This bestselling acne cream cleared up my skin overnight

I’m a little obsessive about skin care and always on the lookout for something to brighten, plump, moisturize and generally fix up my face without a lot of makeup. The one thing I usually don’t worry about is pimples.

I hesitate to say that because it sounds braggy, and I believe in jinxes, karma and all kinds of superstitions.

But, I am telling you this because I have seen the other side. When I was pregnant with my first child, I had something called perioral dermatitis, which is a fancy way of saying whitehead pimples all around my mouth and chin. It’s one of the more disgusting things that can happen to a person’s face.

It didn’t respond to normal acne treatments — that just made things worse — and my dermatologist at the time said she couldn’t really treat it because I was pregnant, and then breastfeeding. I suffered through this eruption for months and months while also having a difficult pregnancy and generally feeling like a giant, misshapen and spotted gourd.

The No. 1 thing I did for my skin was find a better dermatologist. After giving me a topical antibiotic, she followed with a prescription retinoid and prescription sulfur face wash that together cleared up 99% of my problems. (Try this Differin gel, which used to be prescription only. Sephora reviewers also love this Sunday Riley sulfur mask.)

For that other 1 percent, I have this Mario Badescu Drying Lotion. If I see a pimple start to surface I put this on and watch it disappear overnight.

Mario Badescu Drying Lotion, $12 (normally $17), Amazon