Estée Lauder’s new target treatment is our favourite quick fix. Pump its bottom until gel bursts onto its rollerball applicator and slick a thick layer over the affected area before bed. Thanks to glucosamine, a proven skin refiner, and salicylic acid, you’ll wake with a dramatically reduced spot and minimal redness.

Clear Difference Target Blemish Treatment, £25 for 4ml, www.esteelauder.co.uk

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Spots are caused when the skin’s sebaceous glands produce too much sebum, an oily substance that clogs pores which then trap blemish-causing bacteria. Origins’ Treatment Pads work by opening pores and cleaning them with their salicylic acid and saw palmetto formula. They’re particularly effective when you can feel an impending breakout, and are designed to be used morning and night after you’ve cleansed and toned.

Spot Remover Blemish Treatment Pads, £24 for 60 pads, www.origins.co.uk

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Witch’s new face wash is great cleanser for oily and combination skin that’s blemish-prone. Each bead in its oil-free formula is filled with witch hazel extract, which works to remove excess oils and leave skin feeling refreshed.  

Witch Hazel Bursting Beads Face Wash, £3.99, available from September, www.superdrug.com  

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A humdinger of a spot always seems to appear when most unwelcome – a friend’s wedding, your birthday, the list goes on. Luckily, Clearasil has cooked up a cream that is proven to reduce spot size and unsightly redness in four short hours. It’s a little life-saver.

Ultra Rapid Action Treatment Cream, £6.39 for 25ml, www.boots.com

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Think of the Clarisonic as an electric toothbrush for your face. This nifty device has electric brush head that works with your cleanser to dislodge dirt and oil six times more effectively than your fingertips. It doesn’t come cheap but with two speeds, a timer and the fact it oscillates at a sonic frequency of 300 movements per second, it’s by far the fastest way to reduce fine lines, oily patches, dryness and breakouts, while improving your skin tone and the appearance of pores.

Mia 2 Sonic Skin Cleansing System, £125, Clarisonic at www.selfridges.com

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Been burning the candle at both ends? Kiehl’s Cleansing Masque is just the thing to replenish your skin’s joie de vivre. It’s a rather exotic combination of Amazonian white clay, oatmeal and aloe vera, which lift impurities and toxins right off your skin’s surface to purify and visibly reduce the appearance of pores.  

Rare Earth Deep Pore Cleansing Masque, £21.50 for 45g, www.kiehls.co.uk

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If you class your skin as problematic, a good makeup remover’s essential to minimising breakouts. Décleor’s Micellar Oil’s a multi-tasking miracle-worker. It contains micellar particles, which attract impurities on dry skin and rinse them away on contact with water, vegetal squalane to keep skin hydrated and sweet almond oil to strengthen its cutaneous barrier. Say hello to squeaky clean pores.  

Micellar Oil, £25 for 150ml, www.decleor.co.uk

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Sebum production reaches its peak at midnight, with oily skin producing three times more than normal skin, which is why we often wake up with blocked, dilated pores. Vichy’s Night Detox counteracts these effects by slowing the production of oil and sebum while you snooze, thanks to eperuline, salicylic acid and perlite, to leave your skin clean, pores tight and complexion radiant come sunrise.

Night Detox, £15.50 for 40ml, Vichy at www.feelunique.com

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Our skin suffers daily from all the pollutants in the air, hence why cleansing is the key to clearing up spots. Dr Sebagh’s combines oat amino acids and witch hazel to give clogged pores a deep clean and calm oily skin that’s been irritated by dirt and sebum. Massage onto dry skin and wash off with warm water.

Breakout Foaming Cleanser, £25 for 100ml, www.drsebagh.com

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While not essential, it makes sense to harmonise the elements of your skincare regime if you have acne or bad breakouts. Proactiv+ has a new 3-step system, designed to send more salicylic acid straight into pores, consisting of an exfoliating cleanser, pore-targeting treatment cream and hydrating moisturiser. Each contains a nourishing blend of glycolic acid, prebiotics and kojic acid to clear up imperfections and leave skin looking polished.

Proactiv+ System, £19.99 plus £4.95 P&P, available from September, www.proactiv.com

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