5 Affordable Acne Treatments To Finally Minimize Your Breakouts

1. Sunscreen

Sunscreen is non-negotiable at any age, but especially if you're getting older. Not only does it protect your skin from harmful UV rays, which can lead to skin cancers, but it also prevents visible signs of aging like wrinkles, dark spots, and lower skin elasticity.

For the best protection, pick out a broad-spectrum sunscreen to shield your skin from UVA and UVB rays. Make sure to wear it every single day, even if you're just going about your daily activities.

2. Retinol

Next up is retinol, a form of vitamin A that's one of the most researched and impactful ingredients if you're looking to reduce skin aging signs.

It can smooth fine lines, treat dark spots or hyperpigmentation, and improve skin texture. Moreover, this skincare ingredient can help unclog your pores and prevent breakouts! Need we say more?

You can buy retinol in over-the-counter products or stronger, prescription-strength formulas. If you're new to this product, though, it's best to start slow. Use it a couple of times a week as you let your skin adjust because it can cause irritation or peeling in the beginning.

Additionally, retinol should only ever be applied at night since it increases sensitivity to the sun.

3. Niacinamide

Niacinamide, otherwise known as vitamin B3, is a favorite in the skincare world. It can reduce fine lines, even out skin tone and texture, and boost skin elasticity.

Plus, this ingredient may calm down redness while brightening your complexion and encouraging moisture retention.

That's why it's a particularly great choice for people with dry or sensitive skin. It works well with other active ingredients like retinol and vitamin C as well, meaning it can easily be incorporated into your routine with serums.

4. Vitamin C

Speaking of vitamin C, this antioxidant also works wonders when it comes to brightening your complexion and dealing with hyperpigmentation. If you have sun damage and dark spots or dark under-eye circles, vitamin C can reduce their appearance.

To get the most out of this ingredient, add it to your morning skincare routine. You can apply a vitamin C serum or cream first before putting on moisturizer and sunscreen.

5. Caffeine

Another way to give your skin a pick-me-up is caffeine. This antioxidant has a tightening effect on the skin and could lessen the appearance of sun damage. Not to mention, it can reduce puffiness and brighten around your eyes.

Buy a caffeine-infused eye cream (we love this one!) and incorporate it into your morning regimen to give your skin an energizing boost.

6. Hyaluronic Acid

If you're looking to hydrate and soothe irritated skin, hyaluronic acid (HA) is the way to go. Despite having "acid" in its name, it's very gentle and attracts moisture to your skin, ensuring it stays plump and smooth.

Hyaluronic acid is versatile in that it can be used in the morning or evening. The next time you're at the store, search for moisturizers, serums, or sunscreens that include it as an ingredient. Or, put on a hyaluronic acid serum before other treatments, like retinol, to lock in moisture.

7. Peptides

Peptides, which play a key role in increasing collagen production, are naturally found in our skin. Some topical peptides may help temporarily relax winkles; meanwhile, others promote skin turnover for a fresher complexion.

You can find peptides in everything from serums and moisturizers to toners, too, making this ingredient very convenient to add to your skincare routine.

8. Ceramides

Finally, ceramides are critical for keeping your skin barrier well-hydrated and strong. They lock in moisture for up to 24 hours, protect against irritation, and improve overall skin texture. So, ceramides are considered a must-have in any skincare regimen.

Look for ceramides in cleansers, moisturizers, and sunscreens to work them into your routine.

1. Hair Bedazzlers

The ultimate way to bling out your look, hair bedazzlers let you snap tiny, sparkly rhinestones into your locks for a very princess-meets-pop-star vibe. Whether you were channeling your inner Britney or just wanted some extra glitz for a girls’ sleepover, this wacky gadget made every strand shimmer.

2. Bump-Its

Now this is a classic. Remember those commercials? Nothing screamed "2000s hair" quite like Bump-Its. They were plastic inserts that promised to give your hair (especially your bangs) that effortless poof without endless teasing. We look back at them now and cringe.

3. Crackle Nail Polish

We wish this one still existed, TBH. Crackle nail polish was the edgy, rebellious older sister of your regular ol’ nail polish. It created a cool, shattered effect as it dried. Our favorite thing to do was to pick out a silver crackle nail polish to layer over neon pinks or oranges. It’s giving Avril Lavigne energy!

4. Lip Tattoos

Lip gloss, who?! Lip tattoos let you rock everything from pink zebra stripes to a glittery cheetah print on your lips. Why this existed, we don’t know, but they were definitely a fun novelty at the time.

