The Sunday Times - UK (2022-02-13

The problem with problem skin is that remedies often feel

like they’re brutalising it. You feel tight and uncomfortable,

or peely, or itchy, or red, or like it’s going to have to get worse

before it gets better. The solutions on offer very often feel —

at least to me — like they are taking a sledgehammer to

crack a nut. As I have been saying for six million years, you

have to treat problem skin gently and with respect, which is

the opposite of madly aggressing it in the hope that the

issue gets blasted into smithereens, goes away and stays

away. Often this scorched earth approach results in even

more difficult skin — the original issue may be addressed, so the spots are gone or at least

receding, say, but the rest of your skin looks traumatised. And now you don’t know what to

do, because you really don’t want the congestion to come back but nor can you wander

about with skin that feels uncomfortable and looks awful.

Let’s start small. If you have OK skin but want to treat the occasional spot, I’ve recently

discovered, and really rate, Avène Cleanance Comedomed Localized Drying Emulsion,

which comes in a tiny little tube with a narrow, pointy end that dispenses a weensy amount

onto the blemish and quickly kills it without any drama and without leaving a mark. It really

works, it’s £12 a tube and is a very useful thing to have about your person for emergencies.

There’s a whole Cleanance range for acne-prone skin, but I haven’t tried it because I don’t

have acne-prone skin. I like Avène’s gentle but efficient approach, though, and if the spot-

zapper is anything to go by then I feel it’s very much worth a shot.

Now let’s go big, to Sunday Riley UFO Ultra Clarifying Face Oil. This is a wondrous

product and the clue is in the name: it sorts out congested skin, but it’s an oil, which means

your face stays feeling comfortable, supple and well hydrated even as spots and blackheads

wither. The oil also contains ingredients to help with discolouration, so that you’re left with

minimal evidence that a spot existed in the first place. Mostly, though, it’s an exfoliant,

except in oil — so it diligently sloughs away as you go about your business (or go to sleep). As

I say, I don’t have the kind of skin this product is designed for, but I had a willing and slightly

despairing guinea pig who couldn’t believe how well it worked, or how quickly (she said two

weeks for a “dramatic” improvement, but that before that she could see things getting a little

bit better every day). This is strong stuff, despite being full of charming botanicals — it’s also,

like the whole Sunday Riley range, full of scientifically proven ingredients that do their job.

The brand suggests you ease yourself in by using it two or three times a week only and seeing

how you go — any more frequent use could result in “purging”, meaning everything erupting

out at once, which is not the idea at all. What you’re after, and what this provides, is a slow but

steady — although not that slow, frankly — exfoliation that leaves you with clear, comfort-

able, happy skin. It’s £34 for a small bottle, which in this instance strikes me as an absolute

bargain given how effective it is. ■ @indiaknight

India Knight

INDIA LOVES

WATCH I’ve been thinking about Landscapers (Sky Atlantic/Now TV) ever since I watched

it. It’s ostensibly a true crime story starring Olivia Colman and David Thewlis, both

outstanding, but really it’s about the stories people tell themselves in order to be able to exist

— which everybody does, to a greater or lesser extent, whether or not they’ve murdered

anyone. Fascinating, deeply intelligent and brilliantly co-written and directed by the poly-

mathic colossus Will Sharpe (who is only 35).

What problem skin really needs is a gentle approach,

and these products do just that

I like Avène’s

gentle but

efficient

approach, and

Riley’s exfoliant

Victoria Adamson oil is wondrous

The Sunday Times Style • 49