A walk past the coolhaus ice cream sandwich truck on my way to the park for a run spawned a nice afternoon with my friend Tina.

After enjoying our amazing ice cream sandwiches we walked en route to Lincoln Center. Our conversation topics were varied, one of them being running/body image/self esteem/skin conditions. Okay, I know that’s kind of a big topic.

I shared my personal struggle with acne-prone skin up until maybe two and a half to three years ago. I struggled with breakouts and scarring for many years and it really seemed like nothing was working for me. I eventually chalked the trouble up to hormone imbalances. And thankfully perhaps a combination of hormone rebalances and some awesome products helped me and my skin out of its awful mess.

Here goes my second post to endorse some of my favorite products that I think really helped my skin. So if you’re having trouble or know someone who is, here are some tips and some of the steps I took. I know finding a new product can be daunting because of the crazy number of choices.

First step was a few sessions of microdermabrasion to remove the disgusting dead skin off my poor face. I simply bought a groupon and off I went to get a good face vacuum at Red & White Spa in SoHo.

Next I went to get some new face products at Bloomy’s. I was actually just walking through one day and this very entrancing sales associate for Borghese lured me to their shop for a free mini-facial. I was sold. After the 15 minutes of the Cura-C scrub/exfoliating, toning and moisturizing, my face actually had a glow so I knew I had to purchase the Cura-C skin care line. After these first two steps, a few months and probably some hormone changes, my skin changed remarkably. I am forever grateful to that girl at Bloomy’s.

I used the whole cleaning regime, which I believe is not available anymore but has been replaced by some other products on the line.

After a couple of years of using the Borghese line (which apparently is too long to use the same product – duh me!) I noticed my skin was looking and feeling blah. It was winter after all and I was using a product for far too long.

So, I purchased another groupon and went for an exfoliating facial at The O’Live Organic Spa on 23rd Street. The lovely spa-titians use organic skin care products made in Hungary. I decided to try these Eminence products after my amazing facial hoping these products were the boost my skin needed in the dry winter.

Night cream! Used for about 3 weeks and then stored in fridge for later use.

For day time to calm skin. No SPF, but it’s in my tinted moisturizer.

I used this camomile daily moisturizer for about two months and decided I should get a third alternate in my new skin care cycle so I went to Sephora and bought a little set of Origins anti-aging products.

Love this set!

I love the facial cleanser and purchased a regular size after using the whole mini. I love the mimosa moisturizer because it’s very light but meets the needs of my skin. At night I’ll add some of the serum after applying the moisturizer and will use the charcoal mask every in a while to really smooth out my skin.

I hope the products I use can be useful to you. The right product can be life changing, kind of like that snicker doodle and strawberry ice cream sandwich I had. 😉