My skin—acne-prone, dehydrated, and moderately sensitive—hasn't been looking too hot lately. Or, you know, ever. "Clear and glowy" is a constantly-trudging-uphill battle, and requires lots of effort: dermatologist visits, Differin every night, microdermabrasion, painful facials, and so on.

Right?! Skincare should NOT be this much work. If I slack at all—and I do, because going to the dermatologist is really, really boring—I break out (FYI: The world isn't FAIR.***). Then I sulk about the time I could've spent doing more important things, like watching my bootleg Twilight DVD alone in bed (again), or researching Robert Pattinson's personal life (I SO don't believe that he hooked up with Nikki Reed on the New Moon set, P.S.).

ANYHOW, I need to make some changes—starting with my makeup. Everyone loves mineral these days, and though I know a lot about it, I need motivation to get started (I've been beauty-lazy lately, remember?) and stick with it (I have serious product-commitment issues).

So, mineral makeup fans: is it really that wonderful?! Will really I break out less? And what about the whole germy makeup brush issue? Does anyone actually SLEEP in mineral makeup, as some say it's okay to do? Convince me!

—Cat Marnell, associate beauty editor

***Even as I write this, senior beauty editor Cristina "my skin is always PERFECT" Mueller is writing a "I don't wash my face at night—do you?" blog! (My answer: "ARE YOU SERIOUS?!?!")

There's nothing good about an airplane bathroom except—and you'll think I'm insane but I swear I am right—the lighting. It's more flattering than a candlelit restaurant. I go in feeling grotesque and then I glance in the mirror and think, you know, things aren't all that bad. Which is a rare thought on an airplane. The other positive, for me at least, is that airplane air cures acne like nothing else. Even a short trip.

—Jean Godfrey-June, beauty director

Everyone in my family but me got the flu this week. I, the night nurse, got huge undereye circles and a stress pimple on my chin that made the flu look preferable by comparison. To be honest, I haven't had acne in a long time, and my usual concealer was not—not—doing the job. But I reached into the bottom of my cosmetics bag, and there it was: the Shu Uemura Cover Crayon. The nude-toned end of the pencil completely disguised the breakout in two seconds, and to my amazement, the other, paler end took care of the dark circles that were driving me nuts.

By morning, my acne had vanished, which makes me wonder, WHAT IS IN THIS PENCIL??!!

—Jennifer Scruby, contributing editor

Walt Whitman-like, I often roam New York City contemplating the Big Questions: What is my purpose? Does the Scientology Center have a room for secret man-on-man celebrity canoodling? Is it okay to hate someone who knows a single quote from The Canterbury Tales and uses it often? Can a pink wig be high art? What broke up Bennifer? Who IS Charles Schwab?

And finally: Should I be using toner for my acne? Because I don't.

There are arguments on both sides.

"It doesn't do anything," says a supremely knowledgeable Lucky editor, who gives better acne advice than anyone (plus, no co-pay).

"I see you don't use toner," says masterful New York facialist-to-Gisele Christine Chin, correctly, studying my skin under an unforgiving microscope/lamp contraption.

Vexing.

What do YOU think (and if you do believe, what specifically works for you)?

—Cat Marnell, associate beauty editor

... but I like a mean, yappy facialist who relishes in violently purging my hideous skin of all its shameful gruel and lectures the whole time: I'm not staring at the ceiling miserably for an hour, tortured by some squawky Beyonc?? song that somehow made its way into my shower-capped head.

My all-time favorite aesthetician was a cranky Polish woman in her 50s who detested spa music and mood lighting; small talk about anything non-skin-related was out of the question (the exception: long, thickly accented rants about her lazy, disobedient teenage son, who never picked up after himself). Alternately, she never shut up about how stupidly I'd been treating my face and the MANY things I absolutely HAD to do to salvage it, but always had great tips I'd never heard before. Some of the best:

1) If you're acne-prone, dry your face with paper towels to prevent bacteria from spreading ("Not good for trees, but who cares," she said).

2) Change pillowcases three times a week—again, bacteria.

3) Soak paper towels in chamomile tea—hot or cold—and wipe your face with them, toner-style, every night.

4) If you must pick a pimple, always use cotton and then treat it only with hydrogen peroxide.

5) Use face masks in the shower: put one on in the beginning before you wash your hair and rinse off at the end.

6) When your teenage son leaves dirty dishes around the house, take one sneaker from his favorite pair and make him give you money. Off-topic, but useful!

Please please please tell me your quirky skincare tips in the comments section—I can't get enough!

—Cat Marnell, associate beauty editor

I am ALWAYS broken out on the right side of my chin, just below my mouth. A few months back, I finally gave up trying to figure out why this was so, resignedly declaring it a mystery like the Roanoke Lost Colony or the birth of Suri Cruise.

Today I was sitting at my desk doing 10 things at once, with the phone tucked between my ear and my shoulder, when I realized the following:

1) The receiver was hideously greasy (also mysterious, and gross).
2) It was rubbing against the right side of my chin, just below my mouth.

It hit me: Could the inexplicable/omnipresent acne be attributed to a bacteria-laden office phone receiver? Could it be phone acne? PHACNE?!A I lamely wiped down the mouthpiece with a Shout wipe, but what I really need are these antibacterial especially-for-phones cloths. I've ordered them—might they be the missing link in my extensive zit-fighting regimen? Time will tell.

With that said, is phacne real? Or am I paranoid and delusional? Discuss.

—Cat Marnell, associate beauty editor

My sister Emily and I share the same irksome, acne-prone skin: It's 80% lovely and 20% disaster, with the latter portion solely around the chin and mouth, residing there—with the exception of four miraculous days a month—all of the time. We blame our father for our vexing inheritance: Photo evidence reveals that he spent the early '70s rocking major breakouts, Ringo-inspired hair, and questionable Izod jumpsuits.

Any dermatologist will rightly tell you that chin-and-mouth breakouts are hormonal, which long ago led me to suspect that a) my sister and I share some hideous genetic mutancy and possibly—l'horreur!— perhaps produce more testosterone than other girls, and b) my only hope is birth control pills and eventual menopause.

Well. We had dinner together last night and her skin is, for the first time in years, truly clear! WTF?! "I threw away everything in my bathroom," she explained as I glowered across the table, feeling not unlike Jessica Simpson when Ashlee got her new nose/weave/spray-tanned androgymidget husband. "I use the same five products every day and that's it. My skin cleared up in two months." Her skin-transforming regimen:

1) Sjal Balans Deep Pore Cleanser ("I can't pronounce it but it works.")
2) Dr. Brandt Poreless Gel ("Feels like it's suctioning my pores clean.")
3) Kinerase Lotion ("Not greasy and super-light.")
4) Fresh Umbrian Clay Face Treatment ("Twice a week as a mask, and as a spot treatment where I feel zits coming on.")
5) Differen gel ("I've been prescribed this for years; it's never been as effective as it is now.")

Emily, suddenly an authority, pointed out that my problem might be that I'm a "product slut" (I vacillate wildly from one skincare trend to the next—mineral makeup! oil-free everything! retinol! all-natural!—never allowing time for the miracles to take effect) (never mind that it's my job!). But I'm convinced it's time to settle down and stick to something. So, since I'd bet money that your skin is better than mine, tell me: What's your regimen?

—Cat Marnell, beauty assistant