When I read that Soap & Glory’s Fab Pore Hot Cloth Cleanser ($11.04) came with a muslin cloth to clean clogged pores, I had to try it.  I love adding props like scrubs, brushes and other tools to my boring skincare routine.

The thick, silky cream tingled a bit as I scrubbed my clogged pore zones – mostly the nose and chin. After rubbing it in for 60 seconds, I let it sit for 60 more while I soaked the cloth in super hot water. Then came the best part: I bent over the steamy sink and used the cloth to wipe away oils and dirt off the top layer of my skin. The warmth felt spa-like – and put regular old washcloths to shame. This prop was more than a gimmick: it actually worked, leaving my pores feeling purged and clean.

Check out more beauty posts, and see all of our beauty roadtest products to find the right one for you, plus our guide to women’s skin care.

Check out more beauty roadtests, read our best self-tanners, skin care, and get the best lip balms, too.

What: Astara
Blue Flame Purification Mask, $34.20

Why: Since my skin is acne-prone, it seems like I’m
caught in a never-ending cycle of breaking out and spackling on tons of
concealer, which in turn spurs a new skin nightmare. But after just a few uses of this powerful mask,
I feel like the cycle might be broken. Creamy and clay-like (and blue, obviously) the mask spreads on quickly
and evenly and takes about 10 minutes to fully dry. It’s packed with powerhouse botanical
agents like tea tree oil to really detoxify and soothe problem skin. 

Make sure you wipe off ALL
traces of blue around your hairline, or you’re bound to get a few strange looks.
 (I’m speaking from experience,
yes.) 

Get Yours: amazon.com

Years ago an aesthetician recommended I come in for some painless light treatments to help with my skin. I was on board until I heard the price. So when given the opportunity, I snatched up the Baby Quasar ($449). It's a photo rejuvenation (light therapy) tool you use at home, and while the price tag is hardly bargain basement, it's a fraction of the cost you'd pay for the professional treatment (which is essentially the same).

It is painless—and easy—though more time consuming than other beauty treatments. You divide the face into six sections, pass the light tool over each section for two minutes (a tone will sound) and then move on to the next. Once you've made one complete pass over the whole face, you start again. Treatments are recommended up to three times a week, and on alternate days, you can use the Baby Blue, a similar device that uses blue light to treat acne.

I've only been using the BabyQ twice a week, but within a few weeks, my rosacea has diminished, and the remaining dark spots on my cheeks are fading. It's too soon to see its effect on the lines around my eyes, but so far the overall improvement in my skin is a glowing (literally!) recommendation.

We aren’t going to pretend that working for SheFinds doesn’t have its perks. SheFindsBryn and I recently spent a relaxing day with natural skincare giant Weleda getting gorgeous skin that you can get at home. We can both attest: we were positively glowing for the rest of the day and are dying to pass this onto our beloved readers! Here is a step-by-step of how to give yourself the best facial of your life in the comfort of your own bathroom.

Weleda has three specific lines for different types of skin. I’m writing about the products in the Wild Rose line, which is good for rejuvenating and regenerating skin. If your skin is sensitive, use similar products in the Almond line and if you have combination skin, use the Iris line.

Step One: Grab yourself some cotton pads and place a little of the Almond Facial Oil ($3) on the pads. Press the pads gently down onto the eye and wipe downward, then take the pads and wipe from the inside of the eye inward to get rid of eye makeup. 

Step Two: Place their Wild Rose Cleansing Lotion ($20) onto two more cotton pads. Starting at the center of your face, move the pads gently in a motion from the middle of the face outward, sweeping upwards around the cheeks and jawline. Repeat until pads are clean.

Step Three: Slather on a Wild Rose Intensive Facial Masque ($30), soak a towel in warm water with a few drops of their Lavender Relaxing Bath Milk ($20) and steam your gorgeous face with it. Repeat if necessary. Try to stay awake.

Step Four: Take the Wild Rose Facial Toner ($20) onto two pads and using the same motion as with the Cleansing Lotion. This is a very gentle toner and it won’t sting. We were surprised! Follow the toner with the Wild Rose Eye Cream ($25). Apply to the tips of your ring fingers and gently tap the cream into the area around the eyes. Results are immediate and we’re not kidding.

