Mario Badescu Buffering Lotion, $17, Ulta (not available online)
You can buy it online through Nordstrom.
The past few months my breakouts have been horrible. I'm used to the occasional hormonal pimple (or three) which usually last a day or two and disappear. Not so much anymore. I've been getting these deep, horrible cystic pimples that hurt, are huge, and never go away. I've tried a variety of acne treatments and nothing was working. While on one of my bi-monthy trips to Ulta I was sporting one of these monsters right under my eye. I couldn't conceal this thing to save my life so I was actually trying to find a new concealer to try to hide it. I came across the Mario Badescu section in Ulta and saw that the Buffering Lotion was meant for cystic acne. So I put a few drops on my pimple and went home. This pimple which had not responded to anything had dropped probably 80% in redness and size. I literally dropped everything, drove the hour back to the Ulta in South Charleston, and picked up a bottle. I'm still having pimples but with this lotion they're gone in two-three days and aren't getting anywhere near as big and red as they were. If you're having troubles with your acne not responding to anything, give this stuff a try.
