really crappy skin day or if you haven't been looking after your skin properly for a few days.

Special Cucumber Lotion
This is my favourite skin product ever! Nothing beats this. When I bought my acne repair kit I got a free sample of the normal cucumber lotion and I was really impressed with how it removed any makeup I had missed whilst cleansing and was clearing up my spots. Then I heard that they did an even more powerful version called the special cucumber lotion. I bought this and have never looked back. This is basically a toner which is perfect for combination or oily skin. As well as cucumber it contains sulphur which is brilliant at drying up any existing spots. I've found that I don't get as many spots either since applying this to my skin day and night. Now I only get the odd hormonal one on my jawline. You might think that such a powerful spot fighting toner would be harsh on your skin but this is actually quite gentle and doesn't dry out my skin at all. I don't actually use a moisturiser at night because my skin feels perfect just after using this. This product is a godsend, and it lasts absolutely ages. I think one bottle normally lasts me about 9 months. Cannot recommend this enough!


Drying Cream
This stuff absolutely stinks of sulphur but don't let that put you off. This is a thick peachy coloured cream that is pretty good at sorting spots if you've popped them and are left with a big red bump. The best thing about this is that it also conceals your spots. Its a perfect base for when you want to wear makeup but have a horrible spot you don't want to aggravate any more. It will help to clear it right up and look a lot better too.

Silver Powder
This is a really interesting product. Its an oil absorbing powder that actually unclogs blackheads. To apply it you have to dip some cotton wool into some water and then dip this into the powder. Then you pat it onto your nose, chin or anywhere else with blackheads, leave it for 10 minutes then use toner to wipe it off. It can be difficult to remove and I often end up with a patchy white face if I don't wipe it off enough. I find this does get rid of most of my blackheads for a couple of days but then they do always come back. It is also great at making your pores look a lot smaller. Its perfect for special occasions when your skin has to look flawless.

Healing Cream
This green cream is really soothing on your skin. Its main purpose is to aid your skin's natural healing process. It is great at reducing acne scarring and minimising general redness. It also helps to prevent spots from forming on areas where you normally breakout. I find if I've gone overboard with spot treatments and my skins feeling a bit raw this soothes my skin and makes it feel normal again. I wouldn't say this product is essential for spot fighting but it really helps to calm down my skin after a spot has cleared.


Drying Lotion
I think this is the product that Mario Badescu are known for. This product is meant for whiteheads and it basically gets rid of them overnight. The bottle looks really weird as theres loads of pink stuff at the bottom and some kind of liquid on top. To use it you mustn't shake it up, instead you have to get a cotton bud and dip it into the pink stuff at the bottom. Then you dab this onto a spot without rubbing it in. It contains calamine which helps to dry up spots and calm the area around it. I think this is a fabulous product but I don't really get whiteheads so don't find much use for this. However when I have had them it gets rid of them in no time flat. It does sting when you first apply it but it soon dries and you just forget about it. Its stays a bright pink colour on your skin so I wouldn't recommend wearing this during the day unless you want loads of obnoxious questions about the random pink dots on your skin!

Buffering Lotion
This is my favourite spot treatment ever. As I said, I don't really get whiteheads, I get the horrible deep spots instead. Therefore this spot treatment is a lot more effective on my skin than the drying lotion. This one you do have to shake up and it becomes an opaque white liquid. You then squeeze a couple of drops onto the affected area and rub it in. It absorbs into my skin really fast so you don't have to worry about it getting all over your pillow. Sometimes if my skin looks really crappy I just rub it all over my face and by morning I look normal again. It contains nourishing B vitamins and amino acids for healthy skin as well as soothing anti-inflammatory herbal extracts to promote healing. It really penetrates deep into the skin to get rid of any cystic acne you have. It works really fast and my spots normally go in a couple of days. I also wear this under makeup as it doesn't really show up on your skin once its been rubbed in. Another highly recommended product for anyone with cystic acne.

I'm not quite sure why the brand isn't really well known over here. I imagine its due to availability since it is quite limited. Luckily when I lived in Leeds the Harvey Nicks there started stocking some of the range but the best stockist I've found online is BeautyBay. Hopefully this post will have introduced some of you to Mario Badescu because I really am a big fan of their skincare products. They're not too expensive compared to some brands out there but their stuff does work really well on my skin and every product I've tried lasts for absolutely ages.