Final Step: The final step is to apply a cream. You have your choice: the Wild Rose Moisture Cream ($25) works beautifully under makeup for indoor activities, and the Wild Rose Day Cream  ($25) is a great all-day wear cream that leaves a gorgeous complexion behind.

We were hooked and excited to pass this along to you. Trust us, this is eco-friendly beauty that is worthy of your bathroom countertop.

I’ve covered cutting off pinky toes to fit your shoes better and I’ve asked if you’d devein your hands, but this time I’m warning you, if you’re eating or playing with your toddler, stop now.

According to the Daily Mail UK, the new skincare craze that is sweeping England is a product called Vavelta. The treatment appears to rejuvenate and restructure older and/or damaged skin from the inside out by actually causing lower layers of cells in the skin to completely rejuvenate. It’s also supposed to be a permanent solution, unlike Botox. Even though a vial of the stuff can run you almost $1500, the women in the trial are showing life-altering results.

The kicker: the active ingredients are little cells called fibroblasts, which are derived from baby foreskins donated by mothers at some hospital in the U.S. after routine circumcisions. See, I told you to quit eating.

We’re not trying to judge, but don’t the ingredients kind of make you say, “Eww”? What ever happened to a good old fashioned chemical peel? This Boots No. 7 Glycolic Peel works like gangbusters and at $24 is slightly more wallet-friendly (and decidely less cringe-worthy).

We ask you – what is the line you’ll draw for skincare ingredients? Is this stuff just wrong or are we just too squeamish? Let us know in the comments section.

And peruse our Plastic Surgery at Home Guide for more ways to look good without going to the extreme. 

For everyone: Dial Yogurt and Honey Nourishing Body Wash ($5.69) gets the job done. It cleanses without stripping the skin, has a pleasantly sweet (but not cloying) scent that's unlikely to offend, and it's easy to find at a reasonable price.

For dry skin sufferers: Olay Quench Body Wash ($8.79) cleans and moisturizes. If you've got dry skin (especially in winter), it's a great first layer to keep you from shriveling out of the shower. For the naturally supple and well-hydrated, you can probably skip lotion altogether.

For the flakey: Tone Sugar Glow Exfoliating Body Wash ($4.99) Tone always seemed like the redheaded stepchild of the drugstore aisle, but this stuff is actually good. Since “microbeads” haven't done squat to exfoliate my skin and salt scrubs are a little too involved for daily use, this is the perfect option for a routine morning scrub down.

For anyone with olfactory glands: Unlike the overpowering botanical blends out there,  Dionis Virginia Hyacinth Body Wash ($8.95) smells like an honest-to-God flower. It makes you feel like you're showering in a garden, but doesn't cling to your skin for the rest of the day.  It's gentle, and goats milk proteins and vitamins keep it from drying out your skin. The Rose scent is amazing, too.

Sonya Dakar’s Drying Potion is truly a miracle potion. It’s billed as “ Hollywood’s secret weapon” and claims to dry pimples overnight. It’s formulated with Dead Sea sulfur to reduce redness and puffiness, pure lavender and chamomile to calm breakouts, sage to disinfect, and peppermint to stimulate blood circulation to promote speedy healing.

After using it religiously for about a week, I can vouch for that. What started out as an ominous red mound at 10 pm was a fast fading pink spot by 6 am. And just in case you don’t trust me, Allure named it the “Best Zit Cream”.

And check out our Beauty Bestsellers Guide for other Best Ofs you won't want to miss out on. 

Sadly, no one has this kind of skin … in the real world that is.

However, there are ways to fake it. The beauty industry’s gaining ground on those fairyland vixens, and these products are true standouts.

Benefit’s Galactic Shield! ($20) – and yes, the exclamation point is part of the name – gives your blemishes the evil witch treatment with its concealing wand. The salicylic acid provides an extra pimple-shrinking punch. 

Here’s a tip I never knew until recently – undereye circles vanish much more easily if you use pink concealer, and Everyday Minerals Pick-Me-Up Pink Concealer Powder ($2.50) makes circles sink back into the skin. Use a lighter hand with the application – a little goes a long way.

Green is red’s opposite on the color wheel, and Physicians Formula Powder Finish Concealer Stick covers localized redness better than Harry Potter’s invisibility cloak ($5.39). 

Sallow (yellow) undertones transform magically into an alabaster-looking complexion with the lavender version of Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer ($38). (Yellow and lavender are color wheel opposites, so, like green with red, lavender cancels out yellow.)