5. Makeup “Phones”

Claire’s took so much of our money in the 2000s for these little makeup-packed phones. Beauty met tech (kind of…) with these makeup compacts disguised as flip phones – because what’s more 2000s than touching up your lip gloss while pretending to take a call?

6. Bouncy Blush

Not quite a cream, but not quite a powder, bouncy blush was a weirdly satisfying cheek color with a wacky, squishy texture. It made applying blush feel like playing with putty, which made our teenage hearts sing. Half the fun was just poking it in the pan between uses.

7. Hair Crimpers

Somehow, hair crimpers snuck their way into 2000s beauty trends, all the way from the ‘80s. They were the go-to styling tool! With just a few squeezes of those zig-zag plates, your hair totally transformed – but if we tried one now, it’d totally make us look like Weird Barbie.

8. Lip Smackers

Every 2000s kid had at least five Lip Smackers floating around in their backpack! We were loyal to the classic Dr Pepper, but the brand dropped many more wacky flavors like Coca Cola, Skittles, and Fanta. They truly weren’t just lip balms – they were status symbols at every sleepover and middle school lunch table. Bonus points if you had the jumbo ones.

9. Hair Chalk

For those who wanted to be rebels (but didn’t want to totally upset their strict parents), hair chalk was the #1 way to bring bold, colorful streaks to your locks without major consequences. While it did give a cool effect, it really didn’t stay on your strands for very long.

10. Sun-In

You were so cool if you brought a bottle of Sun-In to the pool party. This lemon-infused lightening spray was the ultimate DIY highlight hack, but looking back now, all it did was damage our strands. We’ll never forget that smell, either!

Blake Lively (Serena van der Woodsen)

Of all the Gossip Girl cast alumni, Blake Lively is arguably the most well-known. Not only has she gone on to major roles in movies — including The Age of Adaline, The Shallows, All I See Is You, and most recently, It Ends with Us— but she's also married to fellow actor Ryan Reynolds (married in 2012).

Blake shares four beautiful daughters, James, Inez, Betty, and the youngest (born in 2023) whose name has not been announced publicly with Ryan. True to her Gossip Girl character, she's quite the fashionista! In her spare time, she likes to hang out with her BFFs, who just so happen to include Taylor Swiftandthe Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants ladies.

Leighton Meester (Blair Waldorf)

Leighton Meester has a career that would make even her cunningly ambitious Queen B character proud. Since Gossip Girl's end in 2012, she's acted in films including Life Partners, The Judge, The Weekend Away, and most recently, EXmas. She even recorded and released songs such as "Good Girls Go Bad" with Cobra Starship and the solo effort "Somebody to Love," and even starred on Broadway in Of Mice and Men back in 2014.

Leighton is married to actor Adam Brody (The O.C., Jennifer's Body, Gilmore Girls) as of 2014. She has two kids – one daughter and one son.

She has been heavily involved in philanthropy while taking on acting projects, primarily volunteering and campaigning with Feeding America and the Los Angeles Food Bank.

Taylor Momsen (Jenny Humphrey)

Long gone are the days when Taylor Momsen played Dan Humphrey's sweet (and a bit messed up) little sis, Jenny. The actress left the Gossip Girl cast in 2010 in order to pursue her dreams of a music career, and all these years later, she's still doing just that as the frontwoman of the uber-successful rock group, The Pretty Reckless. With four records under their belt, the four-member band has supported bands like Evanescence, Soundgarden, and Guns N' Roses, and has toured in numerous cities and music festivals.

Momsen has typically kept her dating life on the down-low. She is currently single and appears to be putting all of her energy into her band.

Penn Badgley (Dan Humphrey)

Everyone’s favorite Gossip Girl — er, guy — Penn Badgley, followed in his on-screen sister's footsteps after the show ended, pursuing his musical interests with rock band MOTHXR. The band's most current project, Centerfold, was released back in 2016.

Badgley has since acted in several movies and TV shows including Easy A, The Paper Store, and Here Today, but his most notable work has been on the ongoing book-based Netflix series, You. He plays Joe Goldberg, a charming bookkeeper with eerily odd characteristics, especially when it comes to love.

Badgley currently has a podcast titled Podcrushed, which explores the awkwardness of adolescence and revisits guests' best (and worst) middle school memories. He cohosts with Nava Kavelin and Sophie Ansari. One episode even features ex-Gossip Girl co-star, Leighton Meester!

Badgley is married to singer and doula Domino Kirke as of 2017. Kirke already had a child from a previous relationship. Badgley and Kirke had their first son together in 2020.

