There are many reasons to be envious of Florence Pugh.
She’s an Oscar nominated actress who is rumoured to have shared an off-screen kiss with Harry Styles during the filming of Don’t Worry Darling.
She has appeared in a number of critically acclaimed movies alongside the likes of Meryl Streep, Saoirse Ronan, Scarlett Johansson and Rachel Weisz.
And most recently, she joined the Hollywood elite at the 95th Academy Awards, walking the champagne carpet in a Valentino gown.
Her show-stopping look gave no hint of the panic that came just hours earlier – as Florence experienced a potential red-carpet disaster.
Proving she isn’t immune to the same skin problems as the rest of us, she shared a bare-faced video with her nine million followers which revealed an unwelcome spot as she prepared for the ceremony.
Of course, unlike us mere mortals, Florence has a team of beauty experts on hand to ensure any unwelcome blemishes disappear before an important event.
But just because we don’t have a dedicated glam team doesn’t mean we can’t take steps to recreate Florence’s flawless skin.
Award-winning make-up artist Olivia Muldoon says there are steps you can take to try and prevent spots developing in the first place.
“To prevent spots, develop a good skincare regime and regular facials,” she explains.
“If you’re prone to acne breakouts, I highly recommend starting a course of medical graded peels before your event or wedding, such as BioRePeel or SuneKOS Tropeel.
“Also, a healthy diet, regular exercise to reduce stress and limited alcohol and caffeine can keep spots at bay.
“If you’re prone to hormonal spots during your period and you know your event is on at that time, if you’re on the pill, maybe plan to continue taking it without a break for that month.”
It is possible, however, to do everything right from a skincare perspective and still suffer a breakout.
And we all know they tend to happen at the most inopportune moment – before a wedding, a big birthday celebration or a career changing job interview when we want to channel our inner goddess.
Victoria Shields from The Skin Health Clinic says: “Firstly, don’t panic if a spot appears.
“It happens to the best of us and usually when we have important events coming up as we may be under more stress.”
And outlining her top tips for dealing with a breakout, she advises: “If it has a small white head, then we understand you may want to extract or pop it.
“If so, please do this with clean hands and tissues wrapped around the fingers to avoid trauma to the skin.
“If it’s a blind spot, which means it doesn’t have a head, don’t be tempted to squeeze it, as this will make it worse and increase the swelling and pain.”
The best thing to reduce the inflammation and redness, says Victoria, is to ice the spot.
She says: “Glide an ice cube wrapped in a damp tissue for one to two minutes and do this as often as needed.
“Never use ice neat on the skin as this can cause a burn.”
Victoria also recommends Dermaviduals Spot Gel, which contains anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory and exfoliating ingredients.
LED light therapy is also a useful tool to restore your skin’s radiance.
As for Olivia, she swears by Epionce Purifying Spot Gel and Mario Badescu Drying Lotion.
She explains: “Epionce Purifying Spot Gel penetrates pores to control acne blemishes and help prevent new acne blemishes from forming.
“Mario Badescu Drying Lotion treats surface spots by drying them and reduces redness.
“This fast-acting, effective spot treatment contains salicylic acid, sulfur and zinc oxide, which absorbs excess oil and unclogs pores.”
When it comes to disguising any spots, Olivia says they can be easily covered – as long as you don’t squeeze it.
She continues: “Pat on a little concealer the same colour as your foundation and then add your foundation in light layers.
“Once you feel it’s covered, pat on some setting powder and setting spray.
“Have some concealer and powder in your bag just in case it starts coming through during the day.”