“You’re going to be mad when you see me,” my teenager said somewhat sheepishly. She called me on her last day on the East Coast, where she’d spent the summer competing on a swim team and volunteering at a community service camp.

“Oh really?” Thinking she’d gotten a piercing or a tattoo, I braced myself for whatever could come next. “And why’s that?”

She sighed. “My skin is out of control. I didn’t bring any of Paula’s stuff with me and now I look awful.” She went on to explain that with so many activities this summer, she’d completely neglected her skin. School would be starting soon, and I could hear the despair in her voice.

“Don’t worry. I’m sure that with Paula’s products we can get your skin back in shape in no time.” She agreed, but sounded skeptical and defeated.

When she got off the plane, I was thrilled to see her, but I could see why she was so upset about her skin: An inch-wide ring of blackheads and pimples bordered her hairline and jaw, her forehead was an oil slick of blemishes, and her cheeks and nose had layers upon layers of flaky, dry skin. Turns out that not only had she stopped using the Paula’s Choice CLEAR Anti-Acne system, but she’d also failed to wear sunscreen on her face all summer long!

I actually gasped.

No wonder her face was a mess! Having to combat acne is work enough, but giving your skin sun damage to repair on top of it? That’s definitely a losing battle. I tried not to lecture her—in fact, I didn’t need to lecture her. The evidence was right there on her face, and she knew it.

That night, like a magician with a bag of tricks, I pulled out Paula’s Choice Skin Balancing Carbon Mask, Hydralight Moisture-Infusing Lotion and an entire CLEAR system: cleanser, exfoliating toner and topical benzoyl peroxide. We started with the cleanser, then applied the mask to the oily and blemished spots, let it dry, and then rinsed. She immediately felt a difference in her skin. Progress!

We then applied regular strength CLEAR Targeted Acne Relief Toner, followed by the 2.5% benzoyl peroxide Acne Fighting Treatment. (Even though her skin was in critical condition, I didn’t want to risk irritation with the extra-strength versions). After everything had dried, we applied the Hydralight Moisture-Infusing Lotion to her cheeks. She looked in the mirror and a smile broke across her face—an actual smile!

After one week of this routine (with the mask applied every other night and our Skin Balancing Daily Mattifying Lotion with SPF 15 every day) her skin is well on its way to recovery. She had to write down the exact order of her routine, but her diligence has paid off: The blemishes are receding, blackheads are going away, and her dry, flaky skin is all but gone. Her skin isn’t flawless, but it’s getting there, and the boost to her self-esteem is undeniable.

She starts high school in two weeks, and I’m so glad that her skin will be one less thing to worry about!  And, yes, I’ve already put a big bottle of SPF 15 in her backpack.

Oops, I did it again. Even though I know better—and even though I’ve endured the aftermath the next morning in the mirror too many times before—I still fell asleep in my makeup, again, last night.

I knew I’d regret it, but the choice between getting up to cleanse at the sink or staying in bed (and sometimes the couch) is too overwhelming. At the end of a long day, my body longs to lie down rather than stand at the sink ritually going through my skin-care routine, and flossing and brushing my teeth, and using Latisse and using Minoxidil, and putting body lotion on, and putting a foot exfoliant cream on. Damn I have a long routine!

So I tell myself, “I’ll just lie down for a few minutes and finish the end of CSI or Glee.” Yeah, right. Who do I think I’m fooling? I know the odds are 10 to 1 that I will ever get up to do what my boyfriend affectionately calls “exit procedures.” But I stay lying down, nonetheless, knowing there will be hell to pay in the morning.

Foundation, blush, mascara, eyeliner, and lipstick look like hell the next morning when you’ve slept in it all night. The smeary, flaky mess you see looking back at you in the mirror is a disaster. Speckles of black mascara in and around your eyes, the streak of lipstick across your chin, and dark rings of shadow are a sight to behold. It looks like something out of a bad movie about the drug underworld.

But how bad it looks is only half of the disaster. Swollen, red, irritated eyes with veins bulging are coupled with crusted tears at the corners to create an itchy, sore, and uncomfortable mess. And, if that wasn’t bad enough, your skin is about to punish you for your negligence.

One of the problems with sleeping in foundation, pressed or loose powder (whether they’re labeled mineral or not), and blush (cream or powder) is that they all keep skin cells from sloughing off your face as they should. The combination of makeup and built-up dead skin cells ground into skin immediately clogs pores. For those prone to breakouts, it will trigger a new crop of pimples or blackheads that will appear first thing in the morning or will creep up on you by the end of the day. For those with dry or sun-damaged skin, it will just make your skin look dull and ashy. Yuck.

Though you shouldn’t have done it (and, as evidenced above, I’m just as guilty as many of you), here’s what you can do to minimize the repercussions of falling asleep in your makeup:

• Wash your face twice, and use a soft washcloth to be sure to manually (but gently) exfoliate your skin.
• You must absolutely use an eye makeup remover that has no chance of further irritating your eyes, and get every last trace and fleck of makeup off and out of your eyes. Paula’s Choice Gentle Touch Makeup Remover fits that description.
• Use lubricating eye drops (not Visine-like products) to soothe your eyes (this really helps!). The Refresh brand is excellent!
• Go over your face with a well formulated toner to add antioxidants to your skin and remove last traces of makeup from your face, particularly around the hairline.
• If breakouts or blackheads are a concern, it is essential that you apply one of Paula’s Choice BHA exfoliants (I prefer my Exfoliating 2% BHA Liquid, but you can always check Beautypedia.com for our list of best BHA products from other lines).
• If you can grab a minute, lie down with your head elevated and place an ice pack over your eyes (it will feel great and reduce puffiness and swelling).
• Apply a lightweight moisturizer such as a serum or a gel on your face and, if needed, a more emollient moisturizer around your eyes.
• If you can wear a lighter makeup than you did the day before you fell asleep with your makeup on, that would help a lot.

It goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway: Do not fall asleep in your makeup again tonight. Taking brilliant care of your skin at night will always reap far better rewards than those five extra minutes you get by lying down before you get your makeup off. I know, better said than done, but my job is to say it. Now if I could only practice what I preach!