The Product: Olay Pro-C Clear Acne Protocol

The Price: $39.50

The Company Spiel: "An acne system that uses proven technology to reduce and help prevent frustrating blemishes and breakouts. Expert formulations balance moisture levels and minimize the appearance of oily skin throughout hormonal fluctuations. This protocol also reduces the look of enlarged pores and uneven texture in just 4 weeks."

The Real Deal: Let's not beat around the bush. The only thing that sucks more than having acne as a teen is having it as a grownup. Contending with wrinkles AND pimples is not as Mother Nature intended. Now, because I hit my breaking point a month or so ago and categorically refused to deal with this nonsense for another day, I pledged to be proactive and make a change. My first step towards that was to try the Olay Pro-C Clear Acne Protocol -- a friend recommended it and I figured, "why not?"

At first I was a bit put off that it's a 3-step system -- cleanse, treat, renew. I'm incredibly lazy when it comes to my "regimen" and three steps is three more than I'm gung-ho for. But I realized that if I was going to see any results I had to adhere to the protocol. So I did as instructed and, what do you know? Within about a month I saw a marked difference in my skin. My chin had cleared up considerably, the pores around my nose seemed noticeably smaller, and my overall skin tone had definitely improved!

The Upshot: If I'm not going to have the body of a teenager, I'll be damned if I get stuck with the skin of one. So I plan to keep using this Olay Acne Protocol as long as it keeps working. It's affordable and, for now anyway, is keeping my skin looking better than it has in years.

Although, if I want this product to continue to work, perhaps I should lay off these wacky DIY beauty experiments.