Better skin is a universal pursuit. How we go about getting it, however, isn’t something us men generally talk about. Sure, caring about the size of one’s pores is acceptable in the privacy of the bathroom mirror, but that doesn’t mean it makes for scintillating conversation over dinner. Plus, a glowing complexion is always better if it looks like it “just happened”, i.e. with no discernible effort. Of course, that’s seldom the case, so bolstering your grooming arsenal with a few heavy-duty skincare weapons is a wise move. In other words, you want to use stuff that actually works. So, below, you’ll find five things that do.

If retinol is not yet part of your skincare routine, you are missing out. Another name for vitamin A, retinol is an ingredient that works to stimulate cells into regenerating, working to repair and correct everything from acne to fine lines and helping to even out skin tone and reduce pigmentation. Try 111Skin’s retinol oil, which, with a mix of rice bran oil, poppy-seed oil and linseed oil along with retinol, is a master mix of ingredients that helps your face look its freshest.

If your skin is irritated, spotty or in need of a little (or a lot) of TLC, try La Mer’s The Concentrate. It uses the brand’s patented Miracle Broth to deliver a host of nourishing ingredients that calm acne and make for a radiant complexion. It isn’t cheap, of course, but if looking lit-from-within is something that appeals, well, this is hard to say no to once you’ve tried it.

Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare’s SpectraLite EyeCare Pro looks and sounds like a skincare product from the next century via a vision of a superhero future from the 1980s, but that’s only half of the fun. Featuring a control panel of no less than 72 LEDs, it uses the light to smooth out wrinkles, improve elasticity and banish crow’s feet. Use it daily before bed, and you’ll notice a difference in less than two weeks. Just don’t wear it out of the house.

Engineered to protect skin from the UV rays and free radicals that age and stress out skin, Natura Bissé’s anti-pollution spray is made for the modern world. It’s made of something they call “Ultimate Shield”, which is rather dramatic for something you spray on your face after your moisturiser, but certainly does the job for keeping you looking well-groomed throughout the day.

Need to impress but looking a little… volcanic? Dr. Barbara Sturm’s clarifying spot treatment works two-fold: to mask blemishes and treat them, too. Made from a combination of zinc oxide and tea tree oil (which will target the spot by reducing inflammation and irritation), it will also cover the spot with its discreet tint. So that nobody knows you have a pot until, well, you actually don’t any more.