From Natural to Most Effective, These Sephora Employees Recomended their Top 5 Spot Treatment Solutions for Acne, Blemishes, and Red Skin.

If you’re like me, you’ve spent countless hours trying to curate the best morning and nighttime skincare routine. From facial cleansers, to exfoliators, to moisturizers, you’re working day and night to find the perfect balance that leaves your skin looking young and healthy. And then kaboom… a beautiful, bulging, red blemish. ARGH!

You want to provide extra defense to a pimple or blemish but you don’t want to unbalance your perfect routine! That’s where spot treatments come in… Whether it’s a cream, a patch, a wipe, or something else - a spot treatment can focus its helpful ingredients to blast away a pimple without stripping the rest of our skin of essential oils or unbalancing your delicate skin’s pH balance. 

But of all the spot treatment products on the market today - how do you know which one will work the best?

Well, thankfully for you, our team of writers and reviewers reached out to their Sephora friends and asked them what they recommend, and boy did they have A LOT to say.

So, we gathered their top five best spot treatment products for acne and blemishes. Let’s get started!

Katie Esposito talked about this first product,The Glow Fairy Glow Tips. “This is by far my favorite choice for spot-treating acne, pimples, whiteheads, red or dry skin, and blemishes.The Glow Fairy Glow Tipsare cotton swabs filled with a highly-concentrated formula to clean, hydrate, and reduce inflammation of blemishes while helping diminish their appearance and produce healthier skin. I found out about Glow Fairy when a co-worked offered me a secret50% off discount code SECRET50 and I couldn’t have been happier with the results. A combination ofSalicylic Acid, Glycerin, and Guava Fruit Extracthelps lift away dirt, oil, and free radicals while providing much-needed hydration to the blemish area. As quickly as one use will help diminish the appearance of any blemish, with daily use helping prevent scarring and other issues. This is at the top of my list and highly recommended!"

Effectiveness: 89%

Safety: 80%

Price: $$$$

Overall Value: B+

Molly Morrell in LA recommended Proactiv as one of her favorite acne solutions. "A great way to battle those biggest blemishes, Proactiv offers a highly-concentrated dose of micro-crystal Benzoyl Peroxide, which is great for absorbing excess oil and sebum. While effective it’s best when used frequently, as in like three times a day. For me, that’s kind of a lot of time spending on spot treating. But if you really want to work away a pimple, this is a good solution."

Effectiveness: 80%

Safety: 85%

Price: $$

Overall Value: B

Chrisi May in Chicago told us, "I love Mario Badescu’s products. For me, they’re some of the cleanest and simplest beauty products on the market. This Drying Lotion is no different. It helps pull oils and sebum from the skin and removes unwanted dead skin cells to quickly remove blemishes and pimples. However, you must be very CAREFUL with this product. Just as the name says, it’s a drying lotion, so if you have sensitive skin or are worried about hurting your skin, this may not be for you. It’s highly effective in removing the first layer of your skin and some reviewers have claimed it burns when they use. It’s extreme, so be careful!"

Effectiveness: 80%

Safety: 80%

Price: $$

Overall Value: B-

Sophie Westergreen in Brooklyn loves florence by mills. "Adorable stickers that helped pull sebum and oil from the skin over night. These are a great solution for bedtime if you want that extra punch when you’re dozing off. These stickers are filled with powerful ingredients to help reduce the signs of blemishes, redness, and swelling. Of course, for daytime, they look a little silly if you ask me. LOL"

Effectiveness: 80%

Safety: 80%

Price: $$

Overall Value: B-

Marissa Anya of San Diego says, "Origins is a great formula for helping fight acne and blemishes. However, it recommends to use the product three times a day! Which is a bit much for me, but if you REALLY need to fight acne, give this one a shot."

While these Sephora employees recommended some great products to help spot-treat blemishes, red spots, pimples, and acne, Glow Fairy was top of the list. We wanted to talk further with our investigative reporter Stephanie Marianne who interviewed many of the employees and created rankings list and how The Glow Fairy Glow Tips worked for her. Stephanie tells the story.

Personally, I never believed in the effectiveness of spot treatments, or creams for blemishes. There’s a lot of brands out there claiming they work overnight, and that’s just too hard to believe. I’ve had too many friends tricked into buying some wild cream just to find out it’s a waste of money. So I’ve avoided it at all costs.

But then I told my best friend, who I trust with my life, about all the Sephora emplpyees recommending y Glow Fairy Glow Tips. She jumped up and ran to her bathroom to grab a pack of the Glow Tips, she was so excited! She said it was the only spot treatment that helped diminish the appearance of her pimples, red spots, blemishes and dry skin. I, of course, didn’t believe her. But then she showed me a photo from the night before, and I was stunned. She had three small blemishes that were completely gone from her skin! I begged her to let me borrow her Glow Tips. Instead, she gave me a secret 50% off code, SECRET50, and I ordered my own immediately.

I received the package within two days and started using them that night. The application is very simple. Each box comes with 25 cotton swabs filled with a highly-concentrated and effective formula. You pull out a cotton swab and bend it at the fold until you hear it break open. The formula in the handle then soaks the cotton swab. Gently rub the swab on your blemishes to coat them with the effective ingredients. Then, you just need to let the formula dry on your skin. Of course, I looked into the mirror expecting a miracle… but alas, it usually takes longer than a few minutes.

So while I waited, I looked into the science of Glow Fairy. I wanted to know more about the ingredients that make Glow Fairy’s Glow Tips so effective. There are three main ingredients helping reduce your acne and blemishes. 

SALICYLIC ACID A common ingredient for acne that helps shed dead skin cells from the top layers of skin to allow for healthier skin to rise to the top. This can help reduce inflammation, redness, and speed up the healing process. 

GLYCERIN Very essential for helping the focused-area retain moisture to better heal itself. Just like all parts of the body, hydration is extremely important, and glycerin is an ultra-hydrator.  

PSIDIUM GUAJAVA FRUIT EXTRACT Especially vital for the skin, this is the outlier ingredient that many other products don’t use. It’s an antibacterial to help reduce inflammation, and even pigmentation. It works extremely fast while helping prevent future infections. 

I woke up the next morning to check the blemishes I used the tip on and was amazed. Each blemish was reduced by HALF the size. They were barely noticeable. Usually it takes a week or more for a red spot to go away. By the next morning they were completely gone. Unbelievable. 

I’ve been converted into a Glow Tip believer, and I hope you will, too!