I have always had very pale, sensitive skin, and have always struggled with it... Its been too dry, too red, I've had acne, freckles, flaking, every skin care problem really. Its never been horrendous, until I woke up after a trip to Cardiff - my skin had became red, sore and acne ridden literally over night. While I'd always had bad skin, it had never been this bad. Time to take action.

Not the best picture of my acne induced sadness.

 First things first was to change my pillow cases, and scrub my makeup brushes (which I've now started to do every couple of weeks) to remove any residue and bacteria which may be causing the break out.

As my skin has always been quite sensitive, I've definitely been a fan of "natural" products in the past; I loved Simple foaming facewash, but found it a bit drying, and Witch-hazels face scrub has been a firm favourite for years - I love the fact its a gentle scrub, that makes my skin feel both clean and soft (My best recommendation for cheap skincare). However after receiving a sample of Estee Lauder  Perfectly Clean I fell in love and immediately went out and purchased the full size product. Its a liquid in the bottle but become a very gentle but strong cleansing foam through the pump. A little bit more expensive than Witch-hazel and Simple, I feel its worth it. It's a 3-in-1 cleanser, toner and makeup remover; I use it in my morning shower as a face wash, and it really is the only thing I've found to remove stubborn leftover mascara.

£25.50, 150ml - Debenhams

 Another thing I have started doing is to remove my makeup every night. I don't mean just wiping your skin over with a makeup wipe, I mean fully removing it. I know its a pain to fully wash your face every night, so I do cheat a little; Firstly I wipe off all my makeup using a makeup wipe (I quite like the PRO range for sensitive skin -Tesco) and then go over it with Garnier Micellar Cleansing water. Its a strange product as it is like rinsing your skin with water, but I have found it absolutely brilliant. The bottle is huge, so lasts for ages, and you don't need a lot for it to be effective. It even removes waterproof mascara (although you might need a few tries at this). It gentle enough to use every night and my skin feels so clean before I go to bed which is lovely!

Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water - £3.29 Superdrug (found it cheaper in Tesco though)

 For serious individual spots, a brilliant product is Soap and Glories "Dr. Spot". This is quite a serious little guy, so test before using as it contains salicylic acid, so might not be suitable for sensitive skin (My boyfriend reported a bit of stinging/burning feeling but it did clear the spot pretty quickly). You also don't need to use a lot, just dot a little directly on the spot. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the fact that it doesn't leave a white mark/ flaking when it dries as some spot creams are prone too (looking at you freederm) which draws more attention to the problem. I use it at night before bed, and in the morning before I put my makeup on. I only use it if I have a decent spot forming, just because I prefer to keep my skincare as natural as possible (if you apply spot cream every day, I recommend witch hazels; not sure what its called but its in a small chubby pot)

Soap and Glory Dr Spot - £8 Boots

And for when you need to cover up, I'm a fan of this pair. I apply the No7 as a base onto clean skin. Its not quite a primer, but makes my skin glow, reflecting light away from my skin and helping neutralise the redness of the spots. It also makes my skin tone a little bit more even, providing a good base for my foundation. It does state that you can use it under or without foundation, however its a little dark for my skin to wear it alone.

Barry M Flawless Concealer- £4.49 Boots No7 Skin Illuminator - £11 Boots