Ed Westwick (Chuck Bass)

Ed Westwick tapped into his angsty side post-Gossip Girl, starring as Tybalt in a 2013 adaptation of Romeo & Juliet. Since then, he has fought crime as Kent Grainger on Wicked City, played a crime lord on Snatch, and sold double-glazed windows on White Gold. Is there any role he can't play? Most recently, Westwick stars in the movie DarkGame.

With a background in music, Westwick also currently sings in the bandFor You. Their most recent release is the song "Tailspin," and they're set to release a new single "Here Comes Trouble" in March 2024.

Westwick had been dating model and actress Amy Jacksonsince 2021, with the pair getting happily engaged during a ski trip in January 2024.

Chace Crawford (Nate Archibald)

Following his stint as a wealthy Upper East Sider on Gossip Girl, Texas native Chace Crawford tried his hand at playing a greedy oil worker on ABC's short-lived TV series, Blood & Oil. He's had several film roles since – you can catch him in movies like Undrafted, Eloise, Nighthawks, even voice-actingin Belle. Most recently, Crawford stars as The Deep on The Boys.

Crawford has previously dated Carrie Underwood, Rachelle Goulding, and Rebecca Rittenhouse, though he is currently single as a Pringle.

Jessica Szohr (Vanessa Abrams)

Jessica Szohr, who played Dan Humphrey's BFF slash on-again, off-again girlfriend (needless to say, we were confused too), has been a lot busier than her character was after season four, when she was all but written off the show.

In the years since Gossip Girl, the actress scored several roles on TV shows such as Complications, Kingdom, Twin Peaks and The Orville. She even starred in Taylor Swift's music video for "22" back in 2013!

Jessica also welcomed a daughter with her longtime boyfriend in early 2021.

Jessica currently hosts a podcast called "XOXO" that dives deep into the Gossip Girl cast, crew, and behind-the-scenes moments. Some notable episodes have featured Zuzanna Szadkowski (Dorota), Aaron Tveit (Tripp van der Bilt), Kelly Rutherford (Lily van der Woodsen), and Michelle Trachtenburg (Georgina Sparks).

Michelle Trachtenberg (Georgina Sparks)

Since her stint as the "bad girl" Georgina Sparks, Michelle Trachtenberg landed roles on shows like Criminal Minds, NCIS: Los Angeles, Sleepy Hollow, and Sister Cities among other numerous series and movies. She even reprised her role as Georgina for the 2021 remake of Gossip Girl on HBO Max!

She managed to keep her personal life largely out of the tabloids, including her dating life. The last update on her relationship status was in 2023, and that she was dating her talent agent, Jay Cohen. She reportedly previously dated Shawn Ashmore, Joshua Radin, and Jason Segel.

Unfortunately, Michelle passed away on February 26, 2025.

Kelly Rutherford (Lily van der Woodsen)

Besides being a New York Fashion Week icon (we'd expect nothing less of Lily van der Woodsen's alter ego!), Kelly Rutherford has popped up in several TV shows over the years, including Quantico, Jane the Virgin, and Dynasty.

She also frequently travels to France and Monaco, where, after years of custody battles with her second ex-husband, Daniel Giersch, she has extensive visitation rights to see her two children, who reside there with their father.

"Yes, it was a challenging time. It was a heartbreaking time," she told People. "But I focus on the good most of the time, I really do," she says. "I'm very thankful of where we are. I have a great relationship with my kids."

When she's not with her kids or working on a project, Kelly is dropping iconic 'fit pics on her Instagram account.

Matthew Settle (Rufus Humphrey)

Matthew Settle, who played rockstar dad Rufus Humphrey, continued acting after the Gossip Girl cast dissolved. He hasn't been on any other TV shows other than one episode of Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders in 2016. He mostly stuck to movies, acting in titles like Ouija, Marshall the Miracle Dog, and Valentine: The Dark Avenger.

Settle is also a dad of two children, having welcomed his first with actress and model Naama Nativ in 2009. He had divorced her in 2011 and went on to have a second baby with girlfriend Maria Alfonsin in 2015.

Zuzanna Szadkowski (Dorota Kishlovsky)

Though Blair's loyal maid and, ultimately, best friend, wasn't technically a main character, there's no denying that it would have been a different show without her unwavering presence! Zuzanna Szadowski has dabbled in film and television since then, appearing in shows such as Girls,The Good Wife, and Modern Love.

In 2010, she partnered with Sam Weisman to open The Sam Weisman Studio, an acting school (now closed).

Oh, and did we mention she just so happens to be one of Leighton Meester's real-life BFFs?