What do you recommend as skin care?

I've been using Paula's Choice products for 9 years now with great results. Even if you don't use her products, she has great information and informed advice on her website.
She rates other companies skin care products as well. First off you should keep your skin clean, drink lots of liquids, exercise and always wear sunscreen!

May I suggest trying Clean & Clear (Oil Free) Foaming Facial Wash? I had the same problem as you so I started using this last year and was very happy with the improvement.

The only drawback -- after around nine months of use, I've noticed that my skin started flaking and drying out, especially on my cheeks (I guess the oil removal aspect really works)!

So a couple of weeks ago I started using The Body Shop's Seaweed Deep Cleasing Facial Wash (for Combination/Oily Skin). I now use this mainly and so far I'm happy with it. I still occasionally use the Clean & Clear product -- but only on those days when I feel like I was exposed to a lot of dirt or dust.

Noxema its cheap and it works for me.

Drink lots and lots of water. Better than any products. Being fully hydrated really does wonders for the skin.

as above, i've noticed that those soaps make my face skin worse -- the dryness can make your body put out MORE oil (the last thing you need), and over time you can get dependent on several products (drying, re-moisturizing)

whatever else you decide, washing your face often (at least a couple times a day) with water (ideally warm, which gets more oil/dirt, then cool, which closes pores) and scrubbing a little (like with your towel) really helps. and of course occ is right about drinking water.

for what you described, you may try cleaning with witch hazel (a natural astringent) on a cotton ball or pad, which i've noticed can help with shrinking pores. also natural aloe vera to moisturize and soothe your skin. you may want to look at shifting to a different sunscreen if that could be contributing (some are less oily). i notice that a little sun can also help.

thanks joli for the paula's choice tip - i looked at the site (that's an amazing index of ingredients!), but was disappointed to see many synthetic and controversial ingredients. i've heard of and seen good sites that do a similar thing, and also include more recent research into effects of common toxic/harmful substances found in products like these, but unfortunately i can't think of the sites at the moment.

stop eating sugar

thanks for all the answers!
The "Paulas Choice"-Page is great, I even found products available here....

blackheads = clogged pores. i would use a facial scrub, or if you can go get a facial, they’ll tell you which one is best for your skin type.
try to find a facial moisterizer with salicylic acid, that helps unclog your pores.
as far as make up, i’ve been using bare escentuals and haven’t had any breakouts since, even if i’m tired and fall asleep without washing my face.
and i’ve used pretty much every kind of skin care line out there, and i really like avon (anew, in the blue bottles) just use the face wash, am and pm moisterizer and you’ll see a difference right away. pretty good stuff. and not expensive at all!
oh yeah and drink tons of water, stay away from sugar, fatty foods…all that good stuff.
good luck!!!

Knowing your skin type is the first step in skin care because this will help you to select the ways to treat your